Repetitive application of my head to brickwork.

[Series1 Stu]

Regards

[rswaffie]

Yes, new engine earth strap is on its way and I’ll fit it, followed by a thorough check on all the earth connections for the electrical ancillaries. Then I’ll run through the short tests, outlined in an earlier post.

[Series1 Stu]

Have you converted to negative earth, Richard?

Regards

[rswaffie]

No, I’ve kept it positive. I did think about it but decided not to.

[BRM]

Not wishing to insult you by stating the obvious, Richard, but don't forget to move that brake pipe well clear of the air filter before you start using the car. At best it will create noise as it is. At worst the vibration could wear through the brake pipe in time.

[JerryL770]

Seems to me you might be looking for faults that aren't there.

I have no idea what goes on inside a 123 distributor but with a standard system, if the points are closed, as soon as you turn on the ignition you will get a current flowing from the battery through the coil and back to earth via the engine block. If the earth strap is missing and the only route it can find to earth is through a tiny touching contact with a brake pipe you will get smoke and heat !

Thinking whilst doing the washing up

Think about it!!

OP said the pipe was red hot, probably not literally, but sufficient to burn nearby paint. No mention of tiny contact point. Even so, the current drawn by the coil is limited by its resistance and if it were sufficient to heat the brake pipe to high temperature, what would it do to the wire feeding the coil/dizzy?

[Neil1624]

Hi all.

A story along similar lines..........

A few years ago I took my Series 1 car into a then local so called specialist Jaguar garage for the clutch to be renewed, obviously the engine and gearbox were removed in order to accomplish the task. The car was then used as time and circumstance allowed and stored over the winter months. Into the following year, one weekend my wife and I had returned from a trip to the local recycling center to find the garage and workshop full of smoke, I quickly disconnected the battery on the 'E' since it was the only possible source of ignition.
A period of time later I went to investigate the possible cause, I rolled the car out of the garage (I was partially in the car sitting on the drivers seat, legs outside) and went to apply the handbrake, nothing, it was as if the handbrake had been welded down. Panic ensued as I and the car were running down the drive which has a gentle slope to it, I managed to get a leg in to apply the foot brake but it was a close run thing. The cause of all of the problems was thus: When the garage replaced the engine & gearbox unit they did not connect the braided earth strap, whilst re-connecting the various cables the mechanic had over tightened the main battery to starter motor cable and cracked the insulating distance piece on the bracket to the rear of the starter motor, they had also installed the return pipe (C.24311) incorrectly under the inlet manifold, this metal pipe has a 'set' in it. Either this pipe and/or the battery connection to the starter motor had shorted out thus making the whole of the engine and transmission 'live' relative to the body which was obviously earthed. Every metal component which bridged the engine & transmission unit to the body melted. This included: The Goodridge braided rear brake line to the rear brakes, the handbrake cable, one element of the throttle linkage (solid steel rods) and I think from memory the rev counter cable (and probably other parts that I cannot recall)
I count myself as being extraordinary lucky that the car didn't catch fire and take our home with it in the process.

KR

Neil

[rswaffie]

Wow, that’s quite a nightmare scenario. The new earth strap arrived yesterday so once I’ve completed the trimming work (see my restoration thread) I’m going to fit it and do a complete wiring termination check before I reconnect the battery. There are a couple of wiring changes/additions that I’ve made since the engine fit so there is a likelihood that one of these had exacerbated the problem.

[cactusman]

Well worth putting an isolator on the negative battery lead. You can buy negative battery terminals with an isolator bolt. They can be bypassed with a 10 amp fuse so the radio and courtesy light works. Unattended any short will pop the fuse and save the car. Obviously any attempt to start the car also pops the fuse with the isolator bolt removed so a slight theft deterrent too. This type of thing...
https://www.simplysplitcharge.co.uk/sto ... uct_id=945