chevyracingrox

I made a new thread because only a few people pay attention to my old thread and I need more people involved to solve this problem. my 89 camaro has this weird thing that started yesterday. It just dies and then it doesn't start again. it wasn't a big deal yesterday because it just started working again 5 minutes later. its probably some safety switch acting up. the electrical connections are good but here's what happens.

back up in reverse and shift into first. car was idling around 2500 RPM when I let off the gas, really weird. then, before I can let off the clutch and take off it dies. turn the key, I can hear the fuel pump running, but when I try starting it nothing happens. starter doesn't turn, no clicking solenoid. usual pre-ignition lights are on. then if I try starting it again the "fasten seatbelts" light shuts off and the fuel pump doesn't come on. and of course stage 3 is nothing happens. its like I have a dead battery, but I don't. I put the charger on it and still nothing.

jstrdn90rs

Have you tried an ignition switch yet?..its located towards the bottom of the steering column on the top of it.Close to above the brake/clutch pedals.Might be worn out..it supplies voltage to the starter,ignition coil etc.

Luke

take the battery out and get it tested at auto zone. you can charge it but that no bet that it will take a charge. if you dont even hear a solinoid click and you see lights not coming on in the dash I would suspect a weak battery. test that first and go from there..

chevyracingrox

I had one of my mechanic friends come by and check it out. its the ignition switch. it has a chip key and thats what keeps it from starting. it doesn't make good contact. the car still runs sometimes, but I'm definitely ordering a new one. it has a locking pin that I have to take the steering wheel off and maybe some more stuff just to replace it. sounds fun. I'll try to get that ordered today.

jstrdn90rs

I didnt know they put the resistor chip in the key on 89's?..I thought they started that in 90?.Anyway if the chip in the key is worn its an easy fix...but if its in the cylinder in the steering column then its more of a task to replace.
If you have to remove the ignition cylinder ..keep the old wires for the VATS off of the old cylinder and find a resistor with the same readings as your key and make a jumper..just in case you have problems again in the future and you can use the jumper wire as a tester to isolate the key and cylinder.I noticed on the cylinder the wires arent connected very well and over time I think its going to break.So if I was out of town and it breaks I am a dead duck??.so I made one.You can get the resistors at any electronics stores.I like to have the feature and kept it..its a excellent system to have.My car had been attempted to be stolen from the previous owners as I found a note about it in the car and the drivers t-top isnt the correct one for that car and not to mention the glass bits underneath the driver seat and busted steering column.It might be have a ton of broken parts, but its still in the driveway.

chevyracingrox

thats actually what my mechanic friend said we could do. I called the dealership and they gave me a quote on how much it would be to replace... I'm going to stop over at my friends house and we'll get started on the jumper idea.

chevyracingrox

what color is the wire and which connector is it found in? does anybody know? I can't take the steering wheel off to find out because I don't have the tools or the money to buy them.

chevyracingrox

ok, from the service manual it looks like I want to cut the purple/yellow wire and white/black wire, put in my resistors, and see if it works. my problem is I can't find these wires. I'm looking for the pass key decoder module, but I can't find it.

jstrdn90rs

I used the old wires off the ignition cylinder and put my resistor in it ..there is a connector from the module to the ignition cylinder.So I can just unplug the wires to the cylinder and plug my jumper into it to test it or by-pass.However I will not discuss this in detail as to where it is,as this is a theft system..so your kinda on your own.

chevyracingrox

I found it and I've been playing with it since yesterday. it seems like its not my only problem. the car just loses all power sometimes. it just started yesterday too. I bought a variety pack of resistors from radio shack and have 2 resistors in series going across the 2 wires

connected------<>----<>-------connected
kinda like this^
the resistors add up to my resistance keys' value (3 keys, all the same resistance, and all have worked in the car before), but this fix isn't fixing anything. the security light doesn't go off if I try to start it and it doesn't start, but if it does run it turns on for 2 seconds before turning off, just like it should. it ran today and it was awesome. i'll try and get this thread in the electronics section.

could you pm me some pics of your vega pleeeeaaase. i love those things.

jstrdn90rs

Heres a pic of it..The car came from Texas,ran down the strip there a few times.I just finished the s-10 front end conversion as it still had the four lug front end.Its sitting a little high on the front end as theres no engine or trans in the car.I am buttoning up the engine and have to start on the trans..its a 60 over 350 with some pop-up pistons...large chamber heads to tone down the compression ratio for street use.The cam is an Elgin cam good street cam with some mild bracket racing.The interior is original except for the B&M star shifter and I hope I dont have to mini-tub it as I want to retain the back seat for those passengers.Its been on hold as I am just finishing up the camaro..got a set of fresh ported heads,cam and some other overdo repairs.I have to start on the transmission and then I can bolt it up and stick it in the chassis..I hope to be close to be running by the end of this year..

chevyracingrox

sweet! we don't have those around here anymore because they all rusted away. my dad says they were pretty much disposable cars. and the ones that didn't rust away got twisted into a pretzel from big mean V8s. I always thought they looked cool. like a miniature camaro. update me on the vega when you do something with it, just pm me.

I sent a pm to a moderator to get this thread moved so we'll see what they say. I can play around with the key a little bit and get it to start when its dark out. so temperature, moisture, could be a factor on a bad connection. I gotta move it into the shed tomorrow morning so I can get some access to the wires on the starter.

jstrdn90rs

The reason your pop says the vegas were disposable is due to the bad 4 banger engine design.I came from a long line of first gene GSXR's and couldnt ride them anymore,so I decided to find a car that was really light and stuff a good motor in it,I was a chevy guy before the bikes so it had to be a chevy again.So the vega came to mind and set out a search and found one in Texas and couldnt pass up the deal.I dont want to cut up the car too much as I want to keep it close to original,especially the interior.It only has a small half dollar size rust hole in the trunk..thats it.Many people tell me to big block it..but like your father says I would have to reinforce the frame to stop making it into a pretzelcar.Anyway I am glad you like it...back to your problem on your camaro?..I mentioned to check your ignition switch?.a worn out switch (not the one the key goes into) its located lower near the floorboard on top of the steering column?.If you rotate the key back and forth(from park to on position) does it turn off the security light at all?.and then you can start it?cause it almost sounds like the switch is worn and not suppling power to the Module for the VATS system?.

chevyracingrox

the security light will usually turn off after 2 seconds. after me and one of my friends tinkered with it a few hours we were beginning to think it was the module, but I didn't know there was an ignition switch other than the actual key switch. I'm going to check some of the wires in the engine bay to make sure I have good connections too.

chevyracingrox

I really like vegas because they're like the older version of my cavalier. I like a lot of chevy's old compact cars. monzas, citations, vegas, corvairs, I'm forgetting a few, but you get the idea. does your vega have a chassis or is it a uni-body like my cavalier and camaro? I've only seen one vega in my life and it was really cool. it was yellow, and looked completely untouched.