I have a '91 5.7 TPI out here in sunny Southern CA and I'm having intermittent starter problems. The symptoms are: I'll insert the key...engage the starter and "nothing!!!" Other times I'll hear the solenoid click but again..."nothing!!" The starter will not spin nor engage at all. This is the third starter in a matter of two months and this one is brand new not rebuilt and I've had the same issues with all three starters. I've replaced the park/neutral switch in the center console and the battery in addition to the starters and still the symptoms persist. The symptoms seem to appear whenever the car has been sitting awhile after having been driven so I'm sort of assuming that heat may have something to do with it. Sometimes if I wait a minute or two and keep playing with the key in the ignition for a few moments it will eventually make a connection and start and only once did I have to have the car towed home and of course...as soon as the tow truck driver got it off the tow truck it immediately cranked up. And the tow situation occurred before I replaced the starter with a brand new not rebuilt one. Oh yeah, I've also checked the VATS and it checks out okay. Any ideas would be appreciated. The car has over 165,000 miles on it and my family calls it the coffin because they're planning on burying me in it.

 

Have you tried loosening/tightening the battery cables when it won't start? The battery ends can get flaky.

 

I kinda got the same issue right now. Have you checked the starter relay? It should be under the dash by your left foot when you sit in the car. Sometimes the contacts get stuck in one position. And about the VATS, do you know where the VATS Decoder module is located on there. I have the same car and I cant find the module. I found something that I think is the module.

 

From what I've been told if the security light on the dash goes out a few seconds after you insert the key the VATS system is okay. I've checked the battery cables when the symptoms appear and they're fine. Actually while you guys posted these threads the car just did it to me again...luckily I was about 2 miles from my house out here in Fountain Valley and I just walked home and waited about a half hour, my wife drove me back to the car and after a couple of solenoid clicks it cranked. It's 5:30-6:00 out here in Southern CA and fairly hot so I think that it is heat related. The symptoms appear after the car has been driven for a short while in the heat and sits for a short time. In a previous post someone else mentioned a ground strap to the cylinder that could cause these symptoms.

 

If you think its heat related, its probably gonna be emission system related. Do you have any exhaust leaks? Those cars are firggin sensitive to the O2 sensors. When I repaired the flanges on my headers it would crank easier in the heat. Check your PCV and AIR injection systems also. Remember, you said the starter wouldnt click or nuthin, I would still swap out the $30 starter relay anyways. Im in Southern California also, the sun sure beats down on these cars real hard.

 

The last component in the chain that has not been replaced is the starter relay...does anyone know where it's located??? And, I have replaced the entire exhaust system and there is an exhaust leak near the starter so that could also be a contributing factor.

 

never heard of an exhaust leak causing a no start..anyways ever get your problem figured out was it the relay?

 

There is no starter relay on this car so that's factored out of the equation. I replaced the starter again. This last time when the starter went out the nose on the starter actually cracked and I had a hard time getting them to honor the warranty...but they finally did. I installed the new starter plus a heat resistant blanket to protect it from exhaust manifold heat. Angel from TPIParts.com says that it's a common problem with these starters...breaking down from overexposure to heat. He recommended either mounting the solenoid on an inner wheel well or installing one of those Hitachi or Tilton mini starters. Supposedly they can take the heat much better. These cars are real addictive. I've had this thing for a lot of years and I still dig driving it. It has over 165,000 miles on it and other than the starter problems, still runs good.

 

I got a mini starter,I bypassed my vats,all my terminals are clean and new,with an optima battery.But I still get a click when i go to start it..howevr it starts with a jump everytime...yea they are addicting and getting rare

 

bypassed the starter relay and got the same result..clicking sound from starter

 

Wow...same issues as mine. What is it with these cars? This really is the only serious glitch with this car...other than the starter problems everything runs okay. The thing is not really that fast either and there isn't anything that I can do to the car, especially out here in CARB legal California, to make it comparable to some of the monsters coming out of Detroit or across the Pacific. My neighbor has an '04 Z06 plus a new SS Gen 5 Camaro. Now those two cars are fast. Plus he also has an '88 Buick GN rotting away in his driveway. That car was a mid 12 second machine. My Z28 is a joke compared to those cars...but I still want to keep it as long as I possibly can.