Chong, I can help you with that one if you bring the starter.

Sweet! thanks guys!

I will start off by checking the earth on the battery. I do whiggle the battery earth and she starts again like a mirracle so I bet it's that.

But I am onto what anton is saying, dodgey starter could be what the problem is as well.

Thanks guys! I think I have a few ideas now... will let you know eventually what the problem really is. (I hope! )

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Lillee - 1969 Morris Mini K

If it IS the starter, and you DO want to fit the `bling bling' oil cooler, I'd go get a factory remanufactured one off Karcraft. Around $123.
Spins my hi-comp 1310 motor like a top, with help from the Exide 550CCA Land Cruiser battery..

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

I was wondering when you were going to reply

Yeah well it aint be the battery itself, it's a brand new Bosch and it's charged properly, I know that much.

It's really got to be the earth. I have a funny feeling that it is cause I have seen the earth connection in the boot and it looks ultra dodgey...

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Lillee - 1969 Morris Mini K

Just undo the cable to the motor, undo the two bolts holding it in place and slide the motor out.


Put it on a bench and connect a 12v battery to it (negative to body positive to the solenoid connection terminal). It should spin very fast without stoping (dont run it for more than 5secs).

Now check the armature (the big metal gear at the flywheel end with the teeth on it) for any of its parts being broken or cracked it should move freely back towards the body of the motor and have a good springing action pushing it back on its groove. If its not springy or doesnt move freely or the big main spring right at the end of the shaft is brocken then the armature's stuffed, its not worth the effort to compress a spring and fit a new so get another motor.

Chong i had this same prob
sorry if im repeating someone, didnt read all of the posts

i have a battery disconnector (green handle on a brass screw... screw in, connection, screw out, disconnect)

whenever i screwed it in, i had your EXACT problem.
whenever bro screwed it in, i had NO problem

it turned out that i was piss weak, and just screwed it in so that it just stopped.

whenever bro screwed it in, he was a little hard handed, so would give it just a little more push wherever it stopped.

i think when you do it too lightly, the current causes opposing poles in the electromagnet that is set up between the two cables in the boot
and it pops out.

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Inconspicuously Conspicuous
Appreciation without Depreciation
forever chasing clearer skies...

No what happens is you get voltage drop (bad connection) and that makes the solenoid chatter.
I have one of those `green knob' battery switches. They are piss-weak, have hardly any contact area. I'd pull it out once a year, clean the contact faces with wet & dry paper, smear it with some vaseline when you put it together.
And do it up tight!

A better bet is an isolator switch... but don't lose the key!

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

oh ok
Mickmini bought his 850 off Jim, an 85 yr old machine engineer
put a little cable from the starter to the cabin, whenever it wouldnt start, tug on the cable so that it would turn it slightly...
Mecker can you explain it?

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Inconspicuously Conspicuous
Appreciation without Depreciation
forever chasing clearer skies...

I lost mine in the surf. It was hooked up to the little loopie thing on my boardies but some how it came off. Lucky I had tools in the car. Took me about 4 months to find a replacement 'key'. I got one of some block at a swap meet.

I had the exact same problem and I'm positive it wasn't the earth. I say this because I cracked the shits, did the gemini exchange and it worked fine with the gemini starter solenoid. Hence my opinion is that my starter solenoid was farked.

dewey

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dwightgunning.com

Well I went in with all guns blazing last night.

In the boot I undid the battery, cleaned all the terminals, undid all the contacts, steal wooled all the contacts, put it all back together. The ground contact was by far the worst as the screw hodling it down onto the boot floor was full of crud. I think this was were some of the problem was. after making everything bling bling back there it seems to be working quite well now. Did everything back up real tight.

I checked the braided ground connection to the lucas starter and it seems clean and tight.

Checked all connections to the solenoid and it seems all good there too.

Only time will tell now if it if a starter problem or the battery ground problem or indeed a solenoid problem. I am 99% sure now that I have seen the ground connection that that was the culprit.

Thanks all!

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Lillee - 1969 Morris Mini K

you put us through all that pain and problem diagnosis...for that...!!!!!



Glad you have it sorted mate!

hahaha

Hey If I come across a cheap starter motor and a solenoid then i will install it. But if it aint broke, don't fix it, right anton?

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Lillee - 1969 Morris Mini K

yea, so I am told.... lots of things get 'broken' on JAM...and therefore need replacing