I have a 1992 Camaro RS. I got it about 2 months ago, and im just now getting to drive it because it has been getting painted. I drove it about 10 mins, shut it off, and it wouldn't start back till it cooled down. Im guessing that's the timing. And also it idles really high. A couple days later I took it for a longer drive, and the engine light came on and my feet were getting a little warm, I just knew it was overheating. Ive put new thermostat and heat sensor in it. And the fan works. It has antifreeze in it, even though its really brown. And I noticed it actually leaks a little every now and then. Cant really tell where its coming from though. Anyways.. I need to know if the timing would make it overheat/not start when the motor is warm..

Its got a 305 TBI in it. Stock.

 

yes timing will cause all three of the issues you are describing.

 

Okay. Took it to the shop, had timing adjusted, and it didn't help anything. When the motor is warm, it cranks so slow it won't start, until it cools back down. I need to know why it does that. And I also need to know why it would be idling really fast. Thanks

 

You may have a bad ignition control module on your distributor. i had problem with stalling out and cracking but not restarting with the 350 engine on my chevy truck. Once the engine cooled down it would start right up. It turned out to be a bad ICM.

 

If you have access to a temp gun check your tempature at the radiator in different places if it varies a bit the radiatior might be plugging up. Also check the front of the radiator for debris. When I bought my car the bottom half of the rad was covered in leaves blocking airflow, in between the a/c condenser...i didnt find it till i pulled the radiator to replace it. as far as the high idle goes check for vacuum leaks. Arm chair daignosis is never easy, some videos of the symptoms in action would make it a little easier to help you out. Why didn't you take the car to the shop and tell them to fix the symptoms, rather than hey set my timing and i think it will fix all this. If you have to take it to them let them do their jobs. Although it is getting harder to find technicians the remember how to work on OBD1. You sound is if you have some basic knowledge of how your vehicle functions. You should figure out how to set the timing on your car and do it yourself, do you trust that the shop performed the timing check correctly?

 

However, if a "technician" doesn't understand or remember how to work on an OBDI system, I would seriously doubt he/she even knows the basic fundamentals of fuel, ignition, etc. systems and how they work.

I'd run away from them fast.

 

Ok guys. The overheating has been fixed. But it is still idling high and it still doesn't start when the motor is warm... What could this be other than the timing? The timing has been fixed

 

I pulled the IAC and had someone put a hand over the hole while i started it. It seemed to be idling a little slower but i didnt have much time to tell due to the motor trying to suck my my dads hand in. lol. I think that may be the idling fast problem. But i still need to know why it wont start when its warm. Im gonna do the timing myself once i get home today, simply because i really dont trust the person that did it last time. If that dont fix it, ill have to pull the starter and see if its bad....I found a starter for cheaper than $50. and I found a IAC for $30. I think those are good deals.

 

Not starting when warm is most likely an ignition issue, more precisely, your ignition control module (ICM) or pickup coil. However one quick way to rule this out is to test for fuel and spark during the no start condition (take your spark wire from the ignition coil or any spark plug wire and ground it on the block when someone cranks to see if it sparks to test for spark). If you test no spark, then I'd look into the ICM or pickup. If there is spark and you car still doesn't start, then you need to check the fuel system.

Your ICM will be inside your distributor cap. There are ways to test this, and Autozone or other parts stores should be able to do this for you. However, you will need to take if out of the vehicle first, which involves taking off your distributor cap and unbolting the ICM. Also, you want to make sure whoever tests it tests it a whole bunch to times to get it warm first. They can test good when cool, but then fail when they finally warm up. It takes a few tests to warm them up also.


If it is NOT you ICM causing hard/no start when warm, then it is most likely (but not necessarily) your pickup coil. The pickup coil is inside the distributor on the shaft itself. It involves taking apart and reassembling the distributor shaft, and is in my opinion, not worth replacing. If the pickup coil is bad, it's better just to replace the whole distributor because you have to take the old one out anyways. There are some ways to test a pickup coil, but I don't know exactly how. I've seen some threads on this forum going over details, but it involves using a multimeter and testing resistances and stuff that I didn't bother to pay attention to for this application.


I too was having a hard start condition, usually when warm but sometimes randomly. I replaced my distributor and have had no problems since.

Edit: I've also had the pickup coil cause this issue with my Bronco. When pickup coils start to go bad, they can cause random stalling and then not starting also.