antijam
CCCUK Member
To make the most of the present weather I took the '71 out for a rural blast with the top down the other day to blow away a few cobwebs. Returning to our village I suddenly remembered I needed to buy milk. We have a village shop (1) and a village pub (1) and they're conveniently situated next to each other with open parking in front, so I swung nonchalantly (power steering) into a slot in front of the pub to an appreciative audience sitting outside and entered the shop. Milk bought, I slid deftly back into my steed, depressed the clutch, turned the key.....and nothing - nada, zilch, not a peep. Repeat a few times but equally fruitless. Consider a few possibilities....overheated starter?...ineffective clutch safety switch?....dodgy starter switch? Whatever it is, it's not going to get me home now. Exit car and approach the 'appreciative audience' who are now struggling to contain their mirth and ask a couple of local beefy lads if they wouldn't mind 'giving me a push'. It's a short downhill run from the Pub to home and after being pointed in the right direction and rolling slowly downhill I attempt a 'bump' start. Success! car fires up and we travel the quarter mile home without further issue. Taking no chances I drive straight into the garage before killing the ignition. After letting it cool down I attempt a restart on the key (several times) but absolutely no success.
Sitting in the car pondering the problem I suddenly wonder if the battery could be flat. Seems unlikely as it's trickle charged regularly and we've just had a longish run. Anyway, try the horn and turn on the lights - nothing! So, go to remove the battery to put it on charge. I have a screw type battery isolator fitted to make working on electrics more convenient and before unscrewing it I wonder if it could be the source of the problem. I check and it seems pretty tight but applying considerably more force it does tighten one more turn. Has that made a difference? Try a start .... Bingo! - Problem solved!
Stripping the isolator down I discover that the thread starts to bind just before the end of travel, leading me to believe it's properly connected when actually it's not. The contact faces of the two parts show signs of heavy arcing.....
...so the joint had obviously been fretting after I thought I'd tightened it and there was enough contact to allow starting when we set off but not when I returned from the shop. I've cleaned up the thread to ensure reliable clamping and hopefully avoid a recurrence.
It may be a while before I show my face in the Pub again though.......
Sitting in the car pondering the problem I suddenly wonder if the battery could be flat. Seems unlikely as it's trickle charged regularly and we've just had a longish run. Anyway, try the horn and turn on the lights - nothing! So, go to remove the battery to put it on charge. I have a screw type battery isolator fitted to make working on electrics more convenient and before unscrewing it I wonder if it could be the source of the problem. I check and it seems pretty tight but applying considerably more force it does tighten one more turn. Has that made a difference? Try a start .... Bingo! - Problem solved!
Stripping the isolator down I discover that the thread starts to bind just before the end of travel, leading me to believe it's properly connected when actually it's not. The contact faces of the two parts show signs of heavy arcing.....
...so the joint had obviously been fretting after I thought I'd tightened it and there was enough contact to allow starting when we set off but not when I returned from the shop. I've cleaned up the thread to ensure reliable clamping and hopefully avoid a recurrence.
It may be a while before I show my face in the Pub again though.......
. Anyway the next day after work I thought I’d have a better look at it. I got underneath the car to check the main ground cable, and it was loose…but not at the chassis! Then having a proper look in the battery compartment (which is tricky on mine as the aftermarket seatbelt install restricts the lid from opening fully), I could see that the earth cable had completely come away from the isolator switch. I felt like a right idiot for not spotting it right away but at least it was an easy fix! 
