I have an 88 IROC-Z Camaro with a 383 stroker. About 2 weeks ago I was driving when the car suddenly died. I tried restarting it a number of times until the crank slowed down. Triple A came out, jumped it, and tightened the battery bolts (saying they were lose and that could have been why it died).

Now it will not start again. Once again the starter sounds ok (it is cranking but not firing). So I tested the battery, put in new bolts, made sure the connection was tight and still no go.

I did notice that the plastic around the three wires running into the top of the alternator is cracking and old, so possibly may be a weak connection. But I thought that the alternator should not effect the starting of the engine as long as the battery is good.

Does anyone have any clue what the problem might be? I thought it may be the starter, but then jumping it would have made no difference. Could it be the fuel pump, fuel injection, distributor, or etc? Thank you for any advice you may have!

 

First of all, it is important to keep your battery charged as you diagnose this problem and keep cranking that engine and testing. The engine electronics needs a fully charged battery to function properly.

So get a battery charger and keep it on the battery as you are working on your car.

Then next fuel, spark, air....

-While someone turns the key to start, have someone else spray starting fluid into the throttle body. If this gets a response, then you have a fuel problem.

-Next check for spark.

-Next slightly press on the accelerator and try starting. (This bypasses the Idle Air Control Valve and lets air in.)

 

ok mines doing the same. I did the same trouble shooting techs but still wont start. Any suggestions.