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76 midget

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76midge

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hi, my 1976 midget has an electrical problem. it sat and the battery was dead. i put on the charger, and got the car started, turned off the charger and let it run for 10 minuites. well long enough to charge the battery, and get it warmed up. however, when i cut off the car, and put it into first gear (clutch is rusted to fly wheel) to start in first gear, the only thing i got was the indicator light barely lighting up to indicate the fuel pump was working. it would not even turn at all. so, the only possible things i know of are;
1. the alternator is bad, and if this is so, i can restart the car and let it run longer. since the alternator would not be charging the battery, the car would run the battery all the way down and the car would stop on its own...or someone could teach me how to do a continuity test on it.
2. there is a short somewhere in the system...in which case, im screwed.
3. could be a bad battery that wont hold enough charge.


that is about all i know on it. any help would be great. some other problems it has are; bad brakes, rust, clutch, and the pipe that goes into the gas tank it above the bottom of the tank, so when it gets down to 3 or 4 gallons left in the tank, it can get anymore gas.

thanks for any input...
Jason
 
Hey. I'm sure someone can help you here, but you might want to cross-post this in the 'spridgets' forum too.
 
wow, that must be new...i have not been here in a long time. i will do that.
 
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As far as your electrical systems go, there are a couple of things easy enough to check:

1) fluid levels in the battery... ensure the cells are properly filled. Empty/nearly empty cells wont hold a charge no matter how much you charge it.
2) The terminals on the battery/starter/alternator - I'm not familiar with the charging path on a Spridget, but if it's anything like a B then a dirty or loose connection at any one of those points will cause the charging circuit to be ineffective. Also, check the battery terminals and ensure the battery has a solid ground/earth connection.

Finally, if the fluid levels in the battery are ok, and it won't hold a charge, I'd take it to a local parts store and have it tested.

hope this helps..
 
also check terminal on the starter relay. sounds to me liike a bad battery.


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