Triumph Repair: Replacment Ignition Switch Spitfire, starter solenoid, brown wires

Question
Hi Jim

Great things you are doing here.  I recently had a short and an electrical fire in my 74 Spitfire.  I have gone through the entire harness (removed traced retaped and replaced).  When I go to the ignition it had a burnt up wires (the brown and the white I think) going to it as well as one of the main thicker brown wires.  

One of the brown wires between the ignition and the starter solenoid was the biggest offender in the fire.   I replaced the solenoid witha new one (for mustang).

When I go to start the car - it wont start.  When I turn the ignition it does not work dependably - and when it does call the starter to work - I think that it is not sending power to the coil as when I roll back the ignition switch out of the starter position it does nothing - it dies immediately.  So I can on occasion get the starter to engage - but the motor will never turn over.

Looking at the lucas ignition part - yikes  pretty expensive.  I had a past spitfire where the PO had just wired a generic switch through the dash.  That works for me.  What would the wiring be, and what sort of an ignition might I ask the parts coutner guy for?

Part two ...  when re-wiring the car - I found a plce for everything except for some little black box with like 5 male connectors.  I guess it is a relay - but I dont really see on the schematic where it would go.  Would this have anything to do with the smiths module that is missing?
I can not make sense of it.

Thanks

Murray  

Answer
Murray,

I'm not sure what to call the ignition switch other than a "replacement ignition switch"... most of them are basically a 3 position (off, on, starter).  

For the '74 Spitfire you need to wire it so that the power to the coil, the anti-run on valve, the radio and the gauges are on the "on" post.  The lead to the starter solenoid needs to be on the "starter" post.

Or you can wire a separate single pole single throw switch for the ignition functions and a momentary switch in series for the starter control, like a race car.

I think the black box with "like 5 male connectors" may be the ignition warning buzzer...  but any of the markings on the black box would help to better identify it positively.


Cheers,

Jim