I have a 91 z28 350 tpi...I changed the valve covers now the car wont start...turn the key it does nothing I hear the fuel pump come on and hear clicking under the hood but when you turn the key nothing NO draw even with the headlights on I checked power by the starter the bigger terminal has power im guessing the little wire is from the ignition switch has no power when key is on...Any ideas on where I can start to get this back up and running...Thanks...

 

Don't guess. Find out. That's the next step in troubleshooting. While you're there, you can jumper the big to the little terminal on the starter(make sure it's in park!) and see if it cranks. No crank still? Needs a starter. Cranks? Needs further troubleshooting.

 

I did check the little wire with the key on it had no power the big wire did...

 

Does the security light on the dash stay on with the key on?

 

When she turns the Key on the light will come on and then go off...i hear the fuel pump prime...i hear clicking i guess its the injectors or something under the hood...all lights work radio etc etc...just when you turn the key nothing....not even a click...

 

That's good, it makes it a lot more conventional in troubleshooting. As precaution, go back into the engine compartment and look for anything you may have bumped or disconnected when the valve covers came off. Double check if you've looked once before. Then check the crank fuse under the dash. Next up would be the neutral safety switch at the shifter. Make sure it's in park or try it in neutral. On a manual trans its the switch just above the clutch pedal. And then it's the unlikely problem of a bad starter relay in the d/s kick panel. Could be wiring and other unforseen issues to but for now check the obvious.

 

Ok i will try starting it again in neutral we did..it did nothing...now for the crank fuse i think its a 5 amp...checked it looked fine.I looked for loose wires didnt see anything i sure hope i didnt crimp a wire or even cut any the passenger valve cover was tight to get off and then back on.....also what does the starter relay look like?...what amp is it?...any pictures of where it is located...what makes this so hard to work on...its in the garage and its tight...lol....

 

Starter relay is in the kick panel left of the drivers feet/pedal area. I wouldn't dig that way just yet. Check if the fuse has power going through it. If so, pull the console apart far enough to see if there's power going through the neutral safety switch, they'll be the thicker purple(?) and yellow(?) wires. If you have no power to the fuse, it's likely you moved something under the hood that didn't want to be moved, like the fuseable links near the battery.

 

This diagram should help. http://austinthirdgen.org/mkportal/m..._continued.gif
I should've looked it up before instead of pulling from memory.

 

Thanks for the diagram..im going to check if there is power at the crank fuse with a test light too...then off to the neutral safety switch i go...i know there is power down to the starter now to trace back to see why there isnt power going to the little wire...i really wonder what the hell i did ....lol

 

Just an FYI. You need to have the ignition in start position to have power to the small wire on the solenoid. Need an extra set of hands to hold the ignition in start position while you check for voltage. HTH!

 

Ok makes sense i will recheck that again then too..but if it doesnt have power again it must be a wire or the neutral saftey switch?...

 

Correct!

 

OK the crank fuse has no power any ideas what else I can check...I checked the fusibles link by the battery power going thru power on both sides on the wire...so I'm lost now any other ideas.?

 

The crank fuse has no power with the key in the 'START' position? There is also the off chance the igntion switch attached to the column itself (not the key switch) could have a problem. I've never had one fail but it does happen, if you truly have no power at the fuse with the key switch in 'START' then the ignition switch would be my next destination.

 

Yes that fuse has no power key on or off...where is the ignition switch..can I get to it..is it easy to replace?

 

It's above the column. I believe you have to drop the column down a bit to get access to it. If/when you get that far, check the thicker red wire(s) there for power. They should be coming from your fuseable links providing power to the column. Then check if it's leaving the ignition switch to the neutral safety. The diagram doesn't show where the fuse is inline of this circuit so I don't know which place to check first...the neutral safety or the ign switch or the start enable relay...either way you'll have to pull things apart. The relay is easiest to get to but the ign switch is first inline....I guess take your pick. I feel like we're chasing our own tails for a simple circuit.

 

Thanks this seems to be getting further then i want to go....lol...i will see if i can get to it....the car is backed into the garage and not easy to open the door...and my wife wont let me push it out of the garage to access things easier i might throw the towel in on this one and have it brought somewhere...

 

OK no power at the crank fuse..no power at the neutral safety switch..I think what wires should have power?...if no power isn't there whats next? Where do I check the ignition switch?

 

according to the schematic...the fuseable links from the battery/starter feeds the ign switch. If there is no power coming from the ign switch, the neutral switch won't have power. But in between there is the starter enable relay, that's used for the vats system. It's easier to get to, if the thicker yellow wire gets power with the key turned to start then the ignition switch is getting and sending power out. I suggest to look at the relay, find out if power goes to it and see if power goes out the green wire.

 

OK the big red wire going into the ignition switch has power..what color wire goes into the starter enabler?..where is this I'm having a hard time finding it..is it a regular looking relay? Any pictures of it? Thanks I think we're on the right track...I hope...thanks for the help.

 

There's a yellow and a small pink going from the ign switch to the relay with power, key in start position. (use the diagram) When the relay is tripped by the power from the pink and the ground of the blk/yel wire (this wire is your VATS wire, no ground = VATS problem) the power will cross to the dark green wire heading for the neutral switch. https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/elec...ble-relay.html
Don't be afraid to do a search, this info has been covered before.