i got a problem with my iroc, whenever I go to start the car it will never start on the first try. It always starts but it goes something like this: 1st try CLICK!, 2nd CLICK, 3rd try CRANK CRANK CRANK CRANK CRANK VROOOOM. So why does it click once or twice before it starts? Bad starter? solenoid? I think it got heat soaked from when i broke in the motor. I tested the battery it's good. I also had to replace the lock cylinder and the vats had been bypassed

 

I would look into one of the 3 following things.
Make sure batter cables are clean and connected tight; sometimes a bad battery connection would act like this.

Starter solenoid is going bad or has loose connection.

Finally, if the starter teeth are not meshing with the flywheel teeth correctly you might get something like this, which may be fixed by adding shims on the starter, but I kind of doubt this one, its more of a long shot.

If you have headers on your car I would suggest a starter wrap though, I destroyed a starter by not wrapping it. It would start fine, but when it sat after running for a bit, I could not start the car till it cooled down completely.

I would definitely look for dirty or loose connections first though.

 

Is the starter new (clean?), or used?

The click is the solenoid trying to engage. The solenoid makes contact internally to power the motor itself. If the solenoid doesn't travel fully, the motor contacts won't engage. Or, if the solenoid contacts are dirty/burnt, they may not provide power immediately.

Low voltage at the starter itself can also inhibit solenoid engagement. Checking the voltage at the small wire on the solenoid when this is happening would be the best way to diagnose that. It isn't uncommon to suffer voltage drops across each component in the train (harness bulkhead connectors, neutral safety switch, ignition switch, etc.).

 

yeah I checked things like battery connections they are good. I'm thinking solenoid contacts are worn maybe? the battery/starter wires I looked at look good even though that corrigated black plastic cover crap was melted onto it. I will test with a volt meter to make sure. It is a used starter, I was told it was an lt1 starter not sure though. And it doesn't have any shims on it but i had rebuilt this motor and put it on how it came off, doesnt grind so i dont think shims. only thing is starter bolts have like 8 washers on them. I have my headers wrapped with heat wrap (wouldn't stop melting wires) but i also made a homemade heat shield out of aluminum foil and some scrap header wrap. the one time the motor got to 240* it had a really hard time starting it had to wait a few minutes

 

i have the same problems on my 89 t/a except it wont trun over, i put a rebuilt starter in it and it still wont turn over. i have 12vdc at the main line and 12vdc at the signal line when its being cranked, but it dont even whine or turn at all, i tried jumping the solinoid with a screw driver and got NOTHING not even a spark so i NEED help to please.