I have an 89 camaro with the 305 EFI. Just recently on occasion when I start it, it will start for about a half to one second then die. When it decides it is going to do this it usually starts on the 3rd try. On the 3rd try it acts like it is going to die and then it catches itself and runs normal. Once the car is running it doesn't give me anymore trouble. It doesn't do this all the time, maybe 1-2 times out of every 10 starts, so it is very inconsistant. It does not give me any diagnostic codes when I checked it. Could anybody give me some ideas.

 

On the times that it dies can you rev it up a few times before it dies? If you rev it up and it still decides to die at idle I would suspect the IAC motor. It may be dirty or faulty. Can't explain why it would decide to run later on though.

 

Try a fuel filter - they're cheap and easy. A piece of dirt can clog, then get sloshed around, then clog again - causing an intermittent problem.

 

Hey guys, I'm a friend of jheuertz. I consider myself fairly competent but we don't have a maintenance manual on his IROC and I have no personal experience with the TBI motors. The very first thing he did was change the IAC valve, and the car is still acting up. Once the car stays running, it's flawless, it idles smooth, and runs perfectly normal, I'd rule out the fuel filter since it passes enough fuel to accelerate with authority and drive for extended periods at highway speeds, I'd say it should start and idle with far less fuel flow than that. If you have your foot on the accelerator you can "catch" it when it tries to die, which is what led us to believe it was the IAC. But when it quits, it's abrubt, not much stumbling, just like you shut the key off, which makes me think it might be computer related, shutting off the fuel or ignition. Another friend of mine said he had trouble with the Pass key on some Buick years ago, it gave them fits for a long time, could this be related to it not wanting to start? Are there any other sensors known to go bad that could cause this but not show a trouble code? I know the coolant temp sensor is very important on anything computerized, and tends to affect everything when the ECM doesn't "think" the engine is warm yet. We're hoping someone has had these exact same symptoms and can quickly help diagnose the problem.<SCRIPT type=text/javascript> vbmenu_register("postmenu_2836441", true); </SCRIPT>

 

Hey
did your body ever figure out what was rong with his car/