help me out car wont start randomly
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 865
Likes: 20
From: warner robins Georgia
help me out car wont start randomly
i am a mechanic but i have never worked on corvettes i own two as of right now but i havent really had to do anything to them yet. however the 94 i just bought is having a problem. i get in it and it cranks just fine sounds just right cranking but them randomly sometimes i get in it turn the key and it does nothing no clicking no nothing. i have narrowed it down to the ignition switch or the starter. i think it is the ignition switch but my grandads ZR1 did this same thing and he said it was his starter.
what do you guys think? and thanks for the help.
what do you guys think? and thanks for the help.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 829
Likes: 39
From: sun prairie wi
I think you should do a search for vats.Also check out this website.http://www.vatssucks.com/ I have an 89 and it showed me how to replace my starter enabler relay.No problems since.
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 11,628
Likes: 1
From: Sherwood, Arkansas
I think you should do a search for vats.Also check out this website.http://www.vatssucks.com/ I have an 89 and it showed me how to replace my starter enabler relay.No problems since.
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 195
Likes: 0
From: Savannah Georgia
I had a similar problem on my 90, turned out to be the starter enable relay, I'd check the $12 part thats easy to replace before the more expensive and time consuming. The relay was just under the driver side hush panel on my 90, not sure if it moved by 94.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 936
Likes: 2
From: Tyrone PA
My '89 did this and it was the starter. Next time it does it use a test light to see if you have juice at the starter. Just have someone hold the key and check for voltage. Another test is, next time it does it, have someone hold the key over while you smack the starter with a hammer from underneath or use a long rod and do it from above. That is how I found what mine was. Someone held the key and as soon as I smacked it the car cranked over. new starter and problem solved for me.
I also had no click that I could hear and therefore thought it was a bad realy or VATS but it turned out to be the starter.
I also had no click that I could hear and therefore thought it was a bad realy or VATS but it turned out to be the starter.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 54,124
Likes: 30
From: Cincinnati, Oh USA
You have to do some diagnosis the next time it won't crank. Unplug the clutch safety switch and jump it (gear selector sw if automatic) and measure the voltage on the jumper when you hit crank on the ign sw. If you have 12v and no cranking, then you have a poor battery cable connection, defective battery, or a starter motor problem. If no 12v, then remove the hush panel above the drivers feet and find the two wires from above the steering column that goes to a 2 pin connector. Unplug the connector and with the ign key inserted, measure the resistance across the two wires from the steering column. It should measure the same as the ign key pellet. If more than 4% error, then you have defective contacts inside the ign lock. A new lock has new contacts. You can temporarily bypass VATS by connecting a fixed resistor, 1/4 watt 5% from Radio Shack the same value as your ign pellet across the 2 wires in the connector from the wiring harness. Later C4's require that the resistor be removed and connected again for each crank. If you measure the same resistance, then you might have a defective start enable relay. Don't permanently bypass VATS because 99% of thefts are done by bashing the column and jumping the ignition.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 865
Likes: 20
From: warner robins Georgia
I think you should do a search for vats.Also check out this website.http://www.vatssucks.com/ I have an 89 and it showed me how to replace my starter enabler relay.No problems since.
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
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 865
Likes: 20
From: warner robins Georgia
well it just did it on me again i got up under it while my brother cranked it and i tested it with the light, the little wire had no power but the bulk wire had a constant power, i think the little wire is supposed to trigger the solenoid and my test light didnt come on while he was cranking the car. i also hit it with a hammer while he turned it over and it didnt turn over either so i am guessing its the relay.
anyone know where this is located on a 94?
anyone know where this is located on a 94?
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 3,816
Likes: 0
From: :45 minutes from everywhere / E-I-E-I-O
i am a mechanic but i have never worked on corvettes i own two as of right now but i havent really had to do anything to them yet. however the 94 i just bought is having a problem. i get in it and it cranks just fine sounds just right cranking but them randomly sometimes i get in it turn the key and it does nothing no clicking no nothing. i have narrowed it down to the ignition switch or the starter. i think it is the ignition switch but my grandads ZR1 did this same thing and he said it was his starter.
what do you guys think? and thanks for the help.
what do you guys think? and thanks for the help.
If it starts then, you've got VATS!
I though that was only on early c4 tho'. My '87 did it with a spare key I had made.
HUH??? I thought that was the American way? Fully Automatic Assault Wallet.
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 3,816
Likes: 0
From: :45 minutes from everywhere / E-I-E-I-O
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 865
Likes: 20
From: warner robins Georgia
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 3,816
Likes: 0
From: :45 minutes from everywhere / E-I-E-I-O
Someone will post up whose done a fix, or installed the bypass for it... searchin' the forum for 'vats' solution will crash the CF server;