I have a 1988 IROC 305 tpi Lately, on a very sporatic basis the car will have all the power on and when i turn to start absolutely nothing, it does seem to work o.k. on first of day cold starts. I have been able to push start when this happens no problem, any suggestions???

Thanks!

 

Sounds like heat soak, or bad ground or electrical connections. A mini starter will solve the heat soak problem. And connectinog the battery ground cable directly to the engine block will solve your ground problem. I'd try the ground solution first, if it was me.

 

JH,

Welcome Aboard!

Since you can push start the vehicle, I'm guessing that you have a manual trans. And since it seems fairly obvious to me that the problem is with the starter circuit, you might want to check the clutch safety switch. Make sure the clutch pedal can be fully depressed (not a pile of floor mats tangled under it) and that the switch is closing.

Another thing to look for when you try to start is the action of the temperature guage. If the guage needle swings to full scale when you try to crank, the ignition switch is probably working correctly. If the guage doesn't go full scale, you may have a problem with the switch or switch linkage adjustment. If you suspect a linkage problem, you can try to tilt the wheel to a lower position to crank the engine. Many times, this helps take up some slack in the ignition switch linkage and can allow you to start the engine.

Of course, the starter solenoid is also suspect. However, since you didn't mention that there was even a "click" when you tried to crank the engine unsuccesfully, the solenoid may not be the problem. If there is a "click" but no starter motor action, the solenoid may be at fault, or the starter motor may have a problem.

There are a few other remote possibilities, like the start enable relay, but those are the major ones.

 

Thanks, There is no click at all. I do believe that the temp gauge swings all the way up. I have taken the floor mats out with that same thought in mind. I think it may be a bad coonect somewhere I do have an alarm but I will put that on valet / overide so i am not convinced that is it. but dead silent when i turn the key everything else lights up full power etc. so the cranking amps are there.