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capitalcitycars

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Hello all. I purchased a midget for restoration in Sept 2005 and I ran into a little problem. I have a 1976 MG Midget with the 1500 engine with manual choke. During the current restoration, the non-functioning cei distibutor was replaced with a Mallory dual point distributor, carb upgraded to a Weber DGV, ignition celenoid replaced, starter replaced, alternator replaced. The car started instantly but refused to shut off even with the battery turned off and key removed from ignition. I replaced the iginition assembly but the problem is still occurring and the red light on dash stays lit. Also, I have no tach. Any suggestions would be most helpful. You can see the car at my website @ www.freewebs.com/lansingmidget.
 
Some how you are getting current to the coil when the key is off (hot wired). I'm not familiar with the 1500, but sounds like there is a mix up in the ignition circuit (directly tied to the tach). Do you have a wiring diagram? First order of business is to be sure the proper wire is on the energize side of the coil, and that it is only "hot" when the key is in the "run" position. If it is hot all the time you'll need to trace it back to find the problem (someone hacked into the wiring).
 
Welcome aboard capitalcitycars,
you have joined the best forum around for MG's. there are even a coouple of fellas that frequent here from your area, i am sure they will be by shortly.

now for you problem, your ignition system is finding a ground somewhere it shouldnt. Time to go over your wiring and double check everything. Especialy the way you have your solenoid wired. a suggestion is to get it running , and then one by one remove the connections to the fuse box, until the car dies, this will tell you at least which circut to look at. This is not an uncommon problem, i have heard of cars that wont quit till you turn the head lights off. Welcome To the world of the Prince of Darkness. the other thing to try is get yourself a live chicken, wait for the full moon....

well, we can cover that later.

BTW i checked out your site, very nice.

mark
 
I check the solenoid and it's properly wired. That was checked by the Lansing Area MG Associaton when a few members came over to help me install the distributor but this problem has them stumped since most of them think the 1500 is cursed. Mark, I will try the fuse trick. I'm, willing to try anything at this point. Thanks for the compliment on my site. Its a work of love. My problem is I live in a diehard GM town where the former big 3 are usually the most popular classic cars but my wife and I have have a soft spot for the brits.
 
I saw this exact same problem on another 1500 Midget.
Somebody somewhere along the line had installed a Pirana electronic ignition system and it had fried.
Now it was backfeeding thru the old system into the coil.
We disconnected the coil wires and just hot wired it until we found the problem. (hidden under the heater air hose on the fender well.
 
Still having problem. Let me review what I have done. Solenoid wired in correctly. Engine ground strap installed. Coil is wire correctly. New alternator & starter installed, New ignition switch installed. New battery and battery cables installed. Fuses are checked & in good condition. My tach is still not working. I'm counting on our brain trust here. What am I missing. I have the car purring like a kitten.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Coil is wire correctly.

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you <u>sure</u> it's only hot when the key is in the on position?
 
get a voltmeter and with the igniton off, test for voltage on the coil. One probe should go to a ground (the bock, body or battery) and put the other probe on the coil inputs.

A post should have voltage on it when the ignition is in the 'on' position and it should be off when you cycle the ignition off.

If you get a voltage when the key is in the off position you have an issue with the wiring to the coil (and possibly elsewhere)
 
I have solved the problem, I think. I disconnected the green/white wire from the selenoid. This solves the problem but does anyone know where that wire connects to?
 
The white/light green wire from the solenoid goes to the + side of the ignition coil. It bypasses the ballast resistor to provide full battery voltage to the coil while starting. The terminal on the solenoid you removed the wire from should have voltage only when the solenoid is engaged. If there is voltage to it all the time, and the solenoid is new, I would suspect that you have the main battery and starter cables on the opposite terminals. This assumes the solenoid is not energized all the time because of a defect in the wiring for the starter circuit. Leaving the wire disconnected will not affect the car running but could have an adverse affect on starting under less than optimal conditions. At low temperatures, battery voltage can easily drop to 9.0 volts while cranking. With this wire disconnected you would only have about 4.5 volts to your coil while cranking.
 
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