Spitfire Triumph starts just fine but Ignition is 'Off' and key is in my wife's purse.

[Hetkey]

Last Spring I bought my wife a 79 Spitfire 1500 that she fell in love with. This winter the battery seemed a little low so I figured I'd throw a tender on it. My wife was at the office with the keys in her purse so I went down to the garage, opened the hood and connected the tender to the battery terminals...lo and behold, the car started right up. I checked the ignition and it is in the 'Off ' position. I'm thinking I have a short somewhere between the key-hole and the exhaust pipe. Before I just start replacing components i was wondering if anyone had any suggestions.

CH
"If you marry a blonde half your age,
be prepared to spend your golden years up to your elbows
in her sports car."

 

[Geo Hahn]

When you say "the car started right up..." do you mean the starter cranked the engine? Did you connect directly to the battery posts or to something that looked to be connected to the posts?

I know zip-all about Spitfires but I would start by looking if the solenoid is sticking or if the trigger wire from the ignition switch (possibly white with a red tracer) is hot (12v).

 

[Hetkey]

I hooked directly to the battery, and battery to Ground. The engine rolled over and started. The thing is, nothing has changed on the car since she drove it error free in the fall. The only difference is that it got cold out. I'm looking at replacing the solenoid (thanks for that) and the coil.

 

[Geo Hahn]

Something isn't right but I don't know that I'd rush to swap in new parts without knowing more.

Unless your battery charger is very different from mine - it lacks anything near the power to crank an engine. Rather, something in the connection you made jumpered the starting circuit &/or the ignition circuit and the battery did the starting.

 

[Andrew Mace]

My first thought would be to check the key switch for possible sticking. Maybe just put the key in and work the switch a bunch of times, then take it out and see if you can duplicate what happened before. (Or, if you want to start at that switch and do some multimeter or test light testing for live circuits, you could do that as well). Replacing either coil or solenoid would do you no good, as it seems obvious (from the fact the engine started) both are fine.

 

[Hetkey]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'll try it with the key and climb in the engine with a multimeter and post back what I find.

CH

 

[JerryVV]

Good that it was out of gear or that could have been disastrous. If you try that again be certain it is out of gear.