MGExp

MGB & GT Forum

What have I done?

Moss Motors
AutoShrine Sponsor
AutoShrine Sponsor
AutoShrine Sponsor
AutoShrine Sponsor

St.Augustine, FL, USA   USA
Sign in to contact
1977 MGB. After switching out the old solenoid my starter winds up as soon as the battery is connected, no keys required but does not turn the engine, I took pictures to replace the wires properly. Traced them. Two brown from the alternator, one brown from the starter relay, one brown from the ignition switch, one brown from the ignition switch relay, and the main power cable from the battery all on the lower terminal, the two small connectors on the side, one white and green leads to the coil, one brown and white leads to the starter relay. What did I do?

Was this post helpful or interesting?
Yes No Thank
. Become a Supporting Member to hide this ad & support a small business
rntanner Avatar
rntanner Roger N. Tanner (Disabled)
Oxnard, CA, USA   USA
Sign in to contact
1970 MG MGB
1977 MG MGB
You will probably need to clean every electrical connection related to this problem.



Roger N. Tanner
Professional Engineer, Retired



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-09-01 12:46 PM by rntanner.

Was this post helpful or interesting?
Yes No Thank
dickmoritz Avatar
dickmoritz Platinum Member Dick Moritz
Philly 'burbs, PA, USA   USA
Sign in to contact
You connected all the brown wires to the wrong large terminal on the starter solenoid... winking smiley

Dick



Errabundi Saepe, Semper Certi
(Often wrong, but always certain)

Was this post helpful or interesting?
Yes No Thank
. Become a Supporting Member to hide this ad & support a small business
St.Augustine, FL, USA   USA
Sign in to contact
Ok, to clarify the brown wires all need to connect to the solenoid terminal nearer the starter. And only the hot battery wire needs to connect to the "lower" terminal?

Was this post helpful or interesting?
Yes No Thank
CRH Charley H
Prospect, KY, USA   USA
Sign in to contact
No. Putting the hot wire from the battery on the lower terminal is the reason the starter is turning when you hook up the battery. I believe that you connect no wires to the lower terminal.

Charley

Was this post helpful or interesting?
Yes No Thank
St.Augustine, FL, USA   USA
Sign in to contact
Well Dick and Charlie it was worth a try, when I attached all the wires to the top terminal and hooked up the battery the starter spun, no keys again, then tried just the battery feed into the lower terminal, same result. Thanks for the input.

Was this post helpful or interesting?
Yes No Thank
RKM Avatar
RKM Richard Marcks
Palm Desert, CA, USA   USA
Sign in to contact
Here's a pic of '73, I think the wiring is the same.


Attachments:
DSCN0397.JPG    71.7 KB
DSCN0397.JPG

Was this post helpful or interesting?
Yes No Thank
St.Augustine, FL, USA   USA
Sign in to contact
Your right, that means I had it configured right the first time and the problem lies with something else. Thank you

Was this post helpful or interesting?
Yes No Thank
CRH Charley H
Prospect, KY, USA   USA
Sign in to contact
I'm a little confused Kyle. Are you saying you hooked it up like Richard's picture the first time? And you are calling the terminal with all the wires the lower terminal. I can't look at mine since it has the plastic cover, but I was thinking that Richard's are connected to the upper terminal.

See the strap coming out the starter to what I am calling the lower terminal? That is a direct power feed into the starter. So, if you connect the hot line from the batt to that, the starter will turn, but not engage the starter ring gear.

Part of the solenoid's job is to internally connect the upper terminal with the lower terminal to power the starter. What happens if you put nothing but the hot line from the batt onto the terminal that has all the wires on it in Richard's pic. If you do that and the starter spins, then the solenoid is not disconnecting.

Charley

Was this post helpful or interesting?
Yes No Thank
St.Augustine, FL, USA   USA
Sign in to contact
I had my solenoid wired like Richards picture, it agrees with the wiring diagram I have and to clarify I was calling the terminal with the wires attached the lower terminal because on my 77 it is closer to the ground.

Was this post helpful or interesting?
Yes No Thank
CRH Charley H
Prospect, KY, USA   USA
Sign in to contact
Sorry to lead you astray, Kyle. I was using my memory from my 68, and my 77 is covered so I couldn't look. But, if you just hook the hot from the batt to the correct terminal, leaving off the other wires, does the starter spin?

Charley

Was this post helpful or interesting?
Yes No Thank
dickmoritz Avatar
dickmoritz Platinum Member Dick Moritz
Philly 'burbs, PA, USA   USA
Sign in to contact
Kyle,

Please post a photo of your setup...

Dick



Errabundi Saepe, Semper Certi
(Often wrong, but always certain)

Was this post helpful or interesting?
Yes No Thank
St.Augustine, FL, USA   USA
Sign in to contact
Not at all, almost anything is worth a try at this point. Doing what you asked (leaving all other wires disconnected) the starter still spun.

Was this post helpful or interesting?
Yes No Thank
phoffman Peter Hoffman
Miller Place, NY, USA   USA
Sign in to contact
Without seeing the setup I think the solenoid is no good - it is stuck connecting internally so it is providing power to the starter motor as soon as battery power is supplied.

Was this post helpful or interesting?
Yes No Thank
CRH Charley H
Prospect, KY, USA   USA
Sign in to contact
With that test, I'm thinking the same as Peter. I would give it a sharp rap with a hammer and see if it helps, but if it does help, the effect may only be temporary. You are sure that the exciter wire is not connected and is maybe hot when it should not be?

Charley

Was this post helpful or interesting?
Yes No Thank

To reply or ask your own question:

or

Registration is FREE and takes less than a minute

Having trouble posting or changing forum settings?
Read the Forum Help (FAQ) or contact the webmaster





Join The Club
Sign in to ask questions, share photos, and access all website features
Your Cars
1974 MG Midget MkIII
Text Size
Larger Smaller
Reset Save