redflash1800

My tale of woe.

The goods:
'89 vette, 350 v8, automatic tranny, 80,k miles.

The woe:
Tried to start her, turned the key & nothing. Tried again and voila, she cranked, started and ran fine. Got her home in the garage and tried again. No good! No crank, not even the dreaded "clicking solenoid" of doom!

Troubleshooting efforts:
Battery checked out okay, but I put it on charge anyway, just to try to eliminate potential causes. All the gauges, headlights, turn signals, wipers work okay, so I believe I'm okay in the battery department. The battery voltage & amperage appear to be within normal ranges too.

Checked the battery connections. Both terminals are clean and physically & electrically tight. The solenoid terminals were also clean and tight. Wiring from the battery and solenoid is in good condition.

Shifted the automatic transmission into neutral and tried - no good.
Tried to crank her over in park, neutral, reverse and drive, just to see if the park/neutral safety switch could be the culprit. No good.

Tried both ignition keys, cleaned them both with rubbing alcohol to ensure the VATS resistor contacts were clean. Still no good.

Lubed the ignition switch with powdered graphite lubricant just to see if this was the cause... and, it wasn't!

Looks like I'm going to have to roll up my sleeves and really dig in to resolve this one. Before I get too far ahead of myself, I wanted to see if anyone else has had any experience with this problem. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Jim

Coupe89

How long have you had this car?

Might be the Starter or The starter is missed alined

AGENT 86

Here's a little help for diagnosing
http://members.shaw.ca/agent86/Start...g%20System.pdf
http://members.shaw.ca/agent86/Vats%20Electrical.pdf

rick lambert

Next time it won't crank, get a pipe or some object to tap the starter, if it then cranks you'll know the starter is the culprit.

88BigGuy

I am having the excact same problem as you stated above. I have replaced the starter with the same issue. It mostly seems to happen when the car is hot. Once it cools down, I have no issues with it. I am going to put a heat sheild on the starter motor to see if it fixes it. The bigest problem with diagnosing my starter issue is that it is sparatic.

Vetracr

Although not easy the list of culprits is small relative to other Corvette problems. The starter circuit includes 1) battery and connections, 2) ignition fuses, 3) ignition switch, 4) clutch/xsm switch 5) vats/CCM 6) starter relay and 5) the starter. Given your description I'd say 1) and 2) are out. Try a button starter jumper hooked to the starter solenoid to check the starter (bat plus terminal to the purple solenoid wire) If it cranks its not the starter. Check voltage at ign switch input to relay with ignition switch in start position. If 12V, ignition switch ok. Check the relay to see if vats/CCM is pulling in the relay with the key in the start position. Ground Vats/CCM relay terminal with key in start position. If it starts its a Vats/CCM problem. You get the idea. Work your back until you isolate the fault circuit. Hope this helps.

Larry

5pinball

wifes88had same problem last yr 80xxx mi i thought it was vats being flaky she took car to work went to start battery was totaly dead had car towed home troubleshot for 2hrs turned out starter was bad replaced it fixed problem in 30 plus yrs of vettes and uther cars i have never had a starter drain a battery like that

redflash1800

Thanks for all the info and your kind assistance with this problem. As the man says, "Close, but no cigar!"

After reviewing everyone's suggestions and trying a few things, here's what I did to try and get the car to turn over (crank) this evening.

Just to be sure the security system was not causing the no crank conditon, I unlocked both doors a few times.

Then I headed off to check the electrics and...
Checked all electrical connections at the battery, solenoid and starter. Clean and tight.
Checked all the fuses to ensure they were not blown. All were good.
Added an additional ground wire from the battery to the frame, to ensure a good connection.
Put the battery on the charger to ensure it was fully energized.
I put a voltmeter at the positive solenoid lug and checked the voltage - 12.8 volts.
Then I shorted the positive lug on the solenoid with the purple wire on the smaller solenoid lug and she turned over (cranked).

Well, the starter and solenoid work, that's good. So, now I have to work backwards from the starter/solenoid to find out why she still won't crank with the key.

Vetracr had some good suggestions, however, without a manual, it's kinda tough to locate these items:
Anyone know where the ignition switch relay is located in an '89 Vette?
How about the vats/CCM relay terminal?

Agent 86 - Thanks for the schematics of the starting and security systems too. May save me a few hours tying to trace wiring, etc.

Anyone else have other suggestions?

Thanks again for all your help. Great support from a fantastic bunch of guys.

Jim

JackDidley

Did you try a fifferent key? Sometimes they wear out the vats pellet. Take your key to a dealer and get the vats resistance number. Get the bypass from Mid America or a resistor from Radio Shack. The Vats will get you sooner or later. May as well eliminate it.

93*Corvette

Have you check the resistance at the bottom of your steering column to make sure you are getting the same Value as your key???...
Check this link out.... http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1389952

jfb

First jump the gear selector safety switch (on the gear selector) and measure the voltage on the jumper to ground when you hit, "crank". It should measure 12v, if not, the start enable relay is not closed. Next, remove the hush panel above the drivers feet and find the 2 wires from behind the steering column that goes to a 2 pin connector. Unplug the connector, insert your ign key and measure the resistance across the wires from the steering column. It should measure the same as the pellet resistance. If over 13k ohms, you have worn ign tumbler contacts that make connection to the pellet. You can temporarily bypass VATS by clipping a resistor across the socket on the wires that go into the harness (goes to VATS module) the same value as your pellet. A 1/4 watt 5% resistor from Radio Shack will do it, but the actual value of the resistor must be within 5% of the correct value. Don't permanently bypass VATS as 99% of thefts are done by bashing the column and jumping the ignition. Get your ign tumbler replaced , the new one will have new contacts that make connection to your pellet.