ok as before my car doesnt start at night. for some reason its only at night. im thinking its temprature related. might be that i have condensation in the lines but its not cold enough to freeze. i did go out and get a fuel additive for condesation in the lines. but that didnt work. ide like to go somewhere sometime when its dark outside but i cant. any advise would help

 

You need to check and see if you have spark. Could be your coil or cap. Had a 76 Camaro when it rain one time it woud not start ended up being a bad coil and a cracked cap. Check your fuel pressure on both day and night.

 

ok ive eliminated moisture and temprature problems. so the only things i can think about are fuel pressure regulator or oil pressure. let me start by listing what is currently wrong. biggest problem my harmonic balancer needs to be replaced it fell loose. my valve cover gaskets need to be replaced and my oil sending unit leeks as well. i didnt see any cracks in my dist cap and my plugs and wires look clean. the car does lope when i put it in nuetral and coast. put remains at about a steady 1500 rpms when its at a complete stop. once again its a case of likes to start in the day but says heck no at night. this is a 2.8 firebird s/e with a 5 sp man

 

I would replace what you know is broken. That will elminate any of those being the culprit.

I would replace the distributor cap. A crack could be so small or could casue arching. I could not see a crack in my 76 but it was bad just the same.

Also check your ignition module

Distrobutor pick up coil could be the culprit.

Read countinuity on your wires to be sure that they are good.
A coil can just go. Mine went out when I pulled into a gas station. Just stoped.

PUll your plugs are check the gap and ensure that they are clean. gap should be 0.45

 

I also have a harmonic balancer from a 3.1 should be the same 20.00 shipped

I reaaly dont think that your fuel pressure regulator would go bad just by it being at night. CHeck your fuel pressure witha tester both day and at night when it wont start. See if its leaking down.

WHen it wont start do you have spark. Pull a wire and ground it again frame with a screw driver. See if it has spark. I am leaning toward it being a sprak problem

 

i'll try to see what i get tonight i have to pressure tester for my fuel pressure. put i can test the spark. seeing im in the navy all my auto tools are back home in michigan. im going to definatly bring some basic tools back with me after i go on leave and get back. also how hard would it be to do a 4.3 swap

 

GO NAVY THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.

I retired as a AS1 with twenty years in 2003. You want to do a 3.4 swap from a 4th gen firebird camaro. everything will bolt right up. Guess it really makes a difference.

 

thanks for the info. and thanks im an EMFA right now but that will all change soon

 

Good on yea I started as a AR no A school nothing. Worked up from there. Made PO3 in 2 years.

 

ok new assesment time. just went and she started right up. so now i know that if i let it sit it will start. as i drive it, something happens and after a while of driving it wont start. i did notice my oil pressure was low. if im thinking right the oil has to be at a certain pressure. so i might need to change my oil sending unti and fix those faulty valve cover gaskets. might also change the o2 sensor as well. gonna go back in a little bit and try to start it again. but as so far i get spark.

 

As Kurfbird suggested replace the dist cap/rotor with a good quality(bras contacts instead of aluminum).Especially if you can't recall the last time it was replaced.Check the resitance in the pickup coil.The one on my '95 Jimmy was doing similar,except time of day didn't matter.The coil would break down as it heated.Same can be said for plug wires.They can look good but resistance builds as they age.A quick test for them is with her running at night with no exterior light source look for a blue halo around the wires.

EDIT:Another thing that can cause starting problems is a faulty or loose gas cap.

 

okay i took it out today and it started fine. i parked it and let it set for about 2 hours give or take. went back wouldnt start. its cold out so im guessing some condensation somewhere. to start i removed the distributor cap. wouldnt you know it. you shoulda seen the oxidation under there. the dist contacts were bad the rotor not so bad. the dist itself was rusted pretty good and the ign mod is not lookin so well either. to continue i removed a spark plug wire and tested for spark. and no spark. so this is what i think is goin on. first the darned thing just needs to be replaced. dist cap rotor and ign mod. second effects of cold and heat play a role. when its warm the metal expands enough to make good enough contact. when its cold it contracts and doesnt. anyway thats just my thoughts