MG Midget Forum

Recently towed from dc to fl. Drove great in both areas. I did leave the key in ignition in on position accidently so when I arrived in fl I had to get it jumped. Drove it around to charge the battery. Parked it. Next day, battery fully charged, ignition light on. No sound when key is turned. No click. No turn. Nothing. Power works fan works. I’m thinking a cord came unplugged. Just not sure where to check imor if there is another trick I don’t know about it. I am new owner. So I’m learning as I go.

Rana, I'm still thinking battery! If the battery still seems dead, remove it from the car, and have it tested at an auto supply store. Even if you had it checked, the battery can give you a false reading. Did you put a new battery in when you bought the care?

Did you disconnect any wires on your trip to Fl? Does the ignition light come on? if it gets burnt out, you won't have any power.

Before removing the battery you might try jumping from your pos post on the battery to the post on the starter.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024-04-19 05:16 PM by Rkat12.

No cords that I know of were detached. I was hoping to find a link to show which cord is connected to starter or anything else that would prevent it from starting.

The battery seems good. I have a plug in battery starter that I connected as I also thought the same thing. But it reads fully charged. Also the fan, ignition, everything turns on when key is turned on. What I don’t hear is anything clicking, no movement or sound to the engine when I turn to start.

The previous owner was a friend of mine who passed away and is why I was sold the mg. He only owned it for 6 months. But I’m sure it sat there most of the time. It started both in dc and days later when I returned to Florida after the initial jump of the battery. Drove it for about 20 minutes. And parked it. When it didn’t start I used my plugged battery starter to fully charge the battery. My daughter was sitting in the front seat. There are cords running along side and in the back seat. Someone did add a custom stereo. But that didn’t work and prob cuz it was unplugged. Which again I don’t want to mess with any plugs until I know what goes to what. The manual is faded. And I can’t seem to find a video on the wiring on mg specific. I keep getting links for starter on other vehicles.

Thank you for your help.

I'd check the plugs off your solenoid. Specifically the one that runs to the coil. Mine popped and did the same.

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79' Midget with a Weber Carb and more beer than gas.

I believe that if you leave the key in the on position for a long time you can burn out the coil. Can others with more experience than me please confirm?

Richard

Maybe. But, that wouldn't keep the starter from turning. This isn't just a "no start", it's a "no crank".

There really aren't too many things in that system. Battery, starter solenoid, starter, ignition switch, and wiring.

The first step to troubleshooting any such problem is to buy a multimeter and find a wiring diagram. If a person isn't motivated to do that, then they're better off taking it to a repair shop.

My first question is going to be "what is the battery voltage". Next question would be "is that voltage present at the starter solenoid", and so on. Trying to troubleshoot electrical problems without proper equipment is called "guessing".

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1976 Midget 1500 - Current | 1976 Spitfire 1500 - Years Ago | Many Miatas and other cars - Yep
"Simplify and add lightness."

Before doing anything, get ye under the hood and push the solenoid button. It's an awkward little $@% under the heater duct behind the distributor and above. The button faces aft and up a bit: trace the fat wires to the solenoid. Pushing that takes ALL the electrics out of the picture except the battery and the starter motor. If you are SURE the battery is good (eg has a cranking charger on it) and that gets you nothing, then check the earthing strap. Ideally under the car, or by measuring ohms between engine and negative terminal. Good luck.

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Mk3 Midget 1970/1 UK spec. 1275 GAN5996*** and 2RWA wrecks "The Spice Girls" - "2 become 1"

coil might be burnt out due to ignition being left on, coil gets hot and melts shellac when the key is left on.

I still say battery. The number of hours I've wasted trying to get a car going "thinking" the battery was fine (multimeter shows it's charged) but it wasn't. If you can jump it from another car and it runs fine, then I'd say swap in a new one. I have an old batter I keep around to test lights, horns etc. It hold enough charge to run all those ancillary things, but will NOT start the car.

My $.02

Chris

Any cents are more than none lol. And yes it did jump it from another car the first try after battery died. But after I drove it. And charged the battery over night. And even with car jumping it. Would not start. The ignition light was on. Lights and anything else running off battery was working fine. Just no noise to turn the ignition. Silence. And that is why I thought I pulled a plug. Cuz it made a sound every time I turned the ignition prior to this happening.

Thank you �� I will work on these steps. Very helpful. I was wondering about the coil and that it could be something with that.

Thank you. Gonna check it when I get home.