Ignition question (not my car - big Healey)

Did you offer a sacrifice to Prince of Darkness. Usually bangers and mash will suffice.  Wonder if the ignition switch is bad?  Find a wiring diagram for it and check the see if voltage actually is switch as the key turns.  I've never heard of a battery charger frying pre-electronic stuff.  

Good point, we didn't check the switch itself.  If it were my car I'd probably just replace all suspect parts just to be safe.  Fingers crossed, we haven't let any of the smoke out yet.

By the way, the "thingie" tat I couldn't remember is the starter solenoid.  Sheesh!  Gotta be that or the switch.

You might want to ask on this forum.  There are a lot of guys with a lot of knowledge on the site.  They have helped me a lot in the past.  Good luck!

http://www.britishcarforum.com...php?14-Austin-Healey

If the coil is continually getting hot when the key is switched on then check the components that supply it power. I think power comes to the coil from the ignition switch; it could have failed and now there is constant power and it's getting hot.   

Yeah, Al's right- there should be no current flowing to the coil when the ignition switch is off.  I suspect his ignition switch is shorted (more common on those than you might think) but he's also got a set of either closed points because the points have fused shut through pitting, or they happen to be on a flat of the disti cam and are supposed to be closed at that point.  Either way, the coil being energized all the time, whether the igintion is on or off, isn't right, so fix THAT first and proceed from there.  

There are two fuses for the entire car, tucked up on the cowl under the hood, but they aren't the problem.  The problem is the ignition switch.

Unless someone has inadvertantely messed around with the ignition (key) switch, the starter solenoid (your "thingie") has nothing to do with this problem.

As Gordon states, Two fuses are all thats used for the entire vehicle.....  Bridging the fuse block (with a quarter or 100NF coin) would allow one to start the car by simply engaging the under bonnet solenoid/switch....   My point is to check that nothing has bridged the fusing circuit causing your problem.....   And I don't want to think of the Morris Minor / Sprite ignition switches I've seen take a hike.....   

Healeys are positive ground.  Are your battery cables on the opposite (wrong) terminals?

Nope.  Battery installed just as previous one was.  Positive terminal connected directly to chassis ground.

The polarity of the battery would have zero effect on whether the coil gets hot because it's energized all the time.  Tell Mike to disconnect the wires from the ignition switch (IIRC there are only two) and see if there is still current flowing at the coil after that.  If there is, then you have a power short somewhere so you'll have to follow the wire loom back from the switch to the coil.   The good news there is that it's only about three feet of loom to check.

also, pull the disti cap and turn the engine over until the igintion points are pushed open by the disti cam lobe.  If the coil STILL has current flowing with the points open AND the points are not pitted to have a dead short all the time, you probably have a more serious wiring problem to look for.

My money is on a key switch issue....

Lane,

"I suggested condenser or ignition solenoid thingie"

I used to do a lot of work on Brit cars. Glad you checked the condenser, I've seen many cars that wouldn't start because of failed condensers, always carry two, sometimes they turn bad with shelf time.

 Yelp been there done that.. It's a bad  key switch (has to be)

I'm glad he did not get it running or you could have had a chewed ring gear and pinion .. I have seen  the starter act like a generator and burn up a car harness..  

I'd lose the points and condenser and go protronix

This is an old car with a separate starter switch (push button), so the starter isn't at risk.  He has a spare set of points and condenser, so we'll swap those out just for thoroughness, but the consensus is obviously on the key switch.

He also has a new Pertronix system in a box, but I don't want to mess with that until we have a running car.

And the plot thickens...

We tried hooking up another ignition switch today after we noticed that the fuel pump ran whenever we connected the battery.  That seemed to point to the switch, but the same thing happened with the new switch.  Mike tells me that he had unplugged and then reconnected a wire at the battery master switch, which is located very near both the battery and the fuel pump, so that's where will will focus our attention next.

Sounds like Mike may have plugged it into the wrong side of the master switch....   If it happened to be around the double fuse block, it may be on the wrong circuit....  One fuse was for the "keyed" circuits and the other took up the "unkeyed" circuits, if I remember correctly....

The master switch is at the rear of the car close to the fuel pump and battery.  Given how dark it is back there, and that he was poking around without a light, we are both thinking that's the problem.