I recenly had a fast burn 385 installed in my 88' Camaro, and now it won't start. The mechanic who installed my engine is on vation, but before he left, he wanted to give me my car. The problem is, the car won't start. I have a wire that runs from my distributor to the positive terminal of my battery so I can start my car. The mechanic told me it was my alarm, but I know it isn't. Without the wire running from my distributor to the positive terminal of my battery, nothing happens when I turn the key. No radio or any accessories turn on. When I connect the wire I have power when I turn the key. I know it's not my alarm because when I go start the car, the alarm kills the engine since it thinks someone is stealing the car. After I deactivate the alarm,the car starts right up. I haven't driven the car since I drove back home, but I need to take my car in for emissions before I store it. One of friends told me he thinks it has something to do with my starter. Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks,
Adrian Cavazos

 

when u say that none of the electronics turn on(radio and what not) it sounds like a battery problem, when an engine gets put in, the battery sits for a while, i say get it tested or recharged. then go to the starter, and make sure all the wires are properly secured.

daniel

 

Cav,

There is a positive connection at the starter battery stud. There should also be a positive power node attached to the inner fender near the battery. There are several fusible links in the positive feeds from the battery to the chassis harness. A poor/lost connection at any of these points could be causing your problem, and you are shunting most of these connections by jumping from the battery to the distributor "B+" terminal. Unfortunately, the danger of this is that the distributor wiring is not properly sized to feed all the accessories and you risk burning the wiring while doing this "test".

While the ignition is off, do the lights work? Does the key warning chime work when the door is opened? Does the horn work? If you have power to the chassis to do this, the positive battery node is probably O.K., and you may have a problem with the alarm wiring, not the alarm itself. You may also have a connection problem at the firewall bulkhead connector, fuse panel, or ignition fusible link from the battery. Grab a meter and have at it. A good schematic would be really helpful.

Incidentally, I didn't know the north suburbs had emissions testing requirements. I learn something every day.

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Later,
Vader
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"Make Me Bad"
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[This message has been edited by Vader (edited November 05, 2000).]