electrical and ignition Car not starting O light not coming on

[oldskoul]

The "O" light comes on sometimes with the "L" light which lets me start the car but it dies soon after. 

 

Then the "O" light does not come back for a while. 

 

i suspected the negative terminal cable so i changed to a generic (while i wait for the BMW brand one to arrive) which only had one ground to the block.  the other little wire would not reach the other grounding spot.  

 

See video of when the O light did come on.

 

Video:  https://goo.gl/photos/FwqEeT5jWXtozsTF7

 

Suggestions?

 

[ray_]

O is for oil pressure. L is for Lectric.

 

Splice a ground from that neg lead to the body.

 

Check fuel and spark.

 

Drive.

 

Cheers,

Edited June 11, 2016 by ray_

[oldskoul]

I did above,   spliced second ground to the body.  There is half a tank of gas.

 

When the car sits for hours the o and L light will come on and it will start, stay on for about 5 seconds then turn off.  

 

The O light then stays off.  Car cranks but will not start. 

 

 

[jrhone]

Car needs 3 things to run. Air, fuel and spark. Let's assume the first 2 are happening for a second and focus on spark. Sounds to me like something may be shorting out your coil?  Check the coil wires are they all connected well?  No breaks in the wires near the body that may be shorting on the body of the car?  Is the coil hot to the touch after trying to start it?  Check points or electronic ignition module. Check cap and rotor. Report back. 

[avoirdupois]

 

14 hours ago, oldskoul said:

The "O" light comes on sometimes with the "L" light which lets me start the car but it dies soon after. 

 

Then the "O" light does not come back for a while. 

 

i suspected the negative terminal cable so i changed to a generic (while i wait for the BMW brand one to arrive) which only had one ground to the block.  the other little wire would not reach the other grounding spot.  

 

Suggestions?

 

 

It would be helpful if you described what work, if any, was performed prior to this problem.  Because I think I see a mechanical fuel pump and you describe having fuel in the tank, I will assume you are not suffering from a fuel delivery issue.  Of course, if you have an idle (anti-dieseling) solenoid as part of the carburetor, you still might have an electrical-ignition related problem IF the solenoid is deactivated by a short,  Again - your description does not reference any of this.

 

Strangely, your symptoms seem to mimic a very worn ignition switch, where jiggling the keys or the back of the switch (contacts) gets things rolling.  To repeat, you neglected to mention anything about your electrical/ignition system other than grounds.  Are you still using ignition points?  Condition?  Set properly?  Is the condenser correctly grounded and attached to the points and distributor?  Coil and wiring condition?  Ceramic ballast resistor condition?    

Edited June 11, 2016 by avoirdupois

[jrhone]

2 hours ago, avoirdupois said:

 

 

 

It would be helpful if you described what work, if any, was performed prior to this problem.  Because I think I see a mechanical fuel pump and you describe having fuel in the tank, I will assume you are not suffering from a fuel delivery issue.  Of course, if you have an idle (anti-dieseling) solenoid as part of the carburetor, you still might have an electrical-ignition related problem IF the solenoid is deactivated by a short,  Again - your description does not reference any of this.

 

Strangely, your symptoms seem to mimic a very worn ignition switch, where jiggling the keys or the back of the switch (contacts) gets things rolling.  To repeat, you neglected to mention anything about your electrical/ignition system other than grounds.  Are you still using ignition points?  Condition?  Set properly?  Is the condenser correctly grounded and attached to the points and distributor?  Coil and wiring condition?  Ceramic ballast resistor condition?    

+1. Also try starting fluid in the carb? Will it start?   Has the timing been changed at all??  How about distributor work?  My car behaved similarly when the timing was waaaay off. So u see the culprit can be lots of things. Need to eliminate things to narrow it down. 

Edited June 11, 2016 by jrhone

[oldskoul]

Ok thanks all i will check it out.