MGB Awakening my 1978 MGB - No Results

[rick_ingram]

Having driven the 1969 MGC to shows, rallyes, etc, since 1999...I put the 1978 MGB into storage at that time...Kind of forgot about her.

Last night I looked at her...and decided to wake her up.

Put in a new battery...pulled the coil wire...shot some oil into the cylinders...spun the starter.

Fuel pump worked immediately...oil pressure gained almost immediately.

This car has a points distributor, NOT an electronic ignition.

Put the coil wire back on and spun her over again....no fire.

Gave her a shot of starting fluid....no fire.

Pulled the coil wire from the distributor and held it near the block, spun the starter...no spark.

Checked coil for voltage...almost 13v on the ignition side.

Checked the black/white leads to the distributor for resistance...wires good.

Pulled the distributor cap and spun the engine (with the coil wire reattached) - no spark.

Put in a new coil...no difference.

Checked the points for resistance...no resistance when they are open OR closed...so the problem appears to lie within the distributor.

There is voltage from the coil to the distributor.

There is no spark when the points open.

So...I'm taking the MGC to the Champagne British Car Festival tomorrow....

Tomorrow upon my return home, I'll change the points and see if that remedies anything...but if it does NOT...where should I look? Can a condensor go bad just sitting in storage?

 

[PAUL161]

Rick, did you see if the points have a film over them? Don't know why they get that film on them when their not used over a period of time, but they do. I've used a drop of brake clean, of all things, on a stiff piece of paper to clean the film off and it worked without compromising the points surface. Worth a try if you haven't already done so. PJ

 

[rick_ingram]

Rick, did you see if the points have a film over them? Don't know why they get that film on them when their not used over a period of time, but they do. I've used a drop of brake clean, of all things, on a stiff piece of paper to clean the film off and it worked without compromising the points surface. Worth a try if you haven't already done so. PJ

No...I did not check that...and will do so when I return from Bloomington this afternoon!

It has to be something simple.

The car was running when I stored it.

But, how often have we heard THAT line?!

:wink:

 

[Marvin Gruber]

Like Paul said, points probably need cleaning or changing out. A quick test is, pull the distr cap off, turn the ignition on, use a flat tip screwdriver and push it between the points, you may need to rock it some,but you should see fire. That will be a good indication of points corroded.

Marv

 

[DrEntropy]

Yup. Run some #400 wet-or-dry thru the points 'til they're shiny. It'll fire right up.