What Might Cause The Electrics To Cut Out??

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Driving to work on Monday I was going round a roundabout when the electrics completely cut out for a couple of seconds. The symptoms were a loss of electrical power and misfiring accompanied by sharp deceleration. Luckily the duration was only about 2 seconds then all was back to normal. I'm pretty sure that this was what happened as I lost all of the presets on my cheap radio.

Anyway, got to work and parked car. Came out 9 hours later and turned key. Assorted clicks and then nothing. I called the AA and waited about 5 minutes for an answer, and while describing my predicament I tried the key once more and hey presto the engine roared into life so I hung up quickly and sprinted home. I'd be delighted if anybody could suggest where to start a diagnosis. Rover 2000TC Series 1 1970 battery in engine bay. Thks.
 
It sounds like the main earth from the battery to the front panel, and / or the terminals on the battery posts. Remove them, clean them up, and connect again using some dielectric grease to avoid corrosion in the future.

It's very simple.
 
I would have thought it would still run if the battery earth was faulty, most cars will run with the battery disconnected. For a complete electric failure I would be looking at the ignition switch.
 
I think that the loss of presset stations on the radio indicates that the battery was disconected completely.
 
Does it have a dynamo ? Must be something loose on the battery ,ignition switch , dynamo or regulator .Have a good wiggle of all visible connections
 
check where the positive cable terminates, this is below the drivers feet so easy to get to.

There are various things that can go wrong like dampness, loose retaining bolt I have seen the copper strands turn to powder so no giving a proper connection. Particularly in automatic cars when you kick down, the pedal pushes against the carpet and causes a disconnection.

Worth a look.

Colin
 
arthuy said:
check where the positive cable terminates, this is below the drivers feet so easy to get to.Colin
Click to expand...

This being a series one, the battery is under the bonnet so it won't have the connector through the drivers footwell.
 
Thanks to everyone for the advice. I have cleaned up the battery connections and the earth and so far have had not had a repeat of the problem. Will keep an eye on the ignition switch as it is a bit "spongy" and does not click to each position like it should - will try this next if necessary.
 
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