Okay so I brought it back to the shop becuase I have no time to play with it during the week. What they said was that something seems to be making the VATS relay short. The guy said that the clutch switch is getting power and transfering that to the relay and the tan/white wire to the relay is whats smoking up, or maybe the whole relay I haven't seen it yet. He said ignition switch is fine. He said the damn thing nearky caught on fire, he had the key turned on for a few seconds checking voltage and the relay started smoking. What the f*%! is that all about. Any ideas at all?
Also, where do each one of the 4 wires at the relay go to. what I really need is a diagram. Anyone have one, besides the chiltons manual one?
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-Bill
-=ICON Motorsports=-
Boston Chapter
91Z28, (in progress) 3.8L, TE63-1 turbo, MSD50lb injectors, Hemco upper, ported TTA heads, 62MM TB, Red's XP fuel pump, 3.73s, vigilante (stall to be determined)

[This message has been edited by Bill91Z (edited September 20, 2000).]

 

The four wires are as follows.

Postition:

A: Tan/Wht This wire sends 12V when the relay is energized to the starter solenoid

B: Blk/Yel This is the relay ground, which the VATS module uses to energize the relay

C: Yel This is Power for the relay, and has 12V when the ignition switch is in "Crank".

E: Yel This is a thicker wire, but does the exact same as the other yellow wire, It feeds voltage to the Tan/White when the relay is energized.

[qoute]The guy said that the clutch switch is getting power and transfering that to the relay and the tan/white wire to the relay is whats smoking up,[/qoute]
Its actually the other way around. The relay sends voltage to the clutch switch. After leaving the clutch switch, the wire becomes purple and goes to the starter.

You obviously have a short somewhere, I would disconnect the PPL wire at the starter,and then measure continuity at the tan/white wire at the relay to ground. Then start by disconecting things like the clutch switch, and use that to see where the short is.

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If your F body is a '91 Z28 5 spd, there should be no tan/wht wire in the circuit. The VATS starter enable relay wires should be as follows:

A: Dark green - Relay N.O. (normally open) contact - power to clutch start switch.

B: Black / yellow - Relay coil ground supplied by VATS module if the correct resistor value is detected.

C: Pink - +12 volt power to relay coil from the ignition switch when ign switch is in the run or start position.

E: Yellow - Power to the relay pole contact from the ignition switch when ign switch is in the start position.

The start circuit operation is as follows:

Power is applied to the relay coil, through the pink wire (C) when the ign switch is in the run or start position. Ground is applied to the relay coil through the blk/yl wire (B) if the VATS module detects the correct resistor value in the ign key. So, the VATS start enable relay coil should be energized if the ign is in either the on or start position.

Power from the ign switch goes to the relay pole contact through the yellow wire (E) when the ign switch is in the start position. The power is connected through the relay to the N.O. contact, since the relay coil is energized, and goes through the dark green wire (A) to the clutch start switch (or the gear selector switch with an automatic). Power is connected through the clutch switch if the clutch is disengaged, (or the gear selector switch, if the selector is in P or N) and goes to the starter solenoid and the 3 amp crank fuse, through a purple wire. The crank fuse supplies the DERM module (Diagnostic Energy Reserve Module).

If the relay is smoking when the ign switch is in the start position, either the starter solenoid is defective & drawing excessive current, or there is a short in the dark green wire, the clutch switch, or the purple wire to ground.

Tim