Red Dot light!!!

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SouthBay64

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Hello!

My 1964 Dart /6 has been idling rough with the ocasional red oil light coming in and off. Today a little red dot light came in and now the car won’t even stay in.

new Spark plugs, New cables, new battery, new distributor cap. Not sure what to check next.

What does the red dot light indicate? Can’t be anything good.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you!
 
Low or no oil pressure. It could simply be on because the engine is running poorly and not idling fast enough to generate enough oil pressure to put it out. There could also be "other factors" involved.
 
RustyRatRod said:
Low or no oil pressure. It could simply be on because the engine is running poorly and not idling fast enough to generate enough oil pressure to put it out. There could also be "other factors" involved.
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Thank you! Now I’m just wondering why it won’t stay one. Cranks and turns on but as soon as I let go of the gas it dies. Lights stay one.
 
SouthBay64 said:
Thank you! Now I’m just wondering why it won’t stay one. Cranks and turns on but as soon as I let go of the gas it dies. Lights stay one.
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It's very likely fuel related. Yours, like my Valiant is 56 years old. Unless you've removed and cleaned and or replaced the tank, it's probably got lots of rust and debris in it. That's the source. You can verify this by removing the fuel filter. Get a clean WHITE paper towel. Tap the fuel filter INLET in the towel. If you see all sorts of dark debris, there's your answer. Since it is a point type ignition, you could also be experiencing a points failure. You can tell that by attaching a dwell meter and taking a dwell reading. Could just need a tuneup. The good news is, that unlike a modern vehicle with lots of sensors, your car only has a few different systems. They are easy to diagnose.

Go here and download the 1966 Dodge Dart service manual. That's the closest one they have and will be "close enough" for what you need. It will have all of the correct tune up specs and such and tell you how to do whatever may be ailing your car.

MyMopar - Mopar Forums & Information - Service Manuals
 
RustyRatRod said:
It's very likely fuel related. Yours, like my Valiant is 56 years old. Unless you've removed and cleaned and or replaced the tank, it's probably got lots of rust and debris in it. That's the source. You can verify this by removing the fuel filter. Get a clean WHITE paper towel. Tap the fuel filter INLET in the towel. If you see all sorts of dark debris, there's your answer. Since it is a point type ignition, you could also be experiencing a points failure. You can tell that by attaching a dwell meter and taking a dwell reading. Could just need a tuneup. The good news is, that unlike a modern vehicle with lots of sensors, your car only has a few different systems. They are easy to diagnose.

Go here and download the 1966 Dodge Dart service manual. That's the closest one they have and will be "close enough" for what you need. It will have all of the correct tune up specs and such and tell you how to do whatever may be ailing your car.

MyMopar - Mopar Forums & Information - Service Manuals
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The gas tank was taken down and was cleaned out. It recently got a tune up. It was actually at the shop today. Drove off and when I got home that’s when it all went down hill.

I’ll take a look at that manual! Thank you
 
SouthBay64 said:
The gas tank was taken down and was cleaned out. It recently got a tune up. It was actually at the shop today. Drove off and when I got home that’s when it all went down hill.

I’ll take a look at that manual! Thank you
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Sounds like you need to do some simple diagnosis. You should own a dwell meter, timing light and a vacuum gauge. They are cheap but very useful tools. It does not take a lot of skill or know how to keep these old girls on the road. Get that manual and read through it. That will be your first biggest step.
 
RustyRatRod said:
Sounds like you need to do some simple diagnosis. You should own a dwell meter, timing light and a vacuum gauge. They are cheap but very useful tools. It does not take a lot of skill or know how to keep these old girls on the road. Get that manual and read through it. That will be your first biggest step.
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Yeah your right. Every time I need to figure something out on this thing those tools mentioned are always needed. I’m just going to invest in some.
 
SouthBay64 said:
Yeah your right. Every time I need to figure something out on this thing those tools mentioned are always needed. I’m just going to invest in some.
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RRR must be a mind reader , or his crystal ball is working again , I cant get past ''stay in , or ''stay one'' , what the hell does that mean !?!
 
Red dot right in the middle of the speedo? Maybe your high beam lite? Probably unrelated to the rough running.
 
if you saw a little red dot in the middle of the speedo, and the car died shortly after im afraid a sniper got you

kitten-saves-friend-sniper-red-dot-1373009406V.gif
 
mod5v said:
Red dot right in the middle of the speedo? Maybe your high beam lite? Probably unrelated to the rough running.
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If there is a severe short circuit wicking away enough current, idle rpm goes rough and lower, oil light comes on, engine stops. High beam indicator shouldn't come on unless headlights and high beam are on.
Our 93 Lebarron failed to start once. When I jumped it off it ran but I could step on the brake pedal and it would stumble. Yup, draw from brake lights alone was enough. I did manage to drive it home in a cold rain without headlights or wipers. The short was inside the battery. I've seen similar short inside the alternator too but... high beam indicator wasn't a player in either case. It is a clue to where the fault is in this case.. in my opinion.
 
Just because the fuel tank was cleaned doesn't mean that some of the scale left inside hasn't broken loose. I would drain the tank with an electric fuel pump with a filter between the tank & the pump. Once drained, cut the filter open & check the media for debris, then pull the tank down & look inside to see if there are any bits in it.
 
Wait a second, If your oil light is flickering on at idle how low is your engine idling? You said it is stalling. Screw the idle speed screw up some. Too much and it will jump and clunk when shifting from park into gear. Never overlook the obvious!
 
SouthBay64 said:
Yeah your right. Every time I need to figure something out on this thing those tools mentioned are always needed. I’m just going to invest in some.
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If needed I probably have a kit with all that.
 
mod5v said:
Red dot right in the middle of the speedo? Maybe your high beam lite? Probably unrelated to the rough running.
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Yes you were right. I am new to this car but yes it was the high beam. Also unrelated to the car stalling.
 
SouthBay64 said:
The gas tank was taken down and was cleaned out. It recently got a tune up. It was actually at the shop today. Drove off and when I got home that’s when it all went down hill.
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Take it back to the shop that screwed it up. My guess is that the timing slipped. That could be because the point-gap is fubared.
 
SouthBay64 said:
Yes you were right. I am new to this car but yes it was the high beam. Also unrelated to the car stalling.
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And unrelated to the oil pressure.......but that's a welcome mistake. lol
 
AJ/FormS said:
Take it back to the shop that screwed it up. My guess is that the timing slipped. That could be because the point-gap is fubared.
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I agree. Get that shop to lick their calf over and fix it. Now, my advice after THAT is to teach yourself to work on it. Read that manual, get familiar with the terminology and put it to use. If you get hung up, we're here to help. Doing this, you will assure yourself that the job will be done correctly and that you will save yourself some money. Lastly, you will learn something and that is priceless.
 
SouthBay64 said:
Hello!

My 1964 Dart /6 has been idling rough with the ocasional red oil light coming in and off. Today a little red dot light came in and now the car won’t even stay in.

new Spark plugs, New cables, new battery, new distributor cap. Not sure what to check next.

What does the red dot light indicate? Can’t be anything good.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you!
Click to expand...
If you have points check the point gap see if its opening and closing, a bad set point gap will make a car idle rough. also check the condenser. I had to buy points at Oriellys that worked, and condensers at autozone.
 
Our first slant 6 had a worn out distributor. Point gap was all over the place. Took a while to discover why how well it ran would change at random. Reman'd distributer was like driving her under the fountain of youth. Ran great until it poked the #5 rod through side of the block a few years later.
 
RustyRatRod said:
I agree. Get that shop to lick their calf over and fix it. Now, my advice after THAT is to teach yourself to work on it. Read that manual, get familiar with the terminology and put it to use. If you get hung up, we're here to help. Doing this, you will assure yourself that the job will be done correctly and that you will save yourself some money. Lastly, you will learn something and that is priceless.
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This is why I don't want to take it back. I want to learn how to work on my own car. I guess at the end of it all...Its my car. If it blows up well I have to start again. I will be buying the tools you suggested.
 
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