I have been having problems with my starter not kicking in right away.. I sometimes get a click sound and sometimes nothing.. After several tries it usually starts... I thought I would replace the starter relay but it doesn't appear to have one... I found a wire harness connector next to the fuse block that fits the new relay but it was empty... I can't seem to find any wire hacks to bypass the relay... Does anybody know if some cars were made without using the starter relay or if there is a place to bypass it somewhere in the harness that I haven't found yet.???. I am second owner on the car but I bought it in 94 with only 20k miles and nothing has been done in that area while I have owned it... Thanks...

 

The only relay would be the VATS.

 

Is your battery and connections good? Possibly the solenoid starter is bad?
Try hotwiring the starter direct and see if it still clicks.That will tell if it the problem is the starter or the wiring to it
Don't know about F-bodies but the starter enable relay is part of the VATS system.The relay is closed when the VATS module sees the correct key in ign.

 

The battery is good and the starter/solenoid are good... It cranks fine once it engages... It might start fine the first time I turn the key or it might take 3 to 5 on/off cycles of the key and then it starts fine.... I bought a start enable relay to swap it out first to see if that cures the problem (worth the $10 bucks if it avoids pulling the starter)... However, the problem is that I can't find the start enable relay to make the swap... It has VATS since the key is resistor coded so I assume it must have a start enable relay somewhere... I pulled the kick panel and there is nothing there except wires running under the carpet to the rear of the car... Looked around the steering column and the fuse box but nothing except the empty connector coming from the wire harness right behind the fuse box... It just happens to have the same pin orientation as the replacement start enable relay but the fog light relay is the same as the start enable relay so this could be just the option connector for a fog light relay...

I would post pics but haven't figured out how to do that here yet...

 

see if you are getting power to the purple wire on the s term of the starter when you turn the key before you start throwing parts at it

if the signal is not getting there then check the neutral saftey switch

 

It may do , but that is only the starter itself. There is also the solenoid component of the starter to deal with
If the solenoid contacts are worn ( common ) then it may not be making the " perfect " connection everytime which is why you need repeated tries to get it to work.

 

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/elec...y-starter.html

 

Mystery finally solved... Went to a local Chevy dealer and they didn't have a clue, but, they did have an old 92 shop manual.... We found the component location, although not exactly clear, it did lead me to the start enable relay... There is no way it can be located behind the kick panel on this car (factory harness)... Instead there are two identical connectors right behind the fuse box... The key to finding it was the location drawing... The fog light relay is a short harness with connector for the relay and comes out of the harness bundle running to the Test Connector... The start enable relay comes from the main wire harness bundle and sits above the fuse box tucked away above the main harness... I found it after searching blindly with my hand... It also is a short harness about 4 inches long ending in a connector that is the relay socket just like the fog light relay... On my harness, the start enable relay connector (socket) is marked PED 11 and the fog light relay connector (socket) is marked PED 15... The start enable relay is a cube with about 1 inch sides... Mine had tape around it and the socket to keep it from accidentally coming loose....

Thanks for all your input.... Guess I got lucky that the dealer had an old manual as the usual shop manuals don't show it.... I will just have to wait and see if the intermittent problem went away.... If not, the next stop is the clutch switch followed by the PassKey wires or Solenoid (even though the starter was recently rebuilt with a new solenoid)....

 

it really helps to have the helms manual