Hi guys, so i recently bought a 1980 c3 corvette, it ran for a bout 2 weeks before dying on me and hasent started ever since, i bought a brand new battery and everything works but the car will not crank and or start in any way, any advice?

 

do the lights, horn or anything work?
Did it quit while driving or just wouldn't start one day?
Standard or auto?
Need a little more info

 

it’s an automatic, woke up one morning and didn’t want to start lights and power al work.

 

Do a search on this forum for some common terms and you'll get a ton of hits! There's a lot of reasons why a car won't start, everything from corroded battery cables to no voltage at the coil. Try it out and you can start working your way around the engine compartment and fuse box.

 

First thing I'd look at is the neutral safety circuit that prevents the car from starting in gear (other than park or neutral) that will shot off the starter circuit completely, or the starter solenoid could have quit.
Can you hear a click or anything out near the starter when you turn the key?

Unfortunately I have an older vette so I'm not familiar with your system and hopefully someone will pop in now with some actual help as to where to look on your particular year.
M

 

Easy way to test it is put it in nuetral and try and start it. Then move the shifter a bit but keep your foot on the brake

 

Just trying to dig and clarify a bit more:
So the starter is engaging and turning the engine over but it won't make any attempt to fire? Or is the starter completely non-responsive?

 

This will sound silly but my 82 stopped dead in the middle of an intersection which I luckily rolled thru and got it off the street. Cranked and cranked it until the battery died. Had it towed to the shop and the next day they informed me that it was out of gas even though the fuel gauge indicated above a half. Once gas was added it started right up. I've had an ongoing issue with the fuel sender, gauge as long as I've owned he car but that's a different thread i'll get around to starting someday. It wouldn't hurt to make sure you have fuel.

 

The starter is no turning or doing anything

 

ok for sure i’ll try to put some fuel in and try to start it up! thank you!

 

"The starter is no turning or doing anything."
"ok for sure i’ll try to put some fuel in and try to start it up! thank you!"

This is a perfect example of what I've been giving thought to recently. If the starter is not turning, there is no amount of fuel that will get this car to run!

I'm glad he's coming here for help, but I'd bet that he's a guy who just got one of these cars and now wants to know how to deal with this. Not that it's a bad thing, but now we've got a new crowd of people picking up these C3's and they may not have the knowledge, the tools and the werewithal that a lot of us members here have, growing up with analog, carb'd automobiles that are decades and decades old.

And then we end up trying to give them a 25 post thread educating them and all the aspects of this problem. And it's likely that they don't have the Service Manual, or a test light, a multimeter and a good set of tools. We should ask, what is your level of mechanical and electrical competence? Do you have a multimeter or test light? Do you know your way around an electrical schematic? If you had to trace the pink wire to the neutral safety switch to see if there's continuity across the switch, can you do that? And start with the green and black striped wire that comes off there (if memory serves me correct).

Secondly, they picked one of the hardest vintage Chevy products to work on, especially under the dash! The solution could be as easy as jiggling the key, or cleaning the battery connectors, or it could be something you have to track down, bit by bit. Maybe we should have a sticky with the facts of owning these cars. Because nobody is going to work on them for you for free and many mechanics distance themselves from these cars, because they know how tough it is to work on them. Or you're going to need a whole lot of education on how a 1970's GM Ignition System works from the ignition switch push rod that engages the switch on top of the steering column all the way to the spark plug boot.

None of this is common knowledge anymore. Especially the carbs. We were talking about that yesterday at my old industrial center, that it's hard to find someone to rebuild carbs well, anymore (and I say well, because it's even harder to find someone good at it!). The Service Manual is an absolute, no kidding, must have, owning one of these cars!

Why, because it breaks it all down! If this gent had it, the manual lays it all out! Source: GM 1974 Chevrolet Service Manual: Section Engine. Page 6-57 Diagnosis.
"Engine Fails To Start"
a. Corroded or loose battery terminal connections and/or weak battery.
b. Broken or loose ignition wire and/or faulty ignition switch.
c. Excessive moisture on plusgs, caps or ignition system.
d. Damaged distributor rotor, cracked distributor cap and/or corroded distributor contact points.
e. Fouled spark plugs and/or improper spark plug gap.
f. Weak or faulty coil.
g. Carb flooded and/or fuel level in carburetor bowl not correct.
h. Dirt and water in gas line or carb.
i. Sticking Choke.
j. Faulty fuel pump.
k. Faulty solenoid or starting motor.

Personally, I would've but "k" behind 'k', because 'c' through 'j', imply the engine is turning. With 'k' faulty solenoid or starting motor, the engine is not going to turn. A test light and somebody turning the switch by the starter and seeing if there's 12v there would tell you right away. Or better yet ,a remote starter and see if the engine even cranks, and there's a ton of You Tube videos and images showing how to hook one up. I have a Harbor Freight remote starter that is a total POS, but it cranks the starter over, straight from the battery, eliminating that problem in about ten seconds.

So how do we help the newbies with limited knowledge, getting them to either a sticky here or figuring out, how much they know? Either one, would be a good start in my opinion.

 

How mechanically inclined are you?
Do you have a way of checking for voltage at the solenoid?
You should have a constant 12V. On the solenoid should also be an "I" terminal for ignition that comes from the keyed 12v source when the key is in the run position.
The other is "S" for start going back to a keyed 12V keyed source.
You can also check your grounds at the starter I would check those first
Have you looked at the fusible links at all? any chance you can smell burnt wiring under the hood or under the dash when this happened?

 

The link below is more in depth

https://www.ifitjams.com/starting.htm

 

Holy **** Scott you just made my head spin LOL

 

Im magic that way...I didnt right it though the link at the bottom explains each step. We need to right one to include the fusible links and other corvette specif things....maybe do a headlight and wiper one two

 

Oh **** that would be easy to write

[wont start]
I
check to see what Bubba did

 

Love it...That would work for my entire car!!! LOL

 

ok sorry OP didn't mean to get away from you.

 

Clue number one: he bought a new battery, has power everywhere but at the starter.

I take it this is a "Side-Post" battery? Its tough to get a 100% connection with those crappy designs in tight quarters.

Remove the NEG cable first, clean thoroughly: cables terminal, batterys external pad and even the bolt. Leave it off to the side. Now do the POS side.
Take note how the cables bolt fits. Are some of the threads missing? Peel back some of the rubber around the terminal end and inspect. Do you feel that the cable is actually tightening down on the battery? Or is it the bolt just bottoming out with the terminal still loose?

Just went through this last summer. Switched to a 1 1/2" long bolt (same thread) nut & washer. First I run the bolt through the terminal and bottom out the bolt in the battery. Then tighten the nut / washer against the cable terminal. Super tight connection.
I now have bolt heads sticking out of the battery. What a great place to latch on with jumper cables!

 

yea I saw that but he had issues before replacing the battery. but good point