[Mgs] MGA Lights and Ignition Weird Problems

[Robert J. Guinness]

Here is a strange one. I have a MGA 1600. On two occasions I had a 
complete loss of power that I attributed to a faulty generator and a 
dead battery.  Once the battery was charged it would start right up.  
Then, when I got it home, the rear (and only the rear) running/brake 
lights stayed on.  If I disconnect the neg. battery terminal the light 
goes out and stays out when the terminal is reattached (this is a 
positive ground car).  Then when I tried to start it, it would turn over 
strong, the fuel pump clicks happily, but it would not start.  I was 
getting gas to the carbs, but no spark.  I looked in the dizzy and 
nothing seemed amiss, but I installed a new rotor I had on hand.  I 
pulled the plugs and they looked fine, but I cleaned them a bit anyway.  
Still no ignition.  The next day I pulled a plug wire and attached my 
spark indicator and turned over the engine to see if I had spark, and lo 
and behold it started right up!  I took it for a ride and it was running 
great.  It started back up at each stop.  However, when I got back home 
the rear lights stayed on again.  I should add that I had a loss of 
power under load on the trip back home when the problem first appeared 
and my idle RPM were high @1200 to 1500.  Where do I start to debug this 
one?  Shake the chicken bones?  Thanks

Robert Guinness
1961 MGA 1600