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76 Midget will not start

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MichaelJones

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Just moved from New Hampshire to Virginia and when my 76 Midget arrived it would not start. No power from the coil to the electric fuel pump...I tested the fuel pump directly to the battery and it workd...so the problem is somewhere between the battery and the coil.

Wiring on the car is not great and should probably be replaced, but I don't have the time or the expertise to tackle the job...I've always been able to track down wiring problems as they occur and take care of them, but this one has me vexed.

I do not know much about the electrical aspects of the car and thus far have cleaned all connections and made sure all of the wires are sound. Is this a bad coil or is it between the battery and the coil...the solenoid?

The car is not a show car, just fun for me and my children on the weekends. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Mike
 
So, run a new wire from the hot spot. Coil, I should not think, try the fuse box the fuse that is hot when the key is on only. Through the dash under the carpet and to the pump.
 
You probably have a fuel relay somewhere in the circuit. Make sure that it is getting 12v on the switched side when you turn the key on. Also make sure that the unswitched side has 12V as well. Track which ever one is giving you trouble to the source. I can see where someone might have tapped into the ignition circuit to pull in the relay. However there are better places to gain switched power as Jack mentioned. If there isn't 12V at the coil then you might have bigger problems. The 76 cars are usually butchered in that area as the original electronic ignition was a piece of junk and often failed. Also originally the hot side of the coil wasn't a full 12V anyway, it uses a resistance wire to act as a ballast for the coil.
First things first. Sort out what you know to be wrong and work from there.
JC
 
Where abouts in New Hampshire?


Mark
 
Welcome to the forum!

I have a 78 Midget, so it's not too different from yours.
Have you checked to make sure the wires are still connected to the distributor etc? In transit anything with a spade or bullet connector could have come loose.
 
A 76 did not come with an electric fuel pump, so the possibilities for silliness are endless. When I got my '79, the DP had installed an electric fuel pump. The fuel pump was powered from the coil circuit. The wiring connection was hand twisted and wrapped with a small piece of electrical tape. Apparently, he did not have a piece of wire long enough to reach all the way to the fuel pump in the back of the car, so he used several pieces of wire, hand twisted together and wrapped with very small pieces of electrical tape. One piece of electrical tape had fallen off, but it did not cause a short as this section of wire was hanging about 3 inches below the bottom of the car. :rolleyes:


Anyway, the fuel pump should not be run on the same circuit as the coil as this could quite easily burn out your ignition switch. The way it should be wired is the coil circuit powers a relay which powers the fuel pump. If you are not getting power to the coil, a burnt ignition switch is the likely source of your problem.
 
jlaird said:
So, run a new wire from the hot spot. Coil, I should not think, try the fuse box the fuse that is hot when the key is on only. Through the dash under the carpet and to the pump.
Click to expand...

:iagree: Use the fuse box fuse; there is an extra blade on the one that's switched. That's what I did when I put the electric pump in. Coming directly from the coil you have the ballast resistor which is dropping the voltage; not good.
 
sparkydave said:
jlaird said:
So, run a new wire from the hot spot. Coil, I should not think, try the fuse box the fuse that is hot when the key is on only. Through the dash under the carpet and to the pump.
Click to expand...

:iagree: Use the fuse box fuse; there is an extra blade on the one that's switched. That's what I did when I put the electric pump in. Coming directly from the coil you have the ballast resistor which is dropping the voltage; not good.
Click to expand...

Me too, I used the extra blade on the fuse box.
Also for my radio, even though it also has an in line fuse.
This is just a convenient spot to connect things to, not the coil.
Funny story about that: When I got the relay and thermostat to connect to my electric fan the instructions actually show connecting to one side of the coil instead of to the battery or somewhere else. I was shocked!
 
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