'91 Firebird... car won't start, when I turn the key to the 'on' position I get the indicator lights but when I turn it to the start position all I hear from the engine is a single click and everything (all the lights inside and electrical components die). I turn it to 'off', then back to 'on', no indicator lights at all, nothing works in the car?? I thought I had a bad starter but what is killing all the electronics in the car? I tested the battery and it has a perfect charge. I let the car sit for a while and all of a sudden, things start working again and the process repeats itself.

Is there a short in the system somewhere? Is it somewhere in the starter relay or starter loop?

Could it possibly be a bad ECM doing this or bad connections?

I have an alarm installed but I bypassed it and still got the same problem, when the car loses all its juice it loses it to the alarm too.

One other note, its got VATS... could that be the problem? I've pulled the fuses and they're all good.

Please help! I have to try to get this fixed so the car can take me to school today!!

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'91 Firebird
305/TBI/700R4/T-tops
Catco high flow cat
K&N Air Filter
Trans Am tail light conversion
Pioneer DEH-P8200R
Pioneer 6x9's
Kenwood 8" Tube

'87 Firebird
2.8L/MPFI/700R4/220K Miles on its original, never been rebuilt engine!
Car being parted and sold, just ask what I have.

 

Sounds like a connection problem at your battery posts or ground wires. Remove, clean and repair/replace all the amin battery wire connections and try again.

pretty sure it's not a security/VATS/Alarm issue...

 

Same thing happened to me last week when I tried to fire up the 355 in the chicken for the first time (with the distributor in the wrong position -DOH!). Replaced the starter. Done. Dead short in the starter kicked the CB for the electronics.

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'89 Formula - Thunderchicken - 355 Vetteheaded TPI/T-5/3.45 9-bolt/black/t-tops - the fun car!
'90 GTA - The GTA - 5.0 LB9/TH700/3.27 9-bolt/black/t-tops/tan leather - the cruiser.

 

replacing the starter could have cured your connections. ie starter may not have been bad. I'll assume you had the starter bench-checked when you took it off and it was actually broken...

Plus, indicator lights and domes lights and such will go DIM with a bad starter, usually, not totally off... UNless battery is dead.

[This message has been edited by FastBroker (edited September 21, 2000).]

 

I never did bench test the starter... haven't gotten to that yet... I just assumed it was bad until all the electronics in the car went dead. I'll readjust the terminals on the battery and will try to test the starter. Thanks for the input. I haven't changed the starter on a V8 before, I only have experience from my 2.8L, is it just as hard? (one bottom bolt, one top bolt, the top being a pain in the **** to get out?)

 

Two bolts on the bottom so the starter will "fall" out. Exhaust interference will complicate things, though... nOt too bad. take care of the wiring/fasteneres on it, though...

 

I just remembered it could be a couple other things... tell me what you think

I haven't had time to verify these because I'm at school right now without my Haynes manual, but...

the neutral safety switch could be causing a problem similar to this but why would all the electronics die?

OR, I read in another thread somewhere that the starter has a relay and if that relay was going bad a sign of it would be an extended crank to start the car. Well ever since I got the car about three months ago it's had an extended crank and what if that relay failed on me. Another supporting reason for this might be that when the electronics die in the car, it takes a little bit of time to reset them AND I noticed one time that I accelerated the time necessary to reset the electronics when I closed the door to the car. The jarring of the car could have caused the relay to kick back right?? Anybody know where this relay is so I can check it out? I'll take a look for it when I get back home.