i bought an 85 trans am with a tpi 305 v8 that was in a front end collision, after we cut the damaged radiator support & front frame off we hooked up a battery, once the battery had a good enough charge the motor turned over put won't start, (the fuel pump won't kick on) what can we do to get it to run?,

 

Check to see if your wiring got messed up at all. Get a wiring diagram and chase the wires back to ensure nothing got damaged. I accidentally cut the wrong wire once (fuel pump related) when rigging up a fan switch, and I got confused when the motor wouldnt fire.

I doubt that the fuel pump just decided to die right at this moment either, I would guess it's still good. Check your fuses and your relay as well.

 

the guy helping me with cut off the radiator support & get the engine running says it's got a safety switch, if the car's hit hard enough the ecm turns off the fuel pump,

where does the wiring run?, if it went through the front end i'm screwed, he cut out the headlight wiring & some wiring near the radiator overflo tank when i wasn't looking......

 

the guy spliced a wire from the fuel pump & ran it directly to the battery & we got the motor to run for a while but then it flooded out & hasn't ran since, i unhooked the battery & took out the splice & fixed the wires, i took out the carpet & traced the fuel pump wires to the kickpanel under the dash by the fuseblock & checked all the fuses i also pulled out & unhooked the ecm, the guy was supposed to come over today to try to help me but never did

i'm convinced the ecm turning off the fuel pump is bogus & that the car will run without cutting up the wiring, i just have to find what's really causing it...

also what are the silver metal, & black plastic boxes by the ecm?

 

First, there is NO fuel cutoff switch. Fords used a kinetic switch to cut fuel pum power in the event of a collision, but no domestic GM vehicles EVER had those to my knowledge. ThirdGens certainly do not.

As for the fuel pump operation, the ECM will run the fuel pump for two seconds after the ignition is turned on, then shut it off. The fuel pump will not run again until the ECM receives reference pulses from the distributor (from the engine rotating) or the ignition power is cycled off for 20 seconds or more. All this relies upon the fuel pump relay working, and the ECM/Fuel pump fuse. On an '85, that fuse may be in the main fuse panel in the interior of the vehicle, but is likely in a single fuse holder clipped to the radiator shell:



Near the ECM will be several relays for various functions. One would be a power antenna, another would be a rear defog module, another would probably be the MAF module on the back of the ECM, and yet another would be a VSS buffer module.

 

is that picture above .... with the fseable links and stuff. Is that only for a 1985?

 

[quote] First, there is NO fuel cutoff switch. Fords used a kinetic switch to cut fuel pum power in the event of a collision, but no domestic GM vehicles EVER had those to my knowledge. ThirdGens certainly do not. [/qoute]

i knew it was b.s., i'll check on the other stuff tomorrow

 

can you get me more pics like this?