Vette wouldn't start

[Vettefan87]

Well I leave from school today and go to work to pick up my check, all is well the vette was running great. Come back outside and go to start the car and it wouldn't turn over. I had 12 volts on the digital read out, but when I turned the key to the start position nothing happened. I had dash lights, the door bells, radio. Well after a good half hour of messing with it I got it started.

What could it be? A loose connection on the starter or solenoid, or is it something in the ignition? All I know is I go from having two cars...then down to 1....then down to 0. Isn't that nice?
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[67HEAVEN]

Justin,

Provide some additional feedback. Was the starter clicking at all? What did you "mess with" to get it going?

How long was it off for? Or, to put it another way, was it still quite warm when you first tried to re-start it?

Anything else you can tell us to help narrow it down.

 

[Vettefan87]

No no clicking no noises nothing... I just played with turning the key to the start position then off, and back and forth...I do not believe I ever took the key out of the ignition.
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[67HEAVEN]

No no clicking no noises nothing... I just played with turning the key to the start position then off, and back and forth...I do not believe I ever took the key out of the ignition.​

When it finally turned over, did it sound like normal cranking speed, or was it cranking slowly?

 

[G Winter]

If I remember right you have an auto. Did you move the shifter at all? Sounds like it could be the nuetral switch.

Glenn

 

[Vettefan87]

It cranked over at normal speed, there was no abnormal noise driving it home or while starting, it ran fine once it finally started.
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[67HEAVEN]

I think Glenn is on the right track.

Did you fiddle with the shifter before getting it going?

 

[Chris Kennedy]

Once, I had a similar problem with a manual '81, and I finally figured out it was a dead spot of some sort on the starter! Weird, but true.

/s/ Chris Kennedy

 

[Vettefan87]

I took it out of gear, put it in nuetral wouldnt start, so then I put it back in park and went from off to start several times and it started.
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[67HEAVEN]

I took it out of gear, put it in nuetral wouldnt start, so then I put it back in park and went from off to start several times and it started.​

It's more than likely the ignition switch or the neutral safety switch.

 

[DRTH VTR]

Could the ignition switch be bad?

 

[Vettefan87]

Well other then that instance it has started on Saturday, and again today (Sunday). So do I just drive it and say F*** it until it happens again?
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[G Winter]

If it failed once it will fail again but an intermitent problem is really tough to fix. Make sure you always have your cell phone with you.

Glenn

 

[o2bnkc]

I had this problem on two previous Chevy's. A Blazer and a brand new S-10. The problem in both cases was the little chip in the key. Sometimes they would start, and sometimes not. I would wait a little while and there would be no problem until next time. After it happened in the S-10, I swore off Chevy's until............ I don't know if the 87 has a chip in the key, but that's what my problems ended up to be.

 

[Vettefan87]

Yes my 87 does have the chip (resistor) in the key.
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[Vettefan87]

Well I had it out today for about a half hour drive and when I got back home it still started...So I am not sure why it isn't acting up now...
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[RV Guy]

I've had my '86 for about three years now. After I had owned it for several months I experienced what you described. Hit the key and nothing. Fiddle with the key and the gear selector, park to neutral, and without knowing what I had done it would all of a sudden start. This happened several more times over a three month period and I couldn't put any reason to it. It always happened after I had driven it somewhere. It never happened at home. I took it to my Vette doctor and he told me he had serviced it before for the same reason for the previous owner. He had diagnosed it as a starter problem before and had changed the starter. He still thought it was a starter problem and figured he had gotten a bad one so he replaced it again. A few weeks later I had the same problem, again. I can’t remember where I learned about the problems that can happen with the VATS. It was probably here. I ordered the Security Override System from Corvette Central, I think most off the specialty supply houses have them. It cost $26.95 and after installing it I haven’t had the problem. That was over two years ago.

Hope this helps you.

 

[86PACER]

The problem you describe is indicative of an intermittent VATS (Vehicle Anti Theft System) issue. It's very common.

A good way to fix this issue is to first get a hold of an 86 GM Shop Manual and a digital multi meter. Once you have that, you'll find there are excellent troubleshooting charts just for this very problem. The next thing you will need is to be in a position to do the checks in the shop manual while the car is in it's little no start condition fit. This will prove to be the hardest part of all, since the problem happens completely at random and can catch you off guard. Otherwise, everything will check out fine when it's starting regularly and you won't find the problem. I had the exact same issue and for me it was the starter enable relay located behind the service engine soon light panel.

If this is your daily driver, I would not put this off. I kept putting it off, and finally the vette never started back up again and left me stranded in a parking lot. This was actually to my benefit. It gave me plenty of time to diagnose the problem.

In case of an emergency, cary a long piece of wire with you in the car. If your vette won't start up after waiting, you can simply jump that wire from the positive battery terminal directly to the small terminal of stater solenoid, after leaving the key in the on position. This will bypass everything and will crank the car so you can at least get home.

A quick way to check it next time it does not start is to do this. You will need a multi-meter and the car must be in it's no starting condition, otherwise everything will check out find and you won't find the problem.

This will tell you for sure if the problem is the starter or something in the VATS.

Next time it does not want to start, unbolt that single wire on the small terminal of the starter solenoid. It's the one closest to the engine. Now attach one end of a volt meter to it, and the other to ground. Have someone in the car try and crank it over. If you don't see battery voltage while the key is held in the cranking position, it's not the starter. It's something in the VATS system. If you do see battery voltage when cranking, quickly connect that wire back on to the starter. Try to start the car again. If it still does not start, it's the starter.

 

[Baldie88]

Slight Hijack

Please allow a slight hijack to this thread because I have a very similar situation with my 88.

A couple weeks ago mine did the exact thing, lights and everything but no start, not even a click. Luckily someone came by and gave me a jump and it started right up. So I went by Autozone where I had gotten the battery and they said it was weak. Replaced it and made sure the cable connections were clean.

Doing this made me think of bypassing the VATS just to make sure that never interferred so I did that too.

Then this past weekend I had the same no start condition. Lights and everything worked. Tried jumping and that didn't work either. Naturally I was 250 miles from home waiting to take the track at Indy (but that's another story). Luckily one of my club members had some tools and after tightening the battery terminals it fired up. No problems for 3-4 starts and then on the way back home it did it again. Same guy tightened the cables again, even through they barely turned, and pulled on the fuseable link near the battery and with some other wires in the area and it fired up again.

So now I'm paranoid and have a possessed car! My plan is to pull the battery again and clean up the terminal connections by the battery and make sure the fuseable link isn't corroded. A friend I talked to had a similar problem on a non-Corvette and he ended up replacing the battery cables themselves. Found out that although both ends were fine, they had corroded somewhere along the middle and that fixed his problem.

So am I on the right track or is there something else I should be checking?

Hope you solve your problem Vettefan87. Doesn't your heart just drop down to your stomach when this stuff happens!

Ron
"Baldie88"