Just another run out in Ruby.....

[Bob Kneale]

Hi Denis

Sorry to hear of your woes.  Not much use to you right now, but from your description it sounds like you may have a poor earth connection from the body to the engine block/battery return.  When an earth lets go you can get all sorts of odd interactions between different components as the current "tries" to find an alternative path.

Enjoy your trip.

I fully agree with John - it is very symptomatic of poor earthing. The time honoured practice of using the chassis/bodywork as a conductor is deeply flawed, and when the time comes to investigate it I would start there. John is an electrical guru and I respect his diagnosis.
Have a good trip, and I will be in contact.
Cheers
Bob

[John Mason]

I also agree with John. If a number of electrical items all go bad or act strange at the same time it usually mean a bad or poor earth. As our sevens were designed with earth return through the chassis and metal body. Apart from the earthing strap between body and chassis also check the earthing battery lead.

John Mason.

[Malcolm Parker]

If the engine is rubber mounted earthing can be a problem.  A pal once noticed that the choke cable on his Austin 7 was hot and it turned out that it was acting as the main earth.
Sorry to hear that your trip is not as originally planned but it's better than the car letting you down when you are between Cape Wrath and  John O Groats!

[Howard Wright]

Hard luck Denis, maybe you can have another go sometime?

Howard