Starting issues with my '79
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 262
Likes: 1
From: Central New Hampshire
Starting issues with my '79
Long story short, I've had this car for a while in another state, finally got it home and have been fixing things here and there trying to get it running. Keep in mind, I'm not much of a car guy. Learned everything as I went (with help of some people/this forum/youtube). Might be worth mentioning when I purchased this car 6 years ago, the motor blew and did a swap with a ZZ4 turnkey from summit.
I finally got it idling without puttering out and dying, and was able to take it around the block.
None of my gauges seem to work, so I picked up some from my local auto shop, just to see if I could get it going and figure out how it was running. I hooked everything up, and she started up and eventually puttered out. Now it sounds like the starter is just clicking away and nothings happening. I thought maybe it was something stupid like no fuel, filled it up and still nothing. Thought maybe there was something I may have done wrong with the aftermarket gauges so I hooked it back up the way it was originally just to see what'd happen, and still just clicks.
The issue I had for the longest time was I'd have to hold down the clutch and give it a little gas to fire it up, and solved that issue by replacing the spark plugs (dumbest smallest thing). Since then it would start up and stay running with no problem. Now I'm running into this snag. Hooked everything back up exactly the way it was and still won't start.. it's driving me nuts.
Any ideas?
I finally got it idling without puttering out and dying, and was able to take it around the block.
None of my gauges seem to work, so I picked up some from my local auto shop, just to see if I could get it going and figure out how it was running. I hooked everything up, and she started up and eventually puttered out. Now it sounds like the starter is just clicking away and nothings happening. I thought maybe it was something stupid like no fuel, filled it up and still nothing. Thought maybe there was something I may have done wrong with the aftermarket gauges so I hooked it back up the way it was originally just to see what'd happen, and still just clicks.
The issue I had for the longest time was I'd have to hold down the clutch and give it a little gas to fire it up, and solved that issue by replacing the spark plugs (dumbest smallest thing). Since then it would start up and stay running with no problem. Now I'm running into this snag. Hooked everything back up exactly the way it was and still won't start.. it's driving me nuts.
Any ideas?
Last edited by Zapawaf; Aug 9, 2016 at 04:30 PM.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 262
Likes: 1
From: Central New Hampshire
Not sure what's draining the battery. It's brand new, and I have nothing aftermarket plugged in. Something else to figure out I guess.
Replaced all the printed circuits for the guages and apparently those still don't work.
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 2,365
Likes: 428
From: Cape Girardeau Missouri
Several things in the CTSY circuit are known for draining the battery. Namely: alarm system, power antenna and courtesy light timer.
Even if the alarm horn is broken or disconnected the system can still be in an alarm state with a relay coil energized thus draining the battery over a week or so. Use the key to unlock the driver door as that is the only way to turn off the alarm. If you hear a relay click in the center console when you do so you know that you've found a problem.
If you have a power antenna and it is not functioning such is often due to a broken nylon cable inside the antenna mast. When this happens the motor will continue to run (going on and off via thermal reset) because the down limit switch is not tripped. This will drain the battery quite rapidly. If you hear a clicking and/or other strange noise from the left rear fender the antenna is the problem.
Do your interior lights operate correctly? They should stay on about 30 seconds after the last door closes. Starting the engine will immediately turn the lights off. Stopping the engine will immediately turn the lights on for about 30 seconds. If they don't operate in this way there is a fair chance that the courtesy light timer is causing a slow power drain.
Even if the alarm horn is broken or disconnected the system can still be in an alarm state with a relay coil energized thus draining the battery over a week or so. Use the key to unlock the driver door as that is the only way to turn off the alarm. If you hear a relay click in the center console when you do so you know that you've found a problem.
If you have a power antenna and it is not functioning such is often due to a broken nylon cable inside the antenna mast. When this happens the motor will continue to run (going on and off via thermal reset) because the down limit switch is not tripped. This will drain the battery quite rapidly. If you hear a clicking and/or other strange noise from the left rear fender the antenna is the problem.
Do your interior lights operate correctly? They should stay on about 30 seconds after the last door closes. Starting the engine will immediately turn the lights off. Stopping the engine will immediately turn the lights on for about 30 seconds. If they don't operate in this way there is a fair chance that the courtesy light timer is causing a slow power drain.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 262
Likes: 1
From: Central New Hampshire
Lost service mid post 
As far as I know this car does not have an alarm.
It does have a powered antenna which has been broken off since I bought the car. I have no intentions of fixing it any time soon (if at all), how can I remove this as a possibility? Is there a fuse I can pull?
I've honestly never paid any attention to the light, I'm not even sure if there's a bulb in there. I'll have to check it out.
I have the battery being charged, so I'll mess with it once it's done and I guess we'll see what happens when I go to start it tomorrow.
As far as I know this car does not have an alarm.
It does have a powered antenna which has been broken off since I bought the car. I have no intentions of fixing it any time soon (if at all), how can I remove this as a possibility? Is there a fuse I can pull?
I've honestly never paid any attention to the light, I'm not even sure if there's a bulb in there. I'll have to check it out.
I have the battery being charged, so I'll mess with it once it's done and I guess we'll see what happens when I go to start it tomorrow.
Several things in the CTSY circuit are known for draining the battery. Namely: alarm system, power antenna and courtesy light timer.
Even if the alarm horn is broken or disconnected the system can still be in an alarm state with a relay coil energized thus draining the battery over a week or so. Use the key to unlock the driver door as that is the only way to turn off the alarm. If you hear a relay click in the center console when you do so you know that you've found a problem. Since I have no intention on replacing it any time soon, how can I eliminate it all together?
And I'll have to check the light thing. Never paid any attention to it honestly. Pretty sure there isn't even a bulb in the fixture. All good tips, I greatly appreciate it. Will follow up in a bit. Have the battery on a charger. I'll mess with it, and see what happens when I try starting it again tomorrow.
If you have a power antenna and it is not functioning such is often due to a broken nylon cable inside the antenna mast. When this happens the motor will continue to run (going on and off via thermal reset) because the down limit switch is not tripped. This will drain the battery quite rapidly. If you hear a clicking and/or other strange noise from the left rear fender the antenna is the problem.
Do your interior lights operate correctly? They should stay on about 30 seconds after the last door closes. Starting the engine will immediately turn the lights off. Stopping the engine will immediately turn the lights on for about 30 seconds. If they don't operate in this way there is a fair chance that the courtesy light timer is causing a slow power drain.
Even if the alarm horn is broken or disconnected the system can still be in an alarm state with a relay coil energized thus draining the battery over a week or so. Use the key to unlock the driver door as that is the only way to turn off the alarm. If you hear a relay click in the center console when you do so you know that you've found a problem. Since I have no intention on replacing it any time soon, how can I eliminate it all together?
And I'll have to check the light thing. Never paid any attention to it honestly. Pretty sure there isn't even a bulb in the fixture. All good tips, I greatly appreciate it. Will follow up in a bit. Have the battery on a charger. I'll mess with it, and see what happens when I try starting it again tomorrow.
If you have a power antenna and it is not functioning such is often due to a broken nylon cable inside the antenna mast. When this happens the motor will continue to run (going on and off via thermal reset) because the down limit switch is not tripped. This will drain the battery quite rapidly. If you hear a clicking and/or other strange noise from the left rear fender the antenna is the problem.
Do your interior lights operate correctly? They should stay on about 30 seconds after the last door closes. Starting the engine will immediately turn the lights off. Stopping the engine will immediately turn the lights on for about 30 seconds. If they don't operate in this way there is a fair chance that the courtesy light timer is causing a slow power drain.
Last edited by Zapawaf; Aug 11, 2016 at 04:13 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 2,365
Likes: 428
From: Cape Girardeau Missouri
ALL C3 Corvettes have an alarm system. In '79 it was armed and disarmed automatically by locking and unlocking the driver door with the key. The key switch is extremely finicky and very often the alarm horn (it is sort of underneath the brake vacuum booster) is disconnected. Unfortunately merely disconnecting the horn does not disable the system and it can still be in an "alarm" state. When this happens the relay in the center console near the shifter is energized and the battery slowly drains.
The most certain way to completely eliminate the power antenna as the source of a power draw is to remove the connectors from the power antenna relay. In a '79 the relay is in the center armrest behind the parking brake lever.
Bulbs removed from the courtesy light circuit could mean that the timer had a problem. Again just removing the bulbs won't stop all of the current draw if the timer module is defective. The courtesy lamp timer module is accessed by removing the glove box liner. It is to the right and should be taped to the wiring harness there. It's a fairly large orange box.
In '79 all three things I mentioned get their power from the 20A fuse labeled "CTSY" for "courtesy". That's why I said that the CTSY circuit is a common location for problems that drain the battery.
The most certain way to completely eliminate the power antenna as the source of a power draw is to remove the connectors from the power antenna relay. In a '79 the relay is in the center armrest behind the parking brake lever.
Bulbs removed from the courtesy light circuit could mean that the timer had a problem. Again just removing the bulbs won't stop all of the current draw if the timer module is defective. The courtesy lamp timer module is accessed by removing the glove box liner. It is to the right and should be taped to the wiring harness there. It's a fairly large orange box.
In '79 all three things I mentioned get their power from the 20A fuse labeled "CTSY" for "courtesy". That's why I said that the CTSY circuit is a common location for problems that drain the battery.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 262
Likes: 1
From: Central New Hampshire
And this is why I love this forum. Thank you very much. I had wondered what that orange box was for. I'll add checking these things to the never ending list of things I need to do to this car 😂
ALL C3 Corvettes have an alarm system. In '79 it was armed and disarmed automatically by locking and unlocking the driver door with the key. The key switch is extremely finicky and very often the alarm horn (it is sort of underneath the brake vacuum booster) is disconnected. Unfortunately merely disconnecting the horn does not disable the system and it can still be in an "alarm" state. When this happens the relay in the center console near the shifter is energized and the battery slowly drains.
The most certain way to completely eliminate the power antenna as the source of a power draw is to remove the connectors from the power antenna relay. In a '79 the relay is in the center armrest behind the parking brake lever.
Bulbs removed from the courtesy light circuit could mean that the timer had a problem. Again just removing the bulbs won't stop all of the current draw if the timer module is defective. The courtesy lamp timer module is accessed by removing the glove box liner. It is to the right and should be taped to the wiring harness there. It's a fairly large orange box.
In '79 all three things I mentioned get their power from the 20A fuse labeled "CTSY" for "courtesy". That's why I said that the CTSY circuit is a common location for problems that drain the battery.
The most certain way to completely eliminate the power antenna as the source of a power draw is to remove the connectors from the power antenna relay. In a '79 the relay is in the center armrest behind the parking brake lever.
Bulbs removed from the courtesy light circuit could mean that the timer had a problem. Again just removing the bulbs won't stop all of the current draw if the timer module is defective. The courtesy lamp timer module is accessed by removing the glove box liner. It is to the right and should be taped to the wiring harness there. It's a fairly large orange box.
In '79 all three things I mentioned get their power from the 20A fuse labeled "CTSY" for "courtesy". That's why I said that the CTSY circuit is a common location for problems that drain the battery.
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