nearly stolen

[jsloan50]

I nearly had my roadster stolen this afternoon.
I cam across two hoods about to hotwire it.
My problem is that I can get the car started(with wires put back on to the switch but cannot turn of engine,also lights stay on in the speedo dial and rev dial.
Can anyone help?

[stevejgreen]

Re: nearly stolen

Sadly the older cars are more vulnerable to hot wiring. Perhaps a reminder to everyone to fit an immobiliser or some sort of proximity alarm.
Presumably you have a Marina based car.
Difficult to diagnose at a distance. Does the starter turn and the car fail to start?
It may be as simple as wires on the switch being the wrong way around.

[jsloan50]

Re: nearly stolen

Steve,the car does start but when you turn the key off it wont stop.

[b_caswell]

Re: nearly stolen

You have put the ignition feed wire on the wrong terminal on the back of the switch thats why the lights in the dial are staying on.

The live feed to the switch(Brown) goes to terminal number 1.
The ignition feed (White) goes to number 2

The starter solenoid feed (Red/White) goes onto number 3

The terminals are normally numbered, looking at the back of the switch in a clockwise direction but without taking it out of the dash they are difficult to see.

The colours are for a normal Lucas wiring.

[jsloan50]

Re: nearly stolen

I have tried all permutations of the wiring.
even when no wires are connected to switch the lights stay on.
I have got the red light out,I pushed what seamed to be a fuse at yhe back of the speedo and it went out but the other stays on.

[stevejgreen]

Re: nearly stolen

Wiring diagrams. Taken from BL manual.
If they are too small to read, let me have your email address and I can send larger.

[jsloan50]

Re: nearly stolen

Steve thank you.
My email addy is jsloan50athotmaildotcom

[b_caswell]

Re: nearly stolen

If the warning lights are staying on with all the wires removed from the ignition switch then they must have connected the ignition circuit to a live feed. Probably a jump wire to the coil. Another tweak on old fuse boxes was to push a fuse in between the other fuses thus cross connecting both circuits. Not sure what you pushed behind the speedo but I dont think it was a fuse more likely to be the bulb carrier for the light thats now gone out.

[KitCarGirl]

Re: nearly stolen

Someone tried to steal my Berli once. It was in a car park I parked in every day for work. The guy turned out the glove box looking for the car park ticket first. He failed to see my swipe card that was flush against the glove box wall so he broke the underside of the steering column cover and got the car ready to hot wire. Then he went to the guys in the kiosk and said he'd lost his ticket. When they asked which was his car he pointed to mine. The cad! The kiosk guys knew me very well and called me to ask if I'd sent someone to get my car. NO! I think I got to the car in record time but the guy had legged it having realised he'd been rumbled. He went off with the glove box key and I had to get a friend to sort the wires out so I could get home. Evil man.
I never got over the fact that he must have been really stupid to have tried to take such a distinctive looking car. But one of our members did have their Marlin stolen and it was never recovered. Bo hoo. Luckily mine just lost a life.