Hi all. My son bought an 83 camaro a few months ago and I'm trying to get it running. It would crank up and run a few seconds then die. It has a 350 in it with a carb and at some point there was a fire under the hood by the looks of the windshield wiper motor and distributor. I started by replacing burnt wires and installing a fuel filter. Still cranked up then stalled. Noticed the gas looked orange in the filter so I drained tank and lines and put some fresh gas in. It didnt help. I replaced the carb with a new Holley. I checked for 12v at the distributor. Had that. I tried running a wire straight from battery to batt connection on the dizzy to see if ignition switch was bad- no change. I installed a new distributor and still get the same results. Plugs have been changed. I just can't figure out why it won't idle. All the vacuum lines look like they are hooked up correctly. I even poured a little gas into carb thinking at least it would run for a sec but no. My son said when he bought it it would crank and stay running. I'm stumped. Any ideas?

 

Ok got a new development, it will only stay running if I hold the key in the crank position. I only tried this for a second, didn't want to fry the starter. So I'm guessing it's losing voltage somewhere or the ignition switch is bad. Leaning more toward the voltage theory or I could have possibly wired something incorrectly. Bad ground maybe? Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

Based on what you just described, its sounding like somebody had the steering column apart at some point, and didn't get the wires re-secured properly. Time to inspect and probe the circuit in the vicinity of the ignition switch.

Based on several threads I've read, buggered wiring in the column and around the switch is a frequent culprit in these "why does it keep dying" threads.

I think lots of shade-tree "how hard can it be?" alarm installers have had their way with the ignition wiring of third-gen cars.

 

I verified the ground to the engine and the negative batt cable were good. Picked up an ignition switch today and started the adventure of replacing it. I figured while I was in there inspecting I might as well change it. Got the steering wheel off. The manual says I have to drop the column to get to it. Great. Should be interesting.

 

Thanks for the input W.E.G. And yes the wiring around the column looks suspect. A few wire nuts and electrical tape make me suspicious. Now maybe I can use the ground fault isolation concept I read in another thread to pinpoint the problem. Anyone know if the ignition switch is accessible to check without having to drop the column?

 

Drop the column, its not hard, just four bolts. I can pretty much guarantee that the ignition switch is your problem, I had the exact same issue. While you're at it, might as well replace your high beam switch too, if you have any doubts about it.

 

Only 2 bolts holding the column up. And you probably don't even need a new switch, you just need to adjust it up a wee bit. When you find it you will see that it's mounts are slotted for this purpose.