'89 GTA, 5.7, TPI, Edelbrock T.B., ported plenum, New Motorsport 24lb. injectors, Accel Adjustable FPR- set at 40psi, new Taylor wires, new Accel cap and rotor, AC Delco r45ts plugs- .45 gap, new Accel coil, new ECM.
That's what I have. It does not start good at all , but it runs great once it fires up . The fuel pressure holds above 35psi while cranking, and the injectors are firing. I checked several plug wires at once, and they are firing fine while cranking. The car does not smoke at all when it cranks, and the plugs do not appear wet when checked. The car will start better if I turn the key on for about a minute before I try to crank the engine. Tried starting with MAF unhooked- made no difference. My scan tool does not find any sensors out of range, although I am questioning the scan tool's reliability.

I know there are a lot of messages about hard starts relating to fuel system problems, but I cannot find any flaws in the primary fuel system. If anyone has any other ideas, I would really appreciate it. I am tired of driving my truck all the time. Thanks in advance.

 

Freeze,

I can't recall with any certainty, but I believe an '89 should have the cold start injector.

Does the engine start more easily after it has been warmed?

Another idea. Even though the scanner wouldn't show a sensor out of range, are the CTS and MAT sensors reporting accurate numbers? If the numbers are still within the valid range (-40°F to +285°F) the scanner wouldn't show any problems, nor would the ECM set any codes. But if the numbers are falsely high, the fuel mixture would be excessively lean for a cold engine. You might have to crank a while to get enough fuel to start.

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Later,
Vader
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"Make Me Bad"
Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0

 

There is not a cold start injector on this engine. I think some '89s had them, but I don't. The CTS and MAT are within 10 degrees of each other, and are both new AC Delco units. The car will start a little easier after it has run for a while, but it still turns over several times before it will crank. Also, it does not matter if I wait 1 hour, or 1 week, the symptoms are the same. This is becoming very difficult to figure out. I have spent al day cleaning grounds, and unplugging and re-plugging connectors hoping to find a bad connection. So far nothing has made a difference. I checked all of the black and white ground wires at the ECM for resistance to ground. All are 3-5 ohms. Keep the ideas coming. I am sure other people are having a similar problem, but have done like me and almost give up on it .

 

I too have a hot restart problem. When the engine is hot and has been off for 5 minutes or longer it will take 6-8 seconds to fire up. But it starts instantly if it sits overnight or if you restart it immediately after you shut it down. All sensors are new, as well as the starter, starter solenoid, sparkplugs and wires, and battery, EGR is clean and fuel pump relay is new and working fine. Also I replaced the rotor in the distributor, which had six years of use(unknown mileage) when I rebuilt the engine. IAC and TPS are properly adjusted and throttle body is sparkling clean inside and out. Base timing is 4* BTDC. The manual states that this condition could be due to a poor ground in the dist. or a worn shaft or faulty pick-up coils.
Any suggestions before I tear into my ignition?

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"84Z28/'91 305TPI comp cam flowmaster TB coolant bypass/shutoff valve to heater core MAT relocated Ram-Air(home-made) gutted air-box IROC ground effects/wheels GY245/50's 700R4 superior shift kit/ corvette servo(excellent shift kit BTW) Rebuilt engine and transplanted it myself. Love this engine!
LOW performance people should drive low performance vehicles!

[This message has been edited by 84IROC (edited September 30, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by 84IROC (edited September 30, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by 84IROC (edited September 30, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by 84IROC (edited September 30, 2000).]

 

Freeze,

Does it make any difference depending upon the throttle position? If you depress the pedal a little while cranking, does it fire sooner?

84,

Your symptoms sound like a typical injector leakdown problem. Test fuel pressure, then continue monitoring pressure after the engine is turned off. Rail pressure should remain steady for at least five minutes after shutdown. If the pressure has leaked down within 10-15 minutes, you have a leak at either an injector(s) or the FPR. Since FPR leakage wouldn't cause flooding, I would suspect injectors.

If the fuel pressure remains steady during the test, you need to look more closely at the ignition system. Presuming you've already checked the common items, you might want to inspect the reluctor and pickup coil for corrosion, cracks, and signs of heating at the pickup coil. Clean the connections at the HEI module and distributor cap primary terminals. Inspect the seal between the coil and cap for carbon traces and rot. Clean and inspect the coil for cracks and overheating damage. Make sure the suppression capacitor isn't grounding (you should still have one on an '84, I believe).

For reference, my '86 still holds full pressure for several days after shut down.

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Later,
Vader
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"Make Me Bad"
Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0

 

Vader, It does not seem to matter where the throttle is. I am going to try spraying a little fuel in the throttle body to see if that helps.

 

Thanks Vader, I do not believe it is flooding because of the length of time that it can sit and still be difficult to start. Also I do not notice black smoke when it finally starts. I'll go through the dist. see what shakes out.

Thanks again
James

 

Freeze92/

I have the same problem on my -89, let me know it you find out what it is!

I've also checked every damnthing I could think of and still its hard to start. For a while know I also turn the key for about 30 sek before I crank, then it will start easier.



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GTA -89:Free flow muffler,dual 3" HF cats, Edelbrock headers, Vette heads, 1.52 RR 7/16, ZZ-9 cam, Big Mouth, AS&M LTB, ported plenum, 52 TB, MSD 6AL, TPIS level V prom, Mod .MAF, Superior shift-kit and some minor mods. and more to come!
http://www.itv.se/tacs/members_cars/m279/m279.html (Swedish Trans Am Club)

 

I now know it is some sort of fuel problem. I am not yet sure where to look, as I have already checked pressure and leak down. If I spray a couple of squirts of fuel into the plenum, the car fire right up, but dies after all that fuel has been burnt. I am going to raise my pressure a little, probably to about 45 psi. Not sure where to go with the 24lb injectors. How can I be sure all injectors are firing? A noid light only shows one side at a time. How do I know that the injectors are getting enough voltage / current?

 

Well, I actually lowered my fuel pressure some, and it seemed to help a little . Won't know for sure until the morning. I started it several times today, so I really can't tell if I have helped the problem or not. If anyone has another idea, I'd like to hear it. Thanks for the help so far
Well, I tried it this morning. It started after 3 tries. How can I tell if the injectors are putting enough fuel into the engine to get it to crank? Anyone else running Motorsport 24lb injectors,-- what pressure are you running?


[This message has been edited by freeze92 (edited October 02, 2000).]

 

Is there anything that may cause a lean condition only at starting? I have checked for vacuum leaks, but I will look again. What's best for finding small vacuum leaks?