Ok, here goes, bought this 89rs no engine or tranny, re-built a carbed 350 (stock) 700R4 tranny, finally got it in the car, hooked up as much of the electronics as possable (alt, starter, HEI dist). have power to the key, heater, wipers, lights everything works, but it won't crank.

Now, I turned the key on, jumped the starter to crank and it fired right up and ran for a few sec's, had to shut down due to my error, I forgot to put in the oil pressure sensor...my bad...oil over every thing..hehe...

Any way, any ideas why the car won't crank? new to this car and the key chip thing...

Ken

 

Any body???

 

are you using the factory harness? how many wires do you have to the starter? suppose to be 3 i believe. you might need a older harness....or could possibly be the chip in the key..but im not sure..buddy of mine converted his 89 v6 camaro to V8 and didnt have that issue and it has the chip in the key.

 

Yes still using the stock harness, 3 wires to the starter. and have the chip in the key also. my thought was to check the continutity in the wires, I was reading that there is a in line fuse, maybe not good?

 

not sure if there is a fuse...unless one under the dash is bad? one wire to the starter is from the battery, other 2 off the harness....right? i guess check to see if there is voltage to the harness wires to the starter.

 

I'm thinking the one wire on the "S" side of the starter is the one going to the ignition, that one has one of those big inline fuses, maybe that one is bad? I'll just have to check. the previous owner had some pretty creative wiring going on, unfortantlly I removed all prior to checking what they did...

 

My 89rs did the same thing. if you have a chip on your key then you have theftlock system. I had to sned mine to the dealer and they changed the ignition. they said when the ignition wears out that this would happen. if you changed out the motor its possible that you did something to trip the theftlock system. call gm service dept for advice. good luck !

 

theres an article about theftlock in the tech dept

 

Ok, so if I've disconnected the ECM, what effect would the Chip have? also I'll do some more reading in the Tech dept....thanks

 

starter disable relay. It is behind the left kickpanel behind some black stickey paper. connect the big wires together. they should be yellow and purple or green.

 

thanks I'll take a look tonight, just disconnect the relay and connect the big wires and it should work? thanks again.

Ken

 

[QUOTE=83z28camaro;3112193]starter disable relay. It is behind the left kickpanel behind some black stickey paper. /QUOTE]

(start enable relay) number on it is 14093107. Please dont cut your wiring. Pop the cap off and inspect the coil. It may be corroded or the fine copper wire may be broken. If no visable sign, test it with your ohm meter for continuity. If bad, replace the relay.

 

I'll take a look tonight I wasn't planing on cutting wires, to test I thought about just jumping them, if the relay is shot I'll pick up another. just as long as it isn't used in conjunction with the ECM.

 

If you don't mind me asking, how'd you jump the starter? I'm having a similiar problem on my car.

 

Do you have power at the starter solenoid?

You can change your ignition cylinder with a cheapie one (i.e. standard ignition brand) that doesn't use a chip in the key. Just install a resistor

 

I just attached a wire to the S side of the starter and touch it to the positive side of the battery, naturally I have the key turned to the on position.
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thats my next step, I need to get someone to turn the key while I'm under the car testing power to the starter..

 

I'm assuming by "S" side you mean the solenoid side of the starter? So I should just attatch a wire to post on the starter closest to the solenoid and then jump it?

 

Yes, on the solenoid you'll see one of the posts has an "S" attach a wire to that and hit it against the + side of the battery, the engine will turn over. no if you have the Key on and have power going to the Distrubitor it should fire right up... hope this helps

Ken

 

I had the same problem of no juice to the starter but all the lights work. It would happen 1 out of every 30 starts or so. I took apart the ignition switch and found a slight worn spot and burnt dried grease. I tried cleaning it it worked for awhile then i replaced the whole switch.

 

So just wondering, if you changed the switch, I take it you've taken out the ECM since you didn't state anything about the chip in the key? I wonder if my switch is bad?? thanks

 

the ignition switch is a likely suspect, but before you go replacing things check to see if you have power to the s terminal on your starter while the key is in the start position. if so then go to ignition switch but before you go and replace it test that as well, test it in the start position and see if you have 12v coming out of it. if you don't then its your ignition switch.