Ok. So lately I have noticed that when starting up the camaro it takes a few tries. I mean i'll turn the key and it will crank a few times.. I stop wait and turn again.. and again it cranks.. take about 4 times and then it cranks and starts to catch but nothing.. then after 2 or 3 times with cranking and feeling like its gonna start it will kick over and turn on.. just wondering what i should be looking at as a cause of this.. not a huge problem.. just kind of "embarassing" a little when you are sitting there getting ready to leave and it takes a few cranks.. once it starts its all good but just curious as to why it does that. Thakns

 

Year/Model/Engine/Induction would help.

But my guess - Sounds like maybe the fuel pump is not getting primed hen the key is turned on, and therefore there isn't enough fuel to get the car started until some oil pressure gets built up by the cranking and switches the Oil Pressure Sendin Unit on to run the fuel pump.

Get us some more info about the car. Check the fuel pump relay. Check the fuse located in the pass side fenderwell under the hood behind the battery. Check the other fuses under the driver side dash.

 

thanks for hte input.. yea its a 1987 Iroc-z with 350 tpi

 

When I start my car, I can hear a very slight whine when the fuel pump kicks on, then it shuts off after it primes the system up to fuel pressure.

I never turn the key past ON to the Start position, until I hear the fuel pump kick back off and my car never takes more that 2-3 seconds to start, despit the 200,000 miles.

 

well i turn the key to the on position.. i hear a noise.. i guess a hum or actually likea ocmpressor or something and it goes away after 2 seconds.. then i try starting.. every time i try to start it does just the crank when i stop cranking i hear the noise again..

 

Yes i use the same method of starting my car

 

That would be the pump, priming the system up to pressure. Once the pressure gets to the right point, it cuts off.

 

I wanna wire up a couple of LEDs, to use as an indicator of the pump & the torque converter lock up, being on.

 

OK - so it sounds like your pump is doing it's thing. There should be plenty of fuel to start and run for a minute off this 'priming' function that you are hearing.

So my second guess would be maybe an ignition module - it's located inside the distributor under the rotor button. But before you go digging it out - check each plug wire and make sure you're getting spark to them when cranking. Meantime - maybe someone else will chime in with better guesses - I'm no expert with the TPI systems, I just know the basics.

 

Thats a great idea, let me know if you do it

 

I have all the wires identified an noted them but...

#1, bigger projects in the way
#2, I'm too lazy to follow through & actually DO IT!

I was gonna put the LEDs in one of the unused switch knock out plates, like the one for the OEM Bose EQ switch. But I wanna put a label on there too, not just LEDs.

 

Try cleaning the throttle body with some throttle body cleaner, might need to clean out the IAC passage as well.

 

I put them in. I removed the cluster, and put LED's in the upper left corner. The TC lockup is a grounding function - so I have a + wire running to the LED, and a - wire connected with my TC lockup kit - so when the TC locks up, the ground is made by the vacuum switch, and the LED lights as well.

Same basic principle with my fan - the temp sensor grounds when the temp is reached, so I plugged into that ground and it also lights the LED that already has + power to it. Although with the fan, it's usually easy to tell, as it usually only comes on when stopped at a light or in traffic, and I can hear it.

 

You might want to go ahead and pull all the plugs. Old or fouled plugs make starting a PITA. That would be the first place I would check. If you are getting it to run, you most likely don't have a fuel or spark problem. Air possibly, so cleaning the IAC and TB is not a bad idea either. I'm betting on plugs though.

 

get a propane torch and check for vacuum leaks and if you dont find any verify the ignition timing,then
get a fuel pressure gauge connected to the fuel rail,hit the key it should RAPIDLY climb to about 40psi and hold at that pressure, if it drops off, that's a common symptom or either a defective fuel pressure regulator OR a leaky injector, next check your oil pressure sending unit, at less than 5 psi of oil pressure the ignition cuts off, the delay in starting can be due to low fuel pressure or no spark at the plugs,theres a flow chart in the link below and more info

theres a good deal of info here

http://forum.grumpysperformance.com/...hp?f=55&t=1241

 

Ok.. To give you guys the best idea of what is going on here is a video of me starting the car.. Not sure if hearing it will help any in figuring what the problem might be.. Thanks

 

nice lookin iroc, im not the best once you start messing with fuel injection, but it still sounds to me like an issue with fuel/air, if it were a fouled sparkplug you would have noticed it when you reved it up and we should have heard it, does it hesitate at all once the trans is put in gear and you try to stomp on it, or does it respond normal, i saw when you got it started the black unburnt fuel comming out the tail pipes, also before it started i noticed that it turn over a few times and sound like it wasn't getting either enough fuel or air, based on the unburt fuel out the back once it did start i would say that it is air, unless you had your foot on the gas trying to get it to start

 

probably should check fuel pressure and leak down, i dont know spec off the top of my head. i know fuel pressure should hold for at least 30seconds after key is turned off. Restricted fuel filter will cause a slow prime and weak spark and excessive plug gap will cause a slow start also.

 

Wow, thats really bad. If all the parts are 87, it might be the cold start valve/injector is not working. Check to make sure you have fuel pressure (I did not hear the fuel pump prime at all, but there was a lot of background noise) and then next I would look at testing the cold start switch and valve/injector.

 

How would I go about checking that?