New starter relay

I got a new starter relay today. The old one is on the right, the new one on the left. It cost $3.97 from Advance.
When I went to Advance, they wanted to sell me a $30+ model for the B, and if you look in the Moss or VB catalogs - they also have pretty high priced ones. But it turns out that a relay is a relay and a generic "Bosch" type will do.

It's installed and the engine fires up every time! (well so far).

Starter relay. The case of the missing wires...

Sometimes when I turn the key I can hear the starter solenoid engage, but I just get a click. So I decided to check the relay connections.

This is going to get detailed so grab a coffee..

According to page 78 of Rick Astley’s “MGB Electrical Systems” my late model B should have 4 wires attached to the starter relay.

Brown/White to 30
White/Red to 86
Black to 85
Brown to 87

Here’s what I have:
Brown to 30
Black to 85

White/Red and Brown/White wires connected to each other.

The first picture shows the terminals of the starter relay.

The second picture shows the white/red wires connected (with a headless nail) to the brown/white wires.

The car starts most times, but often it will require several attempts to get past the click.

When I connect the wires according to Rick Astley’s book I get nothing – no clicks, nothing.

My suspicion is that a PO decided that the relay was bad and decided to bypass it. Would the above connections bypass the relay or is there something else going on here? Is it even possible to bypass the relay?? I am guessing I probably should just get a new relay.

I submitted this question to the great folks at mgexeperience.net. I'll see what they say...

Ignition problems

Sometimes when I turn the key the starter doesn't turn. But I get a click from the solenoid. I did a bunch of diagnostics and checks.
1. Check all the battery cables and ground strips.
2. Check the connection to the solenoid.
3. Take the brown and white wire on the alternator and ground it then see if the ignition light comes on (this makes sure the ignition light works).
- The light is good but I think I could work on the alternator connections a little - I didn't really clean them that well and I should go back and do it properly.
4. Took it to advance auto parts and had them run a check on the system. Here is the result.














Fascinating stuff. Well it turns out that the starter isn't looking too good. So I took it off and had a look. This is what I found.
































So I think I will replace the starter and solenoid. I should be able to get the pair for under $150. The rubber seal is really messed up and the starter is the original lucas one, so it has seen some good service. I'll run by the auto part store and order one this week.