i was runnin my car yesterday cause it kinda just sits in the driveway right now cause cant drive till sept and it was idling normal and then it just died. when i went to restart it the ground that runs off the side of the ground battery cable it bolts on to the fender well smoked the insulation off and it wouldnt start grounds supposed to be cold so why did get so hot, and is that why the car wont start or is cuase of somthing else.i dont knowwhat the smog pump exactly does but the belt rotted ond on mine and i just let it go and it seemed to run fine but is that maybe another source of problem. i 16 and this is my project car my parents arento into cars so im kinda on my own.

HUH? What language are we speaking?

First, welcome to the site Walt. You'll find it a great place to get info on your elky.
As far as your "no start" goes, I had a very similar problem on my '72. It turns out that when you replace that burned out ground strap, make sure it goes to a very good and clean (no paint, no oil, etc.) spot on the engine block. You might have to get a longer cable. Try that and see what happens.

On a side note, I'm the Region 2 director of NECOA. We cover all New England states. If you send me your email address, I'll add you to the "region 2 email list" and will keep you informed of shows and events.

You can email me at jlevitan@holycross.edu. Please indicate in your email your El Camino Central ID.

Good luck with your no start problem.

The "smog pump" or A.I.R. (air injection reaction) pump does nothing to performance other than the slight load (<1/4 hp) to turn the pump. What it does is add or pump air into the exhaust to aid in combustion. Sort of an after-burn effect.
Don't worry too much about it unless you have smog inspections where you are.

As for the No Start.... The ol' a72elky is usually right on the $, so I expect you have nothing more than a bad ground cable connection which caused the fry effect. Should a new cable and/or good connection not fix it, make sure the engine is free to turn and not frozen up.

Good Luck and let us know what happened.

SHARP71

Sharp 71 said:
As for the No Start.... The ol' a72elky....

Who you calling "old" brother???? :x

Just kidding with you. Yea, I guess I'm old. I still go by the saying of "old enough to know better, young enough to say "screw it" and do it anyway" 8)

P.S. See, still playing with to many of these damn little "smiley faces"!

well now i sure as hell feel stupid, yeah the wiring was mese up but the real reason it wouldnt start,no gas.i thought i had some in the tank but the gas lines are rotted and in the heat it started leakin again i really got get that fixed.

Like they said before, "replace the cables" and make sure you have a good metal-to-metal contact on the ground strap. That includes rust. There should be at least two ground straps, one from the fender or frame part to the battery, the other is usually behind the carb or injector set from the intake or block to the firewall. One other thing that can cause the problem of a fried ground strap is a starter that is starting to go bad. Had that happen on my '80 a few weeks ago. LOL! :D

well now i sure as hell feel stupid, yeah the wiring was mese up but the real reason it wouldnt start,no gas.i thought i had some in the tank but the gas lines are rotted and in the heat it started leakin again i really got get that fixed.


That is to funny. The only thing I would add, is yes, it was out of gas, but that ground still must have been bad to burn up like you said.

By the way, good for you to come back on the forum and post what the problem was. Not many people would do that... 8)

Way too funny! But I think we've all been there in one way or another.

My respect and aw for having the large size 'nads to own up to the brain fart. If evrything went the way it's suppose to, way in hell would we need boards like this? :-P

yeah i went through the grounds and found that the fender one was loose the threads becoming loose so i went through it with a slightly bigger tap an d it holds well