dklawson
Yoda
Offline
This question pertains to my Mini but is equally applicable to Spridgets... and early Triumphs for that matter. This is a minor service issue and I'm curious if Spridget owners have seen this and what they do about it.
My Mini did NOT behave this weekend. I took it to the grocery and for the first time in months someone stopped to ask me about it. Wouldn't you know it would choose that occasion to NOT start. The round-body pushbutton starter solenoid used on early cars like mine decided it was time to fail. I had to use a pair of pliers across the solenoid terminals to start the engine. This style of solenoid is used on both my Mini and my Triumph. In three years I've had three of these (aftermarket) pushbutton solenoids fail. Have you guys seen the same quality problems?
After putting a used (square body) solenoid on my car when I got it home I set out for more errands. This time, again while being watched by curious onlookers, the ignition switch decided to "hang" in the start position... causing my starter to continue to run with the engine running. Oh that's an awful sound.
On outside (door/boot) locks I'm used to putting powdered graphite in the barrel to free things up. I can't imagine you should do that on the ignition lock since there are switch components behind the barrel. What is the prevailing wisdom when and if these locks need lubing? WD-40? Light-weight engine oil? What will loosen things up without being conductive?
Like I said, these are minor problems and easy to work around. I'm just curious if you've seen quality issues with the pushbutton solenoids and what you lube an ignition lock with.
My Mini did NOT behave this weekend. I took it to the grocery and for the first time in months someone stopped to ask me about it. Wouldn't you know it would choose that occasion to NOT start. The round-body pushbutton starter solenoid used on early cars like mine decided it was time to fail. I had to use a pair of pliers across the solenoid terminals to start the engine. This style of solenoid is used on both my Mini and my Triumph. In three years I've had three of these (aftermarket) pushbutton solenoids fail. Have you guys seen the same quality problems?
After putting a used (square body) solenoid on my car when I got it home I set out for more errands. This time, again while being watched by curious onlookers, the ignition switch decided to "hang" in the start position... causing my starter to continue to run with the engine running. Oh that's an awful sound.
On outside (door/boot) locks I'm used to putting powdered graphite in the barrel to free things up. I can't imagine you should do that on the ignition lock since there are switch components behind the barrel. What is the prevailing wisdom when and if these locks need lubing? WD-40? Light-weight engine oil? What will loosen things up without being conductive?
Like I said, these are minor problems and easy to work around. I'm just curious if you've seen quality issues with the pushbutton solenoids and what you lube an ignition lock with.