No juice - virtual roadside assistance needed

[moremonkey]

This morning as I was pulling up to my office in the Healey (1955 BN1) the car died. It had been running strong all morning (actually it has been running strong for the past few years) but now turns over robustly but does not fire.

Because I am wearing a suit and don't want to get greasy, I have not started any significant diagnosis.

But I realized the fuel gauge does not power up when the key is turned, and more significantly I do not hear the fuel pump ticking either. The heater fan should but does not come on with the switch. Nor do the wipers. Curiously, the little "Ignition" light on the tach illuminates. There is plenty of gas in the tank.

The fuses in the engine compartment all look good (two on the driver side, one on the passenger side). I have not checked for spark yet.

So, it feels like this is an electrical issue since there are a number of accessories that are not working when the key is on.

My question is this: where should I check to find the fault? If this is something I can have a good chance of taking care of today at work, I'll take off the tie, etc. and get to it. Otherwise I will get a ride home tonight and come back tomorrow with multimeter, tools, proper attire, and a can-do attitude.

-Jonathan

 

[Randy Forbes]

First thing I would do is jumper across the ignition switch, as it could have failed (you can also jumper the two fuses together in the engine compartment, by slipping one of the fuses into the gap between the two sets of fuse holders).

 

[Randy Forbes]

If it cranks but no spark, then the #1 cause is usually the wire that grounds the ignition at the battery cutoff switch; just remove and isolate the white/black stripe wire and go on about your day.

Beyond those two quick checks, at least for me, it's test meter time.

Good luck!

 

[moremonkey]

Turns out one of the two fuses was bad. Looked good but was not. Jumping the two (thank you Randy) brought everything to life.

Thanks for your quick response and excellent information Randy!

Now I'm wondering if I should celebrate the quick fix by taking the rest of the day off. It is a perfect June day here in Maine.

-Jonathan

 

[moremonkey]

So I just told my Miata-owning friend who helped me push the Healey into the parking lot at my office that I got a quick bit of advice from this forum and fixed the no-start. He was amazed that there is an Austin Healey board that is this active. Let's hear it for the hive-mind of collected LBC wisdom.

 

[HealeyRick]

Now you're going to have to find out why the fuse blew. or it's likely to happen again. Probably a short somewhere. Had one that took out my fuel gauge, wipers, brake lights, heater fan and directionals. Turned out it was some frayed cloth insulation just outside of the right front rubber socket for the directional light. When I signalled a right turn, the fuse would blow, but I didn't figure it out for a bit. Figured I got away easy as I thought it might be a problem in the trafficator switch and I hate taking that thing apart.

 

[moremonkey]

That was my thought. The fuse, now that I am able to give it a careful look, appears corroded (white powder) inside. The optimist in me says it leaked water, corroded, and finally gave up. The pessimist in me will spend the weekend checking out the wires.

 

[vette]

Hmm, I'm afraid I am at a loss as to why a blown fuse would keep the engine from running. The coil, (which is fed from the ignition switch and the ignition switch is fed directly from the right hand terminal of the regulator which is supplied by the generator/battery ) is not fused. Granted a blown fuse will shut off some accesories but the coil, points and condenser are all non-fused.

 

[John Turney]

Hmm, I'm afraid I am at a loss as to why a blown fuse would keep the engine from running. The coil, (which is fed from the ignition switch and the ignition switch is fed directly from the right hand terminal of the regulator which is supplied by the generator/battery ) is not fused. Granted a blown fuse will shut off some accesories but the coil, points and condenser are all non-fused.

On a BN4, a wire goes from the coil to the 35-amp fuse input and then on to the fuel pump. If the wire to the fuel pump was moved to the downstream side of the fuse with all the green wires, that would shut off the fuel pump, also causing a non-start.

 

[moremonkey]

The whole situation is very interesting. Last night I took the car to a cruise-in and decided to pull the fuses while the car was parked...didn't need to be the guy whose car caught on fire because of a short. When I put the fuses back in, nothing happened. But when I jumped the fuse as Randy suggested, the car started without my pushing the start button. The key wasn't even in it. So I had to stall the car to kill the engine when I got home. Then I took the fuses out, tried the starter, and it fired right up. And the key worked to shut it off.

So I am thinking it has nothing to do with the fuses and probably lots more to do with the ignition switch, its wiring, or possibly the fuse block itself.

Because I can get the car to run, I'm not too upset about the mystery: I'll figure it out and in the meantime the car is not disabled. So I get both the pleasure of an Austin Healey in June AND the fun of a puzzle.

A friend at the show brought his Sunbeam Alpine and was embarrassed because of the puddle of coolant his car deposited. The Healey, in contrast, looked prim and proper, nobody knew it was hiding a dirty little electrical secret.

-Jonathan

 

[RestoreThemAll]

I can't offer any wiring expertise, as I have none. I'm working on a '63 BJ7 that I've owned since the 1970's. I installed all new wiring and am adding extra fuses and fuse blocks because of the many horror stories about LBC wiring problems. Some to the point of fires. It seems like you may have a short someplace. I wouldn't take any chances. I would unhook the battery until you find the problem. Just my 2 cents.
Dale

 

[DerekJ]

It sounds like you have had a very old fuse that has simply deteriorated over time through corrosion. There may not be a short.

 

[bob hughes]

Surely if there was a short the fuse would continually blow? it did when my wiper motor was in need of a new armature and brush set as the old brushes had worn down to the shoes which ground there way into the commutator :sorrow: I found out the culprit the hard way - took all the wires out and put them in one at a time until the fuse blew - sods law turned out to be the last wire - to the wiper motor



Bob

 

[moremonkey]

Ok, so after ignoring the issue for a while (I got by with a fuse in the middle of the fuse block, jumping the circuit, bypassing the ignition, and requiring me to pop the hood and pull the jumper fuse to shut off the car) I've figured it out. The third post on my solenoid is loose...the one that takes the small gauge wire. I rewiggled it so now the car starts, runs, and shuts off as it should. The new solenoid should be here tomorrow. But I won't be because my wife and I are driving the Healey about 120 miles down the road to a concours (to observe, not participate) in Massachusetts.

Temps will be in the nineties. Wish us luck. My partner at work said we should bring plenty of fluids. I told him we've packed 4 quarts of oil and two gallons of coolant. He said that's not what he meant.

Thanks to to everyone for the advice.

Jonathan

 

[Jim 58 BN6]

"Temps will be in the nineties. Wish us luck. My partner at work said we should bring plenty of fluids. I told him we've packed 4 quarts of oil and two gallons of coolant. He said that's not what he meant."

He must have meant brake fluid and gear oil.

 

[steveg]

...Temps will be in the nineties. Wish us luck. My partner at work said we should bring plenty of fluids. I told him we've packed 4 quarts of oil and two gallons of coolant. He said that's not what he meant.

Thanks to to everyone for the advice.

Jonathan

A birdwatcher friend suggested draping wet towels around one's neck. I tried this with great success driving to California Healey Week with the ambient temp in the mid 90s.

 

[HealeyRick]

Enjoy the Misslewood Concours https://www.endicott.edu/concours/tickets.aspx it's a nice event that will give your car feelings of inadequacy. It's in a beautiful area and if you want to see a bit more of it, consider joining us on August 6th for the Cape Ann Rally: https://www.ahca-newengland.org/

 

[Jim 58 BN6]

When I drove my TR4 regularly during hot weather, I put the top up to keep the sun off my body, and used the wet towels as well. The towels help a lot. Jim

 

[moremonkey]

The wet towel trick worked like a charm. I won't go so far as to say the ride was cool this weekend, but we weren't roasted either. The car ran flawlessly: 1.5 hours at a clip at 70 mph in 80-90 degree heat with not a single issue. It ended the weekend with the oil level where it started (a neat trick considering the trail of little drops it marks every parking spot with), used no coolant, started on the first push of the button.

And yes, the cars at the show were fabulous. But my Healey 100 can outperform all those trailer queens because it actually goes down the road. I've loved this car for 40 years and it still impresses me.

Jonathan