>Hi all. I'm hoping to get a little advice on how to deal with those wonderful
>lucas electricals.
A *little* advice? Here? Not. :-)
>I've got a '76 MGB that has been very reluctant to start recently.
>It all started about a week ago when we got quite a bit of rain. Unbeknownst
>to me, the bridge over which i usually travel home from work was washed out by
>the river. It was dark out and I drove my car into about four inches of
>water at roughly 40mph: needless to say, the electrical system didn't like
>this very much.
MGB's hate swimming. You must've scared it real good.
>I managed to work the car out of the water, but it wouldn't stay running for
>more than a few seconds under load. I think the tailpipe was under water, but
>I'm not sure. Once I got it out, things seemed to be working ok until I got
>home.
It came to its senses. . . . .
>Ever since then, I haven't been able to start the car on the first try. It
>used to start just fine before the water experience, but now I only get a
>click from under the hood somewhere when I try the ignition. The strange
>thing is, I can get it to turn over if I keep trying long enough. Sometimes
>it takes 30 clicks before it turns over, other times it only takes a few. My
>headlights dim when I engage the ignition. When the car finally turns over,
>it seems to be having more trouble getting started than it used to. Banging
>on the starter seemed to help once, it but doesn't work consistently.
Check the battery connections. Clean them with sandpaper or a
battery post tool (better). The batterys get all wet from water kicked
up by the tires and the connections die. It's been an annual tradition
on my car to clean those after it gets cantankerous.
>What's worse is that my battery has died twice on me since the starting
>trouble began. Normally, i have battery power (the lights and everything
>work ok) but the starter refuses to engage. On these two occasions, the car
>has been completely dead--no little red dashboard light, no headlights,
>nothing.
Yup. Classic symptoms.
On a note of prevention -- has anyone tried those plastic tubs
for the batteries? Do they keep water off the terminals, or do they
just provide a built-in swimming pool for the battery(s)?
Dave "just shoot me now" Ambrose
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