help....car wont start
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 6,694
Likes: 3
From: Less Talk, More WOT | Houston TX
help....car wont start
i came out to my car last night after work....happy as usual to be about to drive it, when it wouldnt start. The battery works fine and the starter is working too....it just wont turn over. what could it be? I was thinking maybe the fuel pump or something. It seemed to work fine on the way to work though.
Im gonna have it towed to the house, so can anybody help me with some basic diagnosis on how i can discover what the problem is and if i can fix it myself. i have plenty of room in the garage, and ramps but no lift.
thanks
Im gonna have it towed to the house, so can anybody help me with some basic diagnosis on how i can discover what the problem is and if i can fix it myself. i have plenty of room in the garage, and ramps but no lift.
thanks
Racer
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 421
Likes: 0
From: Simi Valley CA
Re: help....car wont start (C4Fetish)
Does it crank? Does the starter click? If not, it may be the VATS system. I have this problem somtimes on my '86, the problem for me is that the ignition barrel sometimes doesn't make contact with the resistor pellet in the key so the VATS locks me out.
It's embarrasing having to push your vette at a gas station, and sit there for 7 minutes while you wait for it to reset. The previous owner got around it by hard wiring in a resistor of the appropriate value, but I didn't want to have zero protection. I'm just careful now and turn the barrel rather than the key itself.
It's embarrasing having to push your vette at a gas station, and sit there for 7 minutes while you wait for it to reset. The previous owner got around it by hard wiring in a resistor of the appropriate value, but I didn't want to have zero protection. I'm just careful now and turn the barrel rather than the key itself.
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 62,160
Likes: 1,733
From: Athens AL
C7 of the Year - Unmodified Finalist 2021
C4 of Year Finalist (performance mods) 2019
Re: help....car wont start (C4Fetish)
what exactly is it doing when you try the ignition? yeah it sounds like the VATS
Advanced
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 59
Likes: 0
From: BC, Canada
Re: help....car wont start (C4Fetish)
The quickest way to solve this one is to listen carefully. Make sure everythingis quiet (turn off radio, heater, etc.) and listen when you turn the ignition to START. If you hear the solenoid on the starter click, then obviously everything is working but the starter. If no click there, then how about in the middle of the dash? If it clicks in there, then start enable relay is working which means probably starter again or bad wire connections. If no click in dash then get out the service manual. At that point it could be VATS or ignition switch. :smash:
