Electrical problems

[Mini Ecosse]

Hi,

Mate at work has a classic and has electrical troubles with it.
Checked the usual supects, plugs, points, battery & earth connections.

Can anyone recomend someone in the Glasgow area that would be able to help him out

Stephen

[ianking]

Not sure of anyone good in Glasgow but if its lack of electrical power tell him to check the positive lean that runs the length of the car underneath. The lead is very close to the exhaust and I have had one that melted through years ago and was arking out on the floorpans.

[Mini Ecosse]

Not sure of anyone good in Glasgow but if its lack of electrical power tell him to check the positive lean that runs the length of the car underneath. The lead is very close to the exhaust and I have had one that melted through years ago and was arking out on the floorpans.

Thanks will pass on info

Stephen

[DickWW]

Being of a certain age I have spent many hours (some happy - some definitely not) working on classics i.e. original Minis, and especially the Cooper S. From an electrical standpoint they were never 100% reliable and from memory the main culprits (assuming this is an early generation Mini) were cracked distributor caps (I always carried a spare), the coil and the rotor. There were also occassional problems with earthing routes.

Although I haven't played with one for some time I also remember on one of my Cooper S I installed an electronic ignition unit which was a lot more reliable. I would imagine these are probably still available.

As a matter of interest the last Cooper S I owned produced just about the same amount of BHP as the new Cooper... A fraction under 130bhp courtesy of a highly modified engine with twin Weber 40DCOEs..... !!! It used to frighten me sh*tless

[Mini Ecosse]

Being of a certain age I have spent many hours (some happy - some definitely not) working on classics i.e. original Minis, and especially the Cooper S. From an electrical standpoint they were never 100% reliable and from memory the main culprits (assuming this is an early generation Mini) were cracked distributor caps (I always carried a spare), the coil and the rotor. There were also occassional problems with earthing routes.

Although I haven't played with one for some time I also remember on one of my Cooper S I installed an electronic ignition unit which was a lot more reliable. I would imagine these are probably still available.

As a matter of interest the last Cooper S I owned produced just about the same amount of BHP as the new Cooper... A fraction under 130bhp courtesy of a highly modified engine with twin Weber 40DCOEs..... !!! It used to frighten me sh*tless

Thanks for info, will forward via email

Stephen