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MG TD TF 1500 - Starter switch,cable

I have fitted a new, braided wire starter cable assembly (complete with knob ) and a new switch unit to my TF. The pull effort on the cable to activate the switch is VERY high: sometimes needs both hands and a snapping motion! The cable run is a long curve, doesn't seem too problematic (car is lh drive). Both components from Moss.
Anyone have this experience or suggestions? I have tried shimming the switch to reduce travel but didn't help.
T W Moore

I'm assuming you lubed the cable, if not, it will drag inside the housing. My new switch takes more effort to activate than the original one. PJ
Paul S Jennings

X2 on the lube of the inner cable.
I used lithium white grease and fed it is slowly while adding a smear of grease to the cable.
Leave it long and just make sure there are no sharp curves under the dash. If you cut it short and fit it so it is more of a straighter run - you cannot remove the dash later (if needed) without having to disconnect the inner cable and it will be a devil of a job to get it all back in again. Clamp screw will knarl up the inner cable end. PITA.
Same goes for the choke cable. You can loose the excess under the dash easily without causing any problems.

Rod.
R. D. Jones

Shorten it so it is as straight as possible. If you are worried about splaying the ends of the strands, just put a tiny bit of solder on the very end when your length is right. Then no problem to remove/reinstall later. If really long it will always be stiff. George
George Butz

George,
That is exactly what I did and a month ago I needed to remove my dash board to finally move the position of my indicator switch.
I have the ends of the Bowden cables tinned with solder but it was still a trial to get the ends back into the holes through the bulkhead and into the securing points. Had to take down most the under-dash panel as well.
With longer (say a 18 inches) inner and outer cables I could have left them in place and saved myself an hour of struggle.
The longer cables with lube, do not increase the tension on the pull so that you would notice.
But they will save you a mess of aggravation.

At 71 I find it ever more difficult to get down the leg tunnel to play with this stuff. Anything that saves the work is a plus for me.
I say leave em' long. You wont regret it.

Rod.
R. D. Jones

Its a more radical solution but you can fit a high torque starter motor from British Starters that has a built in starter solenoid. Connect a wire from the ignition switch to the starter solenoid and you don't need the pull starter. Just leave it in place but out of circuit.
Dave H
Dave Hill

Suspicion about the pull force on the new Moss switch vs the old one has finally driven me to test them. Pull force on the old one is 8-9 lbs, the new one is 10-10.5 lbs. This measured at the point at which resistance between terminals dropped to zero.
The results sound fairly close but the new switch is noticeably stiffer to activate. I plan to grease up the braided cable and install the old switch.
T W Moore

Rod, makes sense. George
George Butz

Have you fitted a rubber grommet in the hole where the cable passes through the fire wall? I did, thinking I was doing a proper job, and my cable wouldn't return unless I pushed the knob in. I was so annoyed with it I bought a "pull for on" spring loaded switch which looks exactly like the original and was going to fit a solenoid until I was advised via this forum to check the angle of the cable at the fire wall. The grommet was putting a kink in it and after ditching the grommet all is fine. I'm still toying with fitting a solenoid though.


Jan T
J Targosz

I had difficulty adjusting the position of the starter switch mounting bracket so the cable gave a straight pull on the switch. The cable was free enough but any radial loading on the switch caused it to stick. I replaced the straight (and rather crude) connector with a universal coupling. A small ferrule soldered on the end of the cable made it easier to connect into the coupling. The only downside is having to unsolder and remove the ferrule if I need to remove the cable.
The resulting starter pull action is good.

Dave Williams (TD10254)

Reactivated thread.

Still searching the archive for details on pulling the starter switch apart though I don't expect that this can be done. Not so that it could be put back together again at any rate.

Surprised to learn that the TF had a braided starter cable. The TD starter cable, on my car at any rate, is a solid cable which makes much more sense to me. Though I do have a braided cable on the choke. Also my bracket differs from the one Dave has pictured above. When next at the car I'll take a pic & post it here. I can see that with Dave's setup alignment would be pretty critical. I've fitted a grommet but don't expect any problems as the outer cable protrudes beyond the grommet. I'm hoping to close all the penetrations with appropriate sized grommets & some black windscreen poly so that fumes in the cabin are minimised. I guessing that this is next to impossible though? Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

Picture of the sprung, pull to on switch and solenoid I was going to fit to the TF. The switch would have fitted directly in the dash and the correct S knob would slip straight onto the shaft. I had removed the original bracket from the starter and was going to replace it with a custom one that would use the old switch's mounting holes. The original set up has now freed itself up so if it ain't broke don't fix it.

Jan T

J Targosz

This thread was discussed between 28/06/2015 and 25/03/2017

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