This is an '89 RS w/ a 350 and an '88 TPI setup. I'll start the car....drive somewhere, and when I go to start the car back up, nothing happens. Sometimes the starter clicks, but most the time it does nothing...when i turn the key, I get power, and the gauges go up, but engine does not turn over. If I let it sit a few hours, it'll start. But now if I dont drive anywhere, I can start and restart it all day fine...it's just after I drive that it does this. The starter and battery are new, alternator is less than a year old, all have been tested and are fine. All wires and fusible links "look" fine. This may help...the day it happened, I put on the new starter, drove an hour and a half somewhere, cut it off, and it wouldn't restart. I took a look under the hood and noticed that the pos. battery cable had burned through to the wires on the headers...i assumed it did that on my drive because I'd never noticed it before. This why I think the fusible links may be at fault....at least i hope that's it and not the ignition switch. Fusible links and ignition switch are the only 2 things I can think of. Please help guys. Gimme any ideas, and tell me how to check for possibilities. thanks a lot

If it is the igniton switch....my car is an '89 so it has vats...my key has a chip in it. Well the TPI setup and computer is an '88 so it's it doesn't have VATS. So if I have to replace the ignition switch, do I have to get one set up w/ vats (yellow wire, chip in key), or can I get a regular igniton switch? thanks.

 

your starter is getting heat soaked. the starter soleniod on a 350 is bigger then the 305 and if you are running headers then the heat from them gets soaked up in the starter and causes it not to work right. your car starts after a while because the heat goes away. get yourself a starter shield, if there too much then make one.

 

Bottled said it. I had the same problem after I installed my headers and used to carry around a squirt bottle of water just in case I didn't have the 1-2 hours to let it cool off. I bought the $23, Thermo-Tec clamp on starter blanket from Summit. I also bought a stick on sheet for my heater box as well. Good luck getting that damn starter out if your y-pipe is all welded up to your exhaust system. Mine just barely gave enuff room to get the thing in & out after un-bolting the y-pipe from the headers.

 

makes since...but I dont know if that is my problem because I've had the headers on there a year (put them on when I put the 350 in). I did go to a 350 starter when I put the starter on a few weeks ago (when this problem started)....so maybe the fact that it's bigger is the problem (like bottled said). You think that if I went back to a 305 starter this might help? cause I never had this problem before I swapped to the 350 starter. But the fact that I've had headers for a year and made as much as 5 hour drives w/out having this problem...but now if I make a 10-15 minute drive around the block, it acts up as described.....makes me think that I might have another problem. I'll try it though...thanks guys.

 

The hellwith changing the starter again. You might as well spend $23 and get the shield you have to get under there anyway. make the job easy. besides Id rather spend $23 then about $80 for another starter when the heat kills it.

 

That's definetly you're problem. The heat also wears your starter solenoid out faster. So even though you didn't have that problem at first, you're getting it now.

If you do decide to replace your starter get a mini starter from Jegs or Summit. That'll help alot also.

 

The only reason I'd consider getting another starter is because mine is still under warranty....free swap. But i'm not going to do that....i orded a heat shield from jegs the other day....should be here tomorrow....i'll let ya know how it goes...thanks.

 

Well I put on the heat shield from jegs (flexible aluminized one)....didnt work. I put it on, started the car, let it idle until it got to about 170*...shut it off....wouldn't start back up. I'm so disgusted w/ my car right now. I go back to college in 12 days and need to get this fixed. If anyone's got any ideas lay em on me....if i cant get this fixed, my car is going to the dealership (i've never had any car of mine in a shop). thanks guys.

 

Crap dude that sucks. I thought for sure that the heat shield would work. It worked like a champ on mine. Mine will, however, act up if I try to start the car too much (as in when the fuel pump died and I thought maybe it was vapor locked). I'd try checking all the connections when its hot to see if you've got a bad wire, but it sounds to me like a bad starter. Maybe go back to the 305 starter, or buy one of those little gear reduction ones from Summit. Sorry, don't get too mad though, my car is runnin ok, but now the seats are starting to fall apart. I guess it's true what they say, "if you drive em, they break". Good luck man.

 

I've been reading through the archives, and everyone that's had "heat soak" has said that their car wont start back for 30 minutes or so....well mine wont start back for 3-4 hrs...what's up w/ that?!?!?!

 

Have you replaced the fusible links yet? I had one on a car that would be fine when cool but would occasionally break the connection when it heated up. This was on a '76 Cadillac and the link was on one of the wires going to the starter solenoid.

One more thing it may be is the solenoid itself, especially if it doesn't always click. Or the starter linkage may be binding when it heats up.

Good luck!

 

MMmmm... That sounds familliar.
Car: 1989 RS 305 All Stock + Catback, Gutted Cat, and open element...

Problem: After running and getting hot, Will not start for 1-2 hours. then starts up like nothing was ever wrong. Also, If placed into "accessory Mode" and sterio is played for more than 10 minutes, it will do the same thing, but only after it was driven and had gotten hot, but not hot enough to die completelly.

Does your car "die" if you put it into accessory mode too?

We may / may not have the same problem. I find it more than coincidence that we have the same year car however, and possibly the same Wiring problem affecting us. I have no found the solution yet. I am going to try a Remote Selenoid Starter buttom because it seems everything else in the car works, except the starter. Fuel pump primes, ignition gets juice, windows work, everything works... just no starter turning over. Doesnt even click. then suddenly, Walaa it works an hour later like nothing happened. very odd. Im thinking wiring problem. Ill let you know how the remote starter buttom works out when i get the time to do it.

 

I've been thinking about getting rid of the fusible links, but haven't tried it yet. Oh, and as far as the solenoid clicking...i tightened everything up, so now I still have the same problem, but it NEVER clicks at all. Turn the key, no click, let it sit a few hours, fires up.

 

I've never let it sit in accessory mode for more than a few minutes...i'll see and let u know. Same as you, everything works, pump primes, radio works, etc...just not starter. I'm also gonna try that solenoid relocation kit from jegs/summit for $25. Oh, I decided to take it to the dealership.....cause i'm tired of dealing w/ it. They said it was the ignition switch...replaced it....didn't solve my problem.

 

Try replacing the igintion switch (at the base of the steering column, not the cylinder lock). About $18 at AutoZone. I went through all of the same stuff you have and it was a broken wire at the ignition switch. Been two days and no problem now.

 

Did already.....my last post I said that I took it to the dealership and they replaced the ignition switch, which didn't fix my problem. thanks for the help though

 

Dont get the shield it heats up too much and sticks to the starter. Mine actually caught on fire. Get the summit remote mount selenoid and youll never have the problem again. Thats what I did and it only cost me like 30 bux. It includes everything.

 

I'm actually ordering that right now. How long did it take you to put it on? Did you have to rig anything up, or did it all just go together? I know it's simple....but I'm VERY pressed for time....I got it shipped next day air...which means it probably wont be here till friday....and friday i'm supposed to be leaving to go back to school....so i hope it's like a 15 minute job!

 

What shield are you talking about. The aluminum shield or the wrap that goes around the starter? Either one is only like a 20 minute job depending on how accesable the starter is. I have super comp headers so its a pain for me to get out the starter cuz I have to take my headers apart. Im telling you though, if the hot start continues get the summit remote mount selenoid, it works great.

 

Well, once youre solenoid has suffered from heat soak its pretty much shot. You might as well get a new starter. But before you do check other stuff. I mention it in my next post.

 

OK, For all of you who have the problem of your car getting hot and then you go to start and NOTHING........Well heres the deal. Obviously its not getting any juice to the starter so that rules out a lot of things. So that pretty much leaves, Bad Connections, Bad Battery, Fusible Links, Ignition Switch, Bad Solenoid, OR MY GUESS...... Youre Nuetral Safety Switch. If the nuetral safety switch is going bad it will not power up the starter. Now for manuals you can just bypass the clutch safety switch. And you guys need to not rule out VATS either. Keep it simple and try the easy stuff first. I went thru 4 starters but it ended up being a car alarm was shorting everything out and the funny thing was that I never knew I had a car alarm. Go Figure. You can try a new starter but thats more expensive than trying some of the other things. Usually its heat soak but a heat shield is NOT your best option. I would highly recommend buying a remote solenoid from summit. Mount it away from the headers and hook it up. This takes all the stress off of our $hitty GM solenoid and basically converts it to a Ford one. Good luck guys.

 

What the hell is VATS?!!!!!

 

irocz- I have the same exact problem as you...just started last week...i replaced the starter...and bam same problem still. Fires up when cold but I had to wait 3 hours for it to start the other day when the engine was warm...hanging out at the post office is not cool!! Let me know if that remote solenoid works for you...if it does, I've gotta get me one! Good luck!
--Aaron

 

Whoa, glad to see I am not alone in battling this monkey. I swapped to a 5 speed, and had to use the t5 style starter. Yep, they are very different. The auto 350 starter is huge compared to the t5 one, but the auto one will not fit into the t5 bellhousing, the snout is too big. I might do that relocation kit, or just bite the bullet and get a mini starter. This is getting really old, I don't drive the car much but when I do, I always get stuck somewhere.

 

VATS= Vehicle Anit Theft System
Its what the little chip in the key is for. If one of its wires is somehow getting hot it wont work either. Then basically, you will have power to all your accesories but cant start the car.

Let me ask you this????? When this happens can any of you jump start your car?? If so its probably not VATS. Im still leaning toward your nuetral safety switch. Or MAKE SURE YOU CHECK your battery connections. 9 times out of 10 this goes unchecked and is your problem. Check the negative battery cable at the block. This comes loose a lot. Like I said I would check the battery cables and then the nuetral safety switch.

 

I've already put the heat shield on.....that did fix it.....i was asking how long it took to put the relocated solenoid on.

 

I'm hooking up the remote solenoid right now. I checked for my alarm....but if i unhook the alarm, then I still have the problem. What did they do to ur alarm to fix it? thanks

 

To be honest I dont know. I wasnt there when they did it but I do know that they said it was shorting out my Clutch Safety switch. So they just bypassed it.

The remote solenoid isnt to hard to install as long as you know whats what. Im color blind so I couldnt do mine Is your car an auto or manual?

 

I put the solenoid on a little while ago....piece of cake. I mounted it on the inner fender right next to the overflow tank, towards the battery/headlights. Drove about 45 minutes...came back home....fired right up!!!! I just can't explain how happy I am. A fix for $25 dollars. I just wish I had tried it earlier rather than trying a bunch of other things. Thanks for your help guys.

 

I have had this problem so many times its second nature...
What happens the solenoid contacts get hot and they expand, which cause it not to engage while the engine is hot. Once the engine cools it will start like a charm. GM made the worst decision to put the solenoid on top of the starter unlike ford which have them on the fire wall to prevent the heat from heating the contacts inside the solenoid. TRUST ME ITS NOT THE: Neutral Safety Switch, Ignition Switch, Alternator, Battery,Voltage Regulator or anything else someone might tell you. That solenoid IS the problem. Best bet is to buy the kit from summit or you can go to auto zone get a FORD Solenoid, longer post cables and mount it that way. GM needs to get smarter and mount the damn thing on the fire wall, COPY Ford idea...
IT Works TRUST ME: Been There Done That...

 

Thats where I mounted mine