no turnover, just acts like the starter is dead, but its a new starter (week old). battery also new.

hes my post on a different camaro forum:

"my car did something weird today. it wouldnt start. it was acting like that battery was dead but i had lights and music. the starter is also brand new.

i hoooked up a battery to it and boosted it and it started up no problem. I not even sure the battery helped, was probably a fluke.
then later on when i was leaving from the mall i tried to start it again and it made like it wasnt getting any fuel. (turned over but wouldnt fire). so i pumped the gas while started and it fired up.

freaking weird... would it have something to do with my timing being advanced? i also think its running rich now as well. "


any sugggestions?
one guy on the other board said check the ground but im not quite sure which one he means

 

ok, i went out and tried the car and it started.

this is starting to seem more and more like a starter issue...

 

Check connections at the starter and battery

 

well if it was the battery would i still be able to turn on my lights?

 

I agree. Sounds like you may have a bad ground or connection somewhere. Inspect your wires also. A solid battery/power cable may reveal it's true self when you test the voltage at the other end.

 

and some times they just sell you a bad rebuilt starter...............

 

jerks...



ill hook it up to a volt meter in the morning. thanks guys

 

jerks...



ill hook it up to a volt meter in the morning. thanks guys


Whats that all about??????????????????

My friend just put a starter in his sunbird and the next day it did exactly what yours did................. you could also have a lot of resistance in the wire going to the starter.......... Your ignition switch ontop of the steering column could also be bad.............. Neutral safety switch could be bad as well.............

But I am not a jerk................... and was just telling you, that you might have a bad starter I hope some of these idea's can help you.................
Kenny

 

was talking about the guys that sold me the starter

 

the neutral safety switch is either by the shifter, on the trans or on the column..............

check the manual if you don't have pick up a chilton or haynes manual they are worth there weight in gold


Kenny

 

i have a haynes manual. it seems to be useless for this situation.


the stupid car did it again to me, seems to be alot more common in the last couple days then it was last year.

if it is the clutch safety switch, what should i do to get it working?

 

 

Hmmmm, I read your first post again. Besides looking into the clutch safety switch I thought of two additional things. They may not be close but I have seen them give issues similiar to what you have described.

1. VATS
2. ICM

#1 gives you the hit the key and nothing.
#2 will give you the hard to start.

Just an extra

 

its got to be vats, how do i get around it?

 

You can disable it. Use a multimeter to read the resistance of the pellet in your key. Go to Radio Shack and buy the resitors to equal the value. Trace the wires from the key cylinder (I believe they are white and purple) to the harness connector half way down the steering column. Plug your resistors in there and presto. There are a lot of threads about disabling the VATS.

 

Just a thought, but have you tested the battery for a dead cell. Your problem is kinda reminiscent of a dead cell problem. And yes, the radio and lights would still work. I've seen it plenty of times before. Just my

 

bad cell? what do you mean

 

When one of the cells goes bad you will have a battery that starts the car sometimes and sometimes it doesn't. A car battery produces an electric current when its terminals are connected to each other to form a circuit. All batteries contain two electrodes (+ and -) and an electrolyte, which produces the chemical reaction that generates a current from the electrodes. "Wet" batteries, like those in cars, contain a liquid electrolyte. Modern car batteries are 12V. A car battery is designed to produce the strong current needed to turn the starter motor. It does this by using a number of cells linked together. When running, the engine turns an alternator which feeds current back into the battery to recharge it. A car battery contains plates of lead oxide and lead metal, immersed in a sulfuric acid electrolyte. As the battery produces current, both kinds of plate change to lead sulfate. Feeding a current into the battery reverses the chemical reaction. Car batteries are rated by cold-crank amps (CCA), the minimum electric current (in amps) that a charged 12-volt battery can deliver for 30 seconds at 0 degrees F (brrrrr) without falling below 7.2 volts. The higher the CCA number, the more power it can give you. Of course, you may not need to pay for all that extra power if you live in a warmer climate.When the active material in the plates can no longer sustain a discharge current, the car battery "dies". Normally a battery "ages" as the active positive plate material sheds (or flakes off) due to the normal expansion and contraction that occurs during the discharge and charge cycles. This causes a loss of plate capacity and a brown sediment, called sludge or "mud," that builds up in the bottom of the case and can short the plates of a cell out. This causes the battery to either be difficult to charge, or to not hold a charge.

Sorry it took so long to get back to you, but I hope all this information can help you out. Have your battery tested to see if a dead cell is your problem. Let me know how it turns out.

 

Go to this link: https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=340468
It's a very detailed description of possible starting problems.

 

Maybe your car heard what you planned to do it in your other thread. I think it's afraid you might hack it up too bad and is punishing you for wanting more performance.

Sorry, i just had to.

 

 

 

Man.... I just happened upon that thread earlier today before I checked my mail.

Funny though, every time I think about selling a car it starts to act up.

 

man, you guys are soooo much more helpful then vanfbody.com.


Ive learnt so much about my car, I especially like that i already have the 083 heads, so i dont need to replace them like i thought!

 

Thanks for the compliment. I'm sure everyone appreciates it. What I'm dying to know though is if you got your problem fixed.

 

No problem

I'd give a big part of that to the mods here. They do a great job keeping things on topic and technical. That keeps the idiots and other riffraff out.

I'm curious as to how things have turned out for you as well. If you want more info on the VATs feel free to PM me. There are lots of threads out there as well.

 

the problem isnt solved

I dont know if its my key or what.
It happens less regularly now, but still happens

 

did you get your battery tested to remove it from the list of possible problems?

 

yeah, battery is fine

 

Check for vaccum leaks too

 

vaccuum leaks could cause this?

 

Still sounds to me like it could be both.

This sounds just like a Vats issue. The contacts in the key cylinder get worn and brittle and don't connect the correct resistance from the key. This problem can be intermittent.

It could be a fluke and be the ICM. Often times you can hit the key and it will turn over and over without starting. This could also be a faulty cable. I would test the voltage at the other end of the battery cable where it connects to the starter.

Judging by your original post I'm still leaning towards the VATs. It can not work one minute, then start like nothing is wrong the next.