I'm stumped on this one and hope some members can help me out on where to go next to troubleshoot. So last spring I go out and start my GTA on Saturday morning. (Weekly ritual..Not my daily driver, but drive it every weekend I get a chance). It fired on first crank, then nothing...Cranks, cranks, and cranks. Wait 10 minutes and it will fire off on first crank then nothing. Now it won't even do that, but turn over and over.

Below are the things I've done;

1.) New Delphi Coil
2.) New Delphi ICM

These were original so I replaced for preventive maintenance anyway.

Researched on this site that the VATS could be an issue so rather than molest the harness, I put in a chip programmed by a reputable 3rd. gen owner to bypass the VATS. Still no start. So I bought a noid light kit and I get pulse at injector. I have 40 psi at the fuel rail as I put on a oil filled 0-60 psi gauge at the rail. I have spark at #1 plug wire at plug using a spark tester. Check engine light comes on when turn key. Fuel and oil gauges comes on as well. Is it possible I have a bad pickup coil ? What about the spark module that mounts to the firewall next to the brake booster ? (Can't understand that when I have spark at plug wire).

Again, I'm at a lost here and if anyone can give me direction on what to check next will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

For what it's worth, you can probably rule out VATS. I had intermittent VATS problems in my 92 camaro, and every time it would happen, the red or orange (been a few years, can't remember) "SECURITY" light would glow in the dash.

Although, to complete the VATS bypass, in addition to a reprogrammed EEPROM, I recall having to bypass a certain crank disable relay beneath the driver dash. Might try looking into that.

 

Interesting...I've never heard of a "crank relay" on these 3rd. gens....Could anyone elaborate more on this ?

 

I think he means starter relay. It's in the driver side kick panel on my '88 GTA. If your car is cranking, that's obviously not the problem.

 

When you say fire off, does it start then die or do you turn the ignition off?

 

At first it would fire right off, and as anyone would, they let off the key. Now it just cranks and cranks. I really need help with this.... Anyone...I want to get it in to the paint shop before it gets cold.

 

Oddly enough, searching for "crank disable relay" on google brings up my old post from 2007 when I asked about it. I called it that because the odd name in the VATS bypass instructions stuck with me after all these years.

It is indeed in the kick panel as brian said, and thinking back I suppose it is the starter relay.

Probably not what you're looking for.

 

Now I had a similar problem in my 86 trans am just two weeks ago. The car would crank, there was spark, and fuel, but it wouldn't even sputter.

In my case, I had replaced the distributor cap and somehow screwed up my timing. It was off just enough to keep the car from even sputtering. Might be worth checking the timing.

I ordered a $30.00 timing gun from amazon, set my timing, and the car runs fine now.

 

Well my distributor was not disturbed when this no start "condition" showed up. Even so, I would think it would fire, spit, cough, and backfire if moved.
Help ! Spark and fuel, but no fire... I can't figure it out.....

 

Pull a spark plug and see what it looks like after cranking it. If you are getting injector firing but will not start, the plugs should look wet and smell of gas. Not all spark is the same, you need a good hot spark as in a blue color not a weak orange/red color. You could run a wire from your battery plus terminal to the coil positive terminal to see if it will start. You may not have good voltage at the coil which will give a weak spark. HTH!

 

I have a 96 camaro and one day it just wouldn't start. Radio and lights come on but no dash lights and no noise while trying to start. I replaced the ignition switch and still nothing. Anyone have a similar issue or know what else it could be?

 

Your 96 will probably differ than the thirdgens here.

When electronics goes awry start at the fuses.

From there, may want to circle back to the fusible links by your starter. I think the 4th gen had a similar setup there, but you may want to check a 4th gen forum or someone who knows them better.

Also, it's kind of rude to reply to a thread from 2015 and make a post about your unique issue.

Should start a thread (on a relevant 4th gen forum)