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MG MGA - Starter Switch Bracket

I changed my worn out starter switch a month or so ago. It's been brilliant ever since until yesterday when I pulled the starter knob and absolutely nothing happened. Investigation showed that the cable/pull rod connector was stopping against the bracket before the switch made contact. No adjustment was possible in the connector so it Looks like a washer is needed to push the switch slightly further forward or a hefty belt with a hammer to open the bracket a smidge. Anyone else ever come across this one?

Steve
Steve Gyles

Not exactly an original car is it Steve

Push the boat out mate and fit an electrical solenoid!

he he
Robert (Bob) Midget Turbo

Me thinks Mr Welch (Robert) has been waiting for this moment.

John Bray

Steve,

Can you not adjust the switch? it should move away from the cable by un-threading. i.e. disconnect the wires from the switch, slacken the locknut and unscrew the switch through the bracket a couple of turns or whatever is needed.
Neil McGurk

Steve, is the cable connector pushed far enough down the switch shaft? If the cable is too long and goes too far into the connector, it will limit how far the connector can slide down the shaft. Alternatively, your switch shaft may be too long, shorten it.

Lindsay Sampford

Steve, does your switch and its connector to the cable look like those on Lyndsays picture? (my car has a solenoid and push button like Bobs).
If it does then you could shorten the connector at the end furthest away from the switch which would allow it to move more.

Again, looking at the photo it appears you could fit a washer or two on the switch's threaded spindle which would move it further away from the bracket and give the connector the clearance it needs.

I think this would be the easier option and you may even be able to do this without disconnecting the cables so long as you disconnect the battery.

A difficult area to work on this, just like the carbs. Sometimes I think the only comfortable way to get to these areas would be by hanging upside down from a trapese!

I have to admit to jacking the car up a foot or so if Im going to be working on it for any length of time, It certainly helps the back muscles!

Colyn
Colyn Firth

The connector is as far down the shaft as it will go. The cable will therefore only go in a certain amount. As I said in my opener I have 2 choices, either move the switch further forward by using a spacer washer or belting the bracket further open with a hammer!

But that was not the question I was raising. I am happy with the resolution. I was just interested to know if others had encountered something similar. If the connector is preventing a good firm contact within the switch it would result in accelerated carbon build up on the switch contact area and cause premature switch failure - which many owners admit to suffering.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Just to confirm what I was saying; the switch was dead when I tried to start the other day. I then switched the second battery on and the extra power (double the amps) allowed sufficient arcing to give me a start. I run 2 x 12 volt batteries in parallel; each can be independently isolated.

Steve
Steve Gyles

The replacement switch I am using is an old stock item from Barry Gammon out in Oz. Surprisingly, the shaft is 3/16" longer than my expired 1950s item.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Double the amps steve?

Which formula are you using to come to that conclusion?

Colyn

My car does not have an electrical solenoid, as my car is original LOL
It has a pukka 1600 engine and a standard gearbox and is iris blue. Not like all these modified beasts!

You should all be ashamed of yourselves LOL
Bob Turbo Midget England

Bob

Yes. See here: http://www.gizmology.net/batteries.htm

The section that says:

Multiple Batteries

Very often, one battery won't do the trick - or more likely, you don't have the one that will do the trick, so you're stuck with multiple small batteries.

Hooking batteries in parallel will give you the same voltage as a single battery, but with a Ah and current carrying capacity equal to the sum of the capacities of all the batteries. For example, three 12v 20 Ah batteries in parallel will give you 12v 60 Ah. If each battery could put out 200 amps max, three in parallel could put out 600 amps max.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Has the potential is the phrase you have omitted Steve mate. The current in a loop is a result of the voltage and the resistance. The benefit of 2 batteries in parallel is that when a load is applied the battery voltage will fall less than with a single unit, thus the current will increase in relation to less voltage drop.Possibly with 2 decent units maybe an increase of 20%

Only pulling your leg abit Steve.
Bob Turbo Midget England

Well Steve, with all those amp-hours available to you with two 12 volt batteries, if your starter motor ever seizes up, your car will just flip over!

Sorry Bob, didnt mean to insult you by assuming you had a (God-forbid) push button starter switch and solenoid fitted to your car.
I must admit, the guilt caused by my cars "temporary improvements" does get to me sometimes for a second or two, but then when I drive the car, the "evil grin" returns!

If it makes you feel better, one of my cars "improvements" is the fitting of a pair of screw on Midget wiper arms.
This has stopped me carrying a few pairs of spare original type arms in the door pockets for when they fall off. I have lost a couple of arms so far!
Colyn
Colyn Firth

I had the same problem you are encountering. When I pulled the starter knob out it would not make electrical contact. I used washers to move the entire starter switch assembly forward. This worked for me. Still requires two hands to pull the knob though - can't figure that one out but it's no big deal.
Good luck.
Lmazoway

Thanks Colyn,

The image of the flipping car will make me smile the rest of the day. lol
Richard Taylor TD3983

Lmazoway

You may have rotated the inner cable too much. The outer cable at the dashboard end has an internal male notch in it. The inner wire shaft at the dashboard end has a female groove in it that that accepts the notch. You may have forced it outside of the groove so that it is very stiff to slide.

See my schematic.

That all said, I have today received a replacement inner and outer cable. The outer cable does not have the notch so the inner cable is free to rotate.

Steve

Steve Gyles

Well Steve, I find that my two 6 volt 57aH batteries always "do the trick"! But at least you've got a proper starter switch, not like that Colyn with his push button!
Lindsay Sampford

Lindsay

When I gave up golf because of my back injuries and operations I had my golf trolley battery lying useless on the garage floor. I thought it would have a better life being treated to being driven around in my car and it's been there ever since as an insurance policy. It comes in useful on the odd occasion like the other day but has never been needed yet as a lifesaver.

By the way, I presume most people know the trick of hotwiring an MGA if you have mislaid your key, bypassing the ignition switch. Just place a fuse between the 2 fuse holders. They are placed just the right distance apart for the fuse to make the relevant contacts.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Shhh Steve, don't tell everyone!
Best thing that could happen to a golf trolley battery. As a friend of mine once said, "golf is a good walk ruined"!
Lindsay Sampford

Good grief Lindsay - were you friends with Mark Twain?
Cam Cunningham

This thread was discussed between 16/09/2010 and 18/09/2010

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