Perf.Kustimz

I would like to quote this. i have the push button switch, i got the original ignition switch... the battery has died in my 91 RS and im still puzzled by the occurrence when i go to jump the thing to start... the batteries been through 60-F and i believe that's what killed this battery. Any more suggestions would be great

Perf.Kustimz

If your looking for timing troubles, my 350 does the same, back fires when its at partial throttle. i believe it to be us on the pedal man. it back fires. so i think this thread is all about timing issues. not just the V6s. the tbi V8s too

Rakim_RS25TH

Re: HELP! My camaro won't start!
im having the same problems in my automatic 92 rs 25th anniversary . it has a 350 . the battery guage doesnt work but one day it started up but turned off two seconds later & would crank but not turn on. Then i turn the key no dash light heat or radio no power to widows tried to start it but it wouldnt crank anymore i tried jumpstarting it & it wouldn't crank but not turn on. Until i removed the cable trying to get opinion.....thanks ahead of time

blp3582

I have a 89 rs with a 75, 357 in it with 670 holley, and a 200 shot and I can turn the key and get the acc power on but I get nothing cranking at all no relay clicks or the starter solenoid turning on. new battery new starter tested both work good. Any ideas I'm hoping it the key ?

Kamerokid

Forgot to update all of you... Turns out it was a bad wire going into the VATS (think that stands for Vehicle AntiTheft System). Lucky me. Easy to get to. Just pop off the easy to remove dash and there it is! Took my mechanic 30 minutes to fix and only cost me around $60.00. *whew!!*

Turbulence

I have a Z28 5.0L Tpi and after putting a new Crankshaft in her and rebuilding the engine we put it back into the car and my son was helping too. So we are all ready to go, she turns over but won't fire up, hmm ok lets start checking everything, surfing the net and buying loads of parts that it could be, ICM , Distributor, Connectors, Rotor Arm, Dizzy Cap, etc etc plus Shipping from the US. 3 months later (Yesterday infact) and oh look what my son did He only Plugged the ICM 2 pin connector wire from the Coil to the sensor under the Inlet and plugged the 2 Pin Sensor wire onto the ICM that should go to the sensor under the inlet HAHA ! She Fires up now Easy mistake and we all learned something that day. I never even realized they are actually the same connectors and both fit eachother and are so close together lol Maybe it could help someone in the Future searching this baffling problem of No Spark.

Biggd4355

my Camaro was starting a bit sluggish, but it did start and ran good. Then here in my driveway, I turned it off. Came back and now there is not even a clicking sound. All dash lights are correct. Battery and starter are good, had them tested.

hilltop530

Check the grounds from the battery to the chassis and, engine. I had a similar issue and, the grounds were filthy and, one was loose. In my 87 5.7 the grounds run down to the chassis on the passenger side in between the headers and coolant reservoir. The Engine ground runs down to the front of the block on the passenger side. There are also grounds on the back of each head and, on the firewall as well.

Biggd4355

where does the purple wire that goes to the starter come from

hilltop530

That comes from the ignition switch I believe. It is a positive and, does indeed control the engagement of the starter. If that one is broken you'll have to hunt it down and, sort it. If you have help and suspect that wire. Have your help hold the ignition in the cranking position and, use a test light to see if it powers. It would be best disconnected from the starter. Careful not to jump the starter. Did you take a look at your grounds?

Biggd4355

didn't find a problem with the grounds. Tomorrow I will isolate the big power leads to the starter since I have it out and hook a wire to the purple wire, then feed that wire under the car ind inside where I will hook a test light to it. When I turn the key to start, it should light up.

hilltop530

If it is working then not working it's a connection issue. If it will not start at all anymore I would look for a fuse or possibly the ignition switch itself. Pain in the neck if it is the switch of course. what car is it?

Biggd4355

1989 Camaro. It was starting, but didn't sound right, slower. I knew something was wrong, but not what. the ignition switch went out in 97. They charged me 250,00 back then. But it quit all at once back then.

stegal

I have a 1990 with 305 and auto trans.
Won't start. Has fuel but no spark. Cap and rotor look good. Could it be the ignition coil?
Vats seem OK. Ran fine and then wouldn't start.

hilltop530

So, it cranks but will not run at all? No sputters or backfires? a few things to start off with. If you have a timing light hook it up to plug 1 then crank the car. If you get strobe you have spark to some degree. If there is no spark the easiest place to start would be the coil. You can take the coil wire off at the distributor and hold the end near a metal source (firewall, intake, ect.) Note: be very careful if you should choose to test it that way. Spark straight out of the coil is very dangerous.

hilltop530

They do normally quit all at once. Another thing to check (If you have a aoutomatic) would be the nuteral safety switch. Sometimes those will go bad.

Was the car was still able to crank but was just slower? or, did it not crank at all?

stegal

The car cranks fine. No ignition. I have fuel at the carb.

Biggd4355

my Camaro did that. It would crank over, no fuel, but the fuel pump was working. Replaced the distributer and problem fixed.. No grounding signal going to the computer, therefore no signal to the injectors

Biggd4355

just recently it was sounding slower, and not for long

cole225

I have a 1990 rs it want start i turn the key no security lite just brake light comes on i replaced computer starter battery and its auto tranny but when i turn the key nothin happens.....the lights come on air wrks im lost im spendin money and not fixing problem help me please

92RS-HeritageEd

iTrader: (2)

Cole225, did you by chance read the entire thread? I'm far from a supreme member or an ASE/GM or any other kind of automotive tech (actually a newbie myself) but I am on my second ThirdGen, and when I experienced this with my first ThirdGen (92RS) it was the VATS. I personally had to wire up a By-Pass. If you replaced the ECM (Computer) did you get the VATS Keys that came with the car the ECM was taken from? I ask because I was told the VATS info was stored in the ECM if this is true and you've replaced yours but are using original keys w/ their own VATS resistance value it could be conflicting as the Key isn't giving the resistance the ECM will recognize to even engage the starter to crank the motor. Just my

Biggd4355

get under the car and attach a wire to the purple lead on your starter. It is the only small one and is separate. Run the wire inside the car and put a test light on it. Then turn the car to start. It is supposed to light, if not the starter isn't being actuated. That purple wire comes back inside the car and under the shifter. If the shifter is in anything other than park or neutral, the current won't go thru. That switch can go out.

mcheath30

So, similar problem as everyone else. Nothing I've read has helped me, so I'll detail my issue and hopefully someone has an idea that will work...

I was having starting issues, so I replaced (in order) the starter, ignition relay, and ignition switch. In the process I also bypassed VATS and determined the neutral switch is good. Turned out to be the ignition switch. Drove for 2 weeks with no problem whatsoever. Then yesterday I start having the same issues as before: turn the key and all the dash lights come on as normal; I hear a clicking noise that I assume to be the solenoid; the car doesn't start, or even crank. If I keep trying, after a few turns of the key it will eventually fire up....so far. It did the same thing before and then eventually stopped starting altogether. But I can still push start it all day long. Also, I JUST changed the battery and it's still not starting.

So, aside from wiring up a start button (which is sounding better by the day), what do I do? how do I legitimately fix this? Somebody, please help!

P.S. I've got a '92 Bird with a 3.1.

Biggd4355

did you replace the negative cable?

mcheath30

No, I didn't even think of it. Is there a reason I should?

Biggd4355

I had mine go bad, it corroded on the inside. Everything lights up, but it won't start, only 12 bucks, you can spend a fortune when these go out. May consider replacing both, but for sure the negative

Kevin Alvarado

My camaro won't start I replaced the spark plugs, spark plug wired, distributor, battery, and starter. Bought a fuel pump and pulled out the assembly but there's no fuel pump on it there a black cap at the bottom of tank from previous fuel pump I believe. My camaro has carburetor and I'm not big with the mechanics or the knowledge of my car. She doesn't crank or sound like fuel is getting to the engine/carburetor the fan just turns and that's it sometimes there a clicking.

Biggd4355

ignition switch?

russ&dars t/a

My 85 T/A did the same thing ,see if your starter wires run through a metal tube to protect them from exhaust .I found a broken wire half way up the tube

U.n. Owen

Help i have a 1990 rs and was driving fine and hit a bump and it died andcwouldnt star i turn key get full headlights dash lights and door ajar chime but no pwr windows no guages and no crank no sound at all. I checked the battery and cables and gound the positive red somehow hit the block and stuck to itd i removed it from the block the battery tested good tried to jump it with another car and nothing checked my grounds and connections and fuseabke link. What could it be?

Mark7379

OK I will try jumping it and see what happens with it thanks

paulandjess

I got my brothers car when he passed away I don’t know much about cars we just had it towed to the shop yesterday it’s a zf 1985 I have no idea if it’s timing I tried turning the key it sounds like it wants to start but it doesn’t. Any comments will help I don’t want to get screwed just because I’m a girl. He wanted the car to run so that’s my plan but to be honest I don’t know to much about cars 😓

91banditt2

iTrader: (1)

Welcome to TGO,
A Z-28? Do you have pictures of the cars engine compartment?
Your issue could be a number of things, If the motor is turning over when you turn the key that means more than likely the battery and starter are working as they should, so the other issues with starting could be fuel and ignition.
Fuel pump, if it's an 85 Z-28 then it's probably a Tune Port Injection fuel injection car, when you turn the key to on, not trying to start it just turning the key to where your dash lights come on, do you hear a buzzing from the back of the car? This would be the electric fuel pump priming the fuel system, if you don't then it could be a bad fuel pump, afuel pump relay or a fuse that powers these. Now, considering the car is almost 40 years old it's possible that someone switched the fuel delivery system over to a carburetor, if so the mechanical fuel pump is on the pass. side of the motor towards the front near the bottom of the motor, if it's a mechanical pump you would need to remove the fuel line at the carburetor while turning the key to start to see if there is fuel coming out of the hose that was disconnected from the carburetor. If fuel is flowing out then you probably have a good pump.
Ignition, if it's an 85 Z-28 then it's probably got a large cap HEI distributor, which is located at the back of the engine near the firewall, it's where all of the spark plug wires are going from the cyclinder head, the ignition coil is on top of the distributor, if the coil is bad this would prevent the car from starting, the wires that supply power to the coil could also be a cause why the car wont start, are the wires loose, does the coil have wires plugged in to it? The ignition switch and it's associated wiring which is located on the steering column under the dashboard could also cause the car not to start if it's bad.
The ECM aka the computer and it's associated wiring could also be the reason the car wont start, it's an intracule part that manages the fuel delivery and ignition, it's located under the dashboard on the Pass. side.
As a father of a 20 something y/o girl I've tried to make her aware of some basics of cars in hopes to at least maybe she'll recognize that someone is trying to be untrustworthy about her vehicle, unfortunately finding an honest mechanic is like finding an honest attorney, you just don't know if you got a good one until it'd to late.