Kotny

Hi everyone, great to find a web site just related to oldsmobile, I'm havin trouble with my 69 cutlass I'm turning the key and all of a sudden nothin, replaced the plugs and battery yet nothing, any ideas? Thanks

jaunty75

"Nothin" is a rather vague description of your problem. Can you be more specific? When you turn the key, does anything happen? Any clicking noises? Does the starter turn but the engine not catch?

If the starter doesn't turn, then replacing the plugs wasn't exactly the first thing to try. You may have a bad starter, or the wiring to the starter could be bad.

If the starter does turn but the car doesn't start, another dozen possibilities come to mind. In addition to bad plugs, you could have bad plug wires, problems in the distributor/rotor/points/condenser, problems with fuel delivery to the carb which could be a bad fuel pump, a clogged fuel filter, etc. You need to be more systematic in your approach to the problem and start ruling out possible causes one by one.

If you want more help from here, you are likely to be more successful if you are more thorough in your description of the problem.

501Paratrooper

Welcome to CO, any pictures of your 69?

1970cs

Let's get back to mechanics terms.
No crank (engine dose not turn over)
Cranks but will not start (engine turns over, but does not fire)

Pat

Kotny

Hi, the car cranks but will not start, can smell fuel, was working fine in America and Southampton when it got to uk but as soon as it got home it wouldn't start up and had to roll it of the trailer.

Kotny

Not at the minute mate, still trying to get my head around this email stuff but will do

joe_padavano

The next things to check are fuel and spark. Remove the air cleaner and operate the throttle while looking in the carb (hold the choke plate open if necessary). Do you see fuel squirting out of the accelerator pump nozzles into the primary bores? If so, fuel system is adequate. Also, when the engine is cold, is the choke plate closed?

Assuming fuel and choke work, remove the wire from one plug. Use an ignition tester or an old spark plug in this wire (with the other side of the plug/tester grounded) and verify that there is spark. If not, troubleshoot the ignition system. If yes, then verify timing is correct. Use a timing light to monitor the timing mark on the balancer while cranking the engine. Should be somewhere around 5-10 deg advanced or so. If not, timing chain has slipped.