I'm finishing up my 350 swap and I can't get the starter to crank with the key. I can get it to turn over if I connect a wire from the positive battery terminal to the starter switch wire.

The car is an 87 Z28, it originally had a 305 TPI. While i had the engine out i swapped to a different column, I put an 89 column in there from my old car. The column is a VATS column, it used to have a resistor soldered in on the orange wire in the picture. I took a look yesterday and it wasn't there anymore. So I took the resistance on my key and went to radio shack and bought a resitor that has the same resistance and wrapped the wires around the resistor like in the picture. I also found a connector that wasn't connected. When I bought the car it had an alarm system in it that I removed. Could there have been something that I removed that is stopping this from cranking?

Is there another wire that i can splice off of that has 12v when the key is on START?

 

i am guessing you still are useing the tpi? if so, the vats is most likely the cause becasue the system is a mached resistance. even though you mesured the resistance, it is not the correct value, because the resistance changes when voltage is applied to the circuit, inda like the ohm reading on a speaker.

you will also need to use the vats enabled computer and all the related wireing and electrical components. your best bet would most likely be to bypass the vats if you have a problem getting all the correct components.

 

I don't want vats, how would i go about bypassing it? I thought that the resistor would bypass it. If i were to get a lock cylinder from a non VATS camaro would it work?

 

you would have to remove the lock cylinder from a non vats car, use the colum wirein from a non vats car (which may include the turn signal switch, but dont remember). i will try and remember to look at the wireing diagrams tomorrow to see the diference.

thanks

 

I'll try and get a whole new column tomorrow I guess. Hopefully that'll work, that's the only thing that seems could be wrong.

 

https://www.thirdgen.org/newdesign/tech/vats.shtml

i would of thought bypassing it with the right resistor should of worked..

 

I finally figured it out. A wire was cut under the column, i connected it with a crimp connector and it cranks with the key now . Thanks for all the help.