here we go again..... so im just about to finish up the swap. now i put the key in and no power. well sorta.... i think the fuel pump primed but the engine did no turn over. no power to the starter. is the starter disabled by the vats, are the proms from gmpartsdirect.com come with vats or are they disabled? thats where i got my prom from. i thought it disabled the fuel pump. is it the starter? what should i look for and how do i correct it? thanks for any help guys.

 

Check the wires at the starter, you may have hooked them up wrong... that is if you have 12v on the main cable anyways. I couldnt tell you which is correct, I always forget myself.

 

That depends what year your PROM is for. They started VATS in '89 I believe.

 

Sorry, double post.

 

ttt. help please

 

What year is your car and what year is the TPI setup? I had the same exact problem about a month ago....and checked EVERYTHING that it could possibly be....and it ended up being the last thing i checked But let me know and I can give you quite a few ideas.

 

car 90 rs
tpi setup(plenum runners and base) 87
harness 90tpi (i want sd)
ecm its 90tpi bought the chip(eprom) for it from gmpartsdirect
need any other info? thanks for any help

 

It's a possiblity it's vats since you have a '90 computer. That wasn't the problem w/ mine because I used an '87 computer. What is it doing w/ you turn the key? Is it trying to crank up...or is it just dropping dead not making a sound? On mine it ended up being the little hose in the gas tank connected to the fuel pump...it busted causing me to get hardly any fuel pressure. I'm assuming you got a new fuel pump for TPI correct? Check your fuel pressure...and that will tell you if it's something w/ the pump/lines, or if it's vats. There are other possiblities, but I can't name them until I know exactly what your car is doing when you turn the key.

 

i think it does nothing , i needa double check. but im sure its not. think its the vats? thanks

 

Well if it had something to do w/ the fuel pressure, the car would at least TRY to turn over. Oh, and I hope you replaced that little piece of rubber hose in the gas tank w/ high pressure hose....cause it will bust.
Well if your car is doing NOTHING....then the cause is more than likey loose wires at the starter, or VATS. Crawl under the car and tighten all the wires on the starter and hopefully that's the problem (probably not). If it is VATS, there's a few ways to disable it, the simplest to get a chip burned disabling VATS....ask around in the DIY PROM board and see who can do it for you at a reasonable price. Another option...if you can get the original key that went w/ the car w/ your computer, you can take it to a dealership, and get a new key made to fit your car, but w/ the correct chip for the ECM. But dont just automatically jump to the conclusion that it's VATS and go out and spend the $$$ for a chip...check other things...like whether or not it's getting spark.