Electrical/Ignition Problem

[ChrisB]

Stranded...Help! I replaced battery and battery cables this past weekend in my IIA. After doing that, she would not start and none of the instruments would even turn on. Battery test said the battery was fine.

I sprayed some electrical component cleaner on the the starter switch lead (the screw that accepts the positive terminal), reconnected the positive battery cable, and she started.

This morning, as I was leaving an early morning meeting, the same thing...no instruments, no juice at all.

Assuming the battery is good, any thoughts on the problem??

Thanks!

[Jeff Aronson]

Assuming the battery tests out at 12 + volts, then you might have a ground problem. The clue is that none of your electrics work. That would seem to indicate that you don't have a complete circuit.

I think the spray on the starter might have been coincidental good forture.

Check the battery ground wire to the battery box [where it usually is]. Is it a clean connection? Have you tried running the battery ground to another point on the car? A common fix would be to ground it to the bolts around the bottom of engine oil filler neck.

If the problem were at the starter switch only, I would think that your other electrics - horn, lights - would work even if the starter would not function.

Good luck and let us know.

Jeff

[ChrisB]

Jeff:

Thanks for the tip. I agree on the coincidental nature of the spray.

The battery ground is connected to one of three unused bolts on the vehicle frame, accessible at the front right wheel well.

I will clean this connection off and/or try to use another ground location.

Thanks

[greenmeanie]

You should check the ground from the battery mount to the battery as suggested above but also check the ground from the engine to the chassis. From memory it is usually a strap from one of the starter mounting bolts to a bolt on the chassis. It is a good practice to install multiple grounds from the engine to chassis as this helps mitigate a lot of issues found with a single loose/corroded connection.

[Jeff Aronson]

As Greenmeanie implies, too, this ground should not be a serious problem. If everything was working before the new cables and battery, then this should be something simple.

Jeff

[ChrisB]

I cleaned off the ground connection with carb cleaner and a wire brush, which did the trick, and she started right up. The ground for the starter had 39 years of caked on grime, so I cleaned that as well.

Thanks for your help.

[Jeff Aronson]

If you have some diaelectric grease or even Vaseline, dab some around the bolts and connections for corrosion protection. Glad to hear it was something simple!

Jeff

[telwyn]

Glad I saw this post! As luck would have it I was monkeying around with my wiring (working on some Hella Black Magics) and the Rover would not longer start. Turned out I too had the same type of grounding issue. Thank you guys for pointing that out.