Some owners of Mk1 MGFs have experienced a few problems with wet weather starting. The problem is almost certainly multifactorial, but does seem to afflict the cars fitted with the VVC engine far more frequently than the others. There do seem to be some good reasons for this- and this is discussed in the relevant sections. This page was written to aid the diagnosis of the wet-starting problem and effect a cure quickly. I hope this helps!!!

To aid fault diagnosis, select your model of MGF:

Select the problem that most closely mirrors yours:

Engine fails to turn: just get a clicking sound.

The problem here is that the starter motor is not receiving enough power to crank the engine. The potential causes are therefore:

1. A flat battery
2. A corroded/damaged power cable to starter motor

If the first, the head-lamps will either fail to illuminate or illuminate rather dimly. Other clues may be found with respect to the slow or non-operation of other electrical components, such as the electric windows etc.

In the second case, all electrical equipment will operate normally, giving no indication of a flat battery. The problem here will often be intermittent: in the dry, the car will start; in the wet, the starter will not crank the engine. This problem has been found in at least one case to be due to corrosion of the main lead connector onto the starter. This problem can be simply cured by cleaning the contacts and crimping the connector to ensure a snug fit and good electrical connection.

Engine turns over, but refuses to fire.

Four potential causes of this problem on twin-coil VVC engines:

1. Premature deterioration of long-life spark plugs
2. Premature deterioration of high tension (HT) leads
3. Damp effecting the connection between the coils and the HT leads.
4. Damp effecting the connectors from the engine management system (MEMS)

• The plugs are a common source of wet-starting problems. Despite the fitting of long-life spark plugs, it has been found that their performance starts to significantly deteriorate after about 20 thousand miles. Therefore it is recommended that the spark plugs be replaced if wet starting problems are encountered, irrespective of the usual replacement interval.
• The HT leads also deteriorate with age and 4 to 5 years is old for HT leads. Internal resistance increases progressively with age, eventually rising above the accepted levels. VVC engines have much longer leads and this tends to offset their advantage of these engines' not having a distributor cap and rotor arm. The ignition leads were re-specified by MG-Rover in 1998, so cars built before the end of '98 may well have the older specification leads, and will, in any case, require replacement.
• The VVC has a twin coil ignition system. The problem here is that the coils are located just beneath the right hand boot-lid engine vent. In this location, they are vulnerable to water dripping in through the vent and onto the coils. Moreover, under different circumstances, the coils, being located relatively close to the ground are also vulnerable to dampness from below! Interestingly, later cars with MEMS 3 systems have their coils mounted above the plugs on top of the engine.
• In a similar vein on the dampness theme, some have found problems with damp ingress into the MEMS connectors- although this is by far and away the least common cause of damp start problems on the MGF VVC.

Spark plug torque and gap settings are:

• VVC up to 2001MY is 25 Nm and gap is 0.9 +-0.1 mm
• VVC from 2001MY is 27 Nm and gap is 1.00 +-0.05 mm

1. Lie under the car and unplug the HT leads from the 2 coils. With a torch look for evidence of corrosion due to water moisture. A clean up and spray with WD40 should fix the problem.
2. As temporary stop gap, if you are unable to gain access to the coils for cleaning, and the car cannot be covered overnight, cover over the boot lid engine vents to prevent water dripping down onto the coils.

And if all else fails…

… apply lots of vaseline (!) round the ECU connections to ensure that these connectors are damp free.

Select the problem that most closely mirrors yours:

Engine fails to turn: just get a clicking sound.

The problem here is that the starter motor is not receiving enough power to crank the engine. The potential causes are therefore:

1. A flat battery
2. A corroded/damaged power cable to starter motor

If the first, the head-lamps will either fail to illuminate or illuminate rather dimly. Other clues may be found with respect to the slow or non-operation of other electrical components, such as the electric windows etc.

In the second case, all electrical equipment will operate normally, giving no indication of a flat battery. The problem here will often be intermittent: in the dry, the car will start; in the wet, the starter will not crank the engine. This problem has been found in at least one case to be due to corrosion of the main lead connector onto the starter. This problem can be simply cured by cleaning the contacts and crimping the connector to ensure a snug fit and good electrical connection.

Engine turns over, but refuses to fire.

Four potential causes of this problem on single coil MPi engines:

1. Premature deterioration of long-life spark plugs
2. Premature deterioration of high tension (HT) leads
3. Premature deterioration of distributor cap or rotor arm.
4. Damp effecting the connectors from the engine management system (MEMS)

• The plugs are a common source of wet-starting problems. Despite the fitting of long-life spark plugs, it has been found that their performance starts to significantly deteriorate after about 20 thousand miles. Therefore it is recommended that the spark plugs be replaced if wet starting problems are encountered, irrespective of the usual replacement interval.
• The HT leads also deteriorate with age and 4 to 5 years is old for HT leads. Internal resistance increases progressively with age, eventually rising above the accepted levels.
• The MPi engines (1.6 and 1.8) retain a distributor cap and rotor-arm, which in other Rover cars have been the source of starting problems, the rotor arm in particular suffering an internal short to earth. Older designs of distributor caps suffered from regular propagation of cracks from the internal terminal posts, but recent caps (as fitted to the MGF) are far more resilient.
• Rarely, some have found problems with damp ingress into the MEMS connectors- although this is by far and away the least common cause of damp start problems on the MGF VVC.

Spark plug torque and gap settings are:

• MPI up to 2000MY is 25Nm and gap is 0.9 +-0.1mm
• MPI from 2000MY on is 27Nm and gap is 1.00 +-0.05mm

And if all else fails…

… apply lots of vaseline (!) round the ECU connections to ensure that these connectors are damp free.