Weird Starting issue
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 4,870
Likes: 25
From: Long Island, NY
Weird Starting issue
Last night, I went to start my Vette, turned the key and nothing.
No cranking or anything.
The vats has been bypassed for a few years now. There are no codes being thrown.
The battary is good. The headlights are very bright and I am getting 12.9 volts across the battary.
I even pulled the battary and put it into my Suburban. The Suburban starts up fine with the Vette battary.
Today , I jumped the starter with a remote start and the Vette starts right up.
So it looks to me that the Starter and Vats are not the issue.
Any help ?
Vic
No cranking or anything.
The vats has been bypassed for a few years now. There are no codes being thrown.
The battary is good. The headlights are very bright and I am getting 12.9 volts across the battary.
I even pulled the battary and put it into my Suburban. The Suburban starts up fine with the Vette battary.
Today , I jumped the starter with a remote start and the Vette starts right up.
So it looks to me that the Starter and Vats are not the issue.
Any help ?
Vic
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 54,124
Likes: 30
From: Cincinnati, Oh USA
Clean the battery terminals. Unplug the clutch safety switch (gear selector sw if automatic) and jump the socket. Measure the voltage on the jumper when you hit crank position. If it measures 12v and no cranking, then you have a start solenoid/starter motor problem. If you jump 12v to the jumper, the starter should crank proving the starter is ok. If no 12v, then you might have a defective start enable relay or your bypass isn't working.
Advanced
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 67
Likes: 0
I agree with JFB - Manual or Automatic transmission - my 85 is a manual - and every now and then the clutch safety switch doesnt allow the car to start - same symptoms as what you are describing. Hope it helps..........
Last edited by funder354; Jul 8, 2007 at 01:46 AM.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,858
Likes: 7
From: Santa Maria CA
Check that you are getting battery voltage when cranking the key at the small wire going to the starter solenoid. Since jumping the starter worked, you're probably not seeing battery voltage there. Pull the wire and attach a voltmeter. Have someone crank the key, and see what the voltage is.
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 14,130
Likes: 7
Cruise-In II Veteran
Jfb has a great reply...however,if that doesnt work,The starter can still be the issue..it had time to cool down and start again.
Your symptoms sound like mine..when I used to get no starts and go under the car,Id hit on the starter with a hammer to get it to start again.
Im not saying this is whats wrong for sure,but you cant rule out the starter or solenoid because it fired up another time.Most of my starters went bad this way over time...wouldnt start sometimes,especially when it was just shut down when hot.Few hours later or banging with a hammer,it started again.
If your remote start works everytime then look into what has been explained.
Your symptoms sound like mine..when I used to get no starts and go under the car,Id hit on the starter with a hammer to get it to start again.
Im not saying this is whats wrong for sure,but you cant rule out the starter or solenoid because it fired up another time.Most of my starters went bad this way over time...wouldnt start sometimes,especially when it was just shut down when hot.Few hours later or banging with a hammer,it started again.
If your remote start works everytime then look into what has been explained.
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,339
Likes: 2
From: port charlotte fl
Last night, I went to start my Vette, turned the key and nothing.
No cranking or anything.
The vats has been bypassed for a few years now. There are no codes being thrown.
The battary is good. The headlights are very bright and I am getting 12.9 volts across the battary.
I even pulled the battary and put it into my Suburban. The Suburban starts up fine with the Vette battary.
Today , I jumped the starter with a remote start and the Vette starts right up.
So it looks to me that the Starter and Vats are not the issue.
Any help ?
Vic
No cranking or anything.
The vats has been bypassed for a few years now. There are no codes being thrown.
The battary is good. The headlights are very bright and I am getting 12.9 volts across the battary.
I even pulled the battary and put it into my Suburban. The Suburban starts up fine with the Vette battary.
Today , I jumped the starter with a remote start and the Vette starts right up.
So it looks to me that the Starter and Vats are not the issue.
Any help ?
Vic
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 4,870
Likes: 25
From: Long Island, NY
Just a follow up, last Sat the Vette died at the track. Again I jumped the starter and it started 1 time, after that nothing.
Today, I took the starter out and had it tested at Autozone.
It was a bad starter. It didn't even move with battary voltage applied.
I had a lifetime warrenty on it so they gave me a new one.
Let's see how long this one lasts.
Vic
Today, I took the starter out and had it tested at Autozone.
It was a bad starter. It didn't even move with battary voltage applied.
I had a lifetime warrenty on it so they gave me a new one.
Let's see how long this one lasts.
Vic
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 6,050
Likes: 147
From: Phoenix AZ
2021 C4 of the Year - Modified Finalist
starter
how long was this starter in the car? mine lasted 22 years. and I don't get the hammer on the starter thing. it's a motor with a solenoid. how does a hammer help the armature turn?
Last edited by coupeguy2001; Jul 22, 2007 at 11:56 PM.
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,361
Likes: 0
From: Downriver Mi.
