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BN 2 electrical

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Bruce Bowker

Bruce Bowker

Obi Wan
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Just got back from a week of "playing" with my cars. A bit too cold in NJ for me but....

1956 BN2 with a problem.

tI ran perfect but the last day I tried to start it and it would turn over nicely but not fire. I tried again and same thing. It sounded like I was not getting any spark. I turned off the key and turned the key back on and the entire system was dead. It was a if the battery had suddenly been disconnected.

Battery is fine.
I checked the ignition switch and I am getting continuity across the two terminals when switched on and none when off.

Last year I made a mistake when putting a fuse back in (nothing to do with the current problem). This was the lower of the two fuses. I placed it a half notch too high and when I got in the car all gauges were registering and the fuel pump running. I tried the key but nothing stopped. I thought the ignition switch was bad. Spent awhile checking it and suddenly thought to check the fuse again and saw what I had done.

SOOOO by doing the same thing this time with etye fuse wrong, I could start the car and everything works. It just does not work when the fuse is in the correct place. The system is entirely dead.

Again battery is fine, fuses are both fine, switch is good. Is there a relay?

Thanks

Bruce
 
Hello Bruce,
I'm no Healey expert but the usual British electrical system is a feed from somewhere like the ammeter, if you have one, or the starter solenoid to the ignition switch, brown or brown\white cable. So I would check that first of all. What happens then is the ignition switch supllies the ignition, (no fuse), and fuse or fuses. There is often a fuse or fuses also fed directly from the battery so these are permanently live. By shorting the ignition fed and non ignition fed fuses by mis-fitting the fuse back feeds the ignition switch.

As I say check for supply to the ignition switch. I have never seen a relay in this part of the system.

Alec
 
Alec - thanks and I will see if that is where the problem is.

Bruce
 
[ QUOTE ]

I tried the key but nothing stopped. I thought the ignition switch was bad. Spent awhile checking it and suddenly thought to check the fuse again and saw what I had done.

SOOOO by doing the same thing this time with etye fuse wrong, I could start the car and everything works. It just does not work when the fuse is in the correct place. The system is entirely dead.

Thanks

Bruce

[/ QUOTE ]

Bruce--

Check to see if there is 12 volts to the key switch--if so then the lead to the ignition has to be open somewhere.
 
There was 12 volts at the switch when the key was in the off position which surprised me.

Bruce
 
Hello Bruce,
the input to the ignition switch is always live. As I said a brown or brown\white wire. The switched out put is a white cable. This should be live with the switch on.

Alec

Alec
 
I'm not expert on these, but doesn't this car have a "secret kill switch" that can sometimes give trouble.
I seem to recall that this switch is inline with the hot (non-grounded) side of the battery, maybe behind the seat?
 
aeronica 65, Yes the battery cut off switch in the boot will apply a permanent ground to the low tension side of the ignition circuit when switched off or in one of its familiar failure modes. However, the car can not be hot wired to start under the stated conditions ---Keoke /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
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