1989 with 6 speed. Everytime the car warms up it wont turnover. Some say its the clutch switch, some say its the starter relay, some say VATS. I dont know if its any of those. Starter maybe? It will turn over and start 20 times in a row, but soon as she gets up to reg. temp. 180 to 210. Forget it. wont turnover at all and I can hear the starter relay clicking in the dash. Since its a clutch I can always get a push and bump start it. But thats lame! Any help guys?

 

Not VATS then

 

Can the starter shut off when it gets hot? It is right next to the exhaust.

 

Possibly, yeah. It really sounds like heat soak.

Are you hearing a short click from the starter solenoid? Sometimes, not always, when starter solenoids start to go bad they can still make a short click, as if the starter was stuck. Sometimes you can get it to start by rapidly cycling the key on and off the crank position.

What I do to verify or eliminate VATS without wasting time or guessing right away is when it isn't starting, see if battery voltage is present at the small wire attached to the starter solenoid with a voltmeter while key is in crank position using an assistant. It's a tight fit, but you can use some sections of aligator test clips without removing the wire to allow you to hook up a voltmeter between it and ground. You should be seeing battery voltage there. If you do see voltage but the starter isn't spining, then it's the starter for sure, most likely the solenoid and has nothing to do with VATS. Make sure the thick battery cable with large nut is tight. Give it a few wacks and see if it starts then.

The only thing the starter needs to spin over is battery voltage at the small terminal which comes from the Starter Enable Relay with key in crank position, if the VATS closes the relay. This voltage input closes the starter solenoid which completes the path between the thick wire with large nut (hot at all times from battery positive) to the power strap side of the starter motor and spins it. Ground side comes from starter being bolted to the motor. That's it. The solenoid is basically a simple high amp relay.

If you do not see voltage at the small solenoid wire with the key in the crank position, it's a glitch with the VATS or an intermittent contact along that wire. Wiggle the wire while retesting. You can bypass the Starter Enable Relay to test.

Can you allow the car to idle in your driveway up to operanting temps in order to recreate this problem for testing purposes?

 

I had this problem on my Vette and other GM cars...it was a bad starter.Everytime it got hot and heat soaked,it would not turn over.When it cooled off,it would start easy.

I could hear the click when it was hot,but no starter spin.It could just be the solenoid on the starter,but I would have the whole unit checked and/or rebuilt if needed.

 

I had this same problem and it was the starter. An easy way to test for the problem is put a voltmeter on output terminal of the starter relay and see if it is getting 12 volts to the starter motor when the engine is hot. If you have 12 volts the starter is junk, if you have 0 volts the problem is the relay or starter circuit.

 

Think something like this would work?

http://www.ecklers.com/product.asp?p...1&dept_id=1315

 

OK here is what I did today. I pulled the wires from the starter and scrubbed the connections with a wire brush. Then I wrapped the starter with a 900 degree heat schield from summit racing. So far so good!!

 

Even with headers I've never had to run a heat shield. Did you do both at the same time, or one then the other. Otherwise you don't really know which fixed it. But it really sounds like heat soak.

 

i think its was the wires. They were in pretty bad shape. Dont look like they were ever cleaned. I figured while I was under there might as well wrap the starter. If it was a heat soak problem that should of helped. Havnt had the "no start" yet so hopefully I got it!!

 

Just monitor the voltage going to the starter solenoid. Connect a wire to that terminal and run the wire in the car. Find a ground and keep a meter in the car. Keep it connected and if it does not start just turn the meter on and check the voltage.

If you got it, change the starter. (Or rebuild the solenoid).

I have had bad luck repairing the solenoids in the past. The last two I repaired the actual starter crapped out not to long after. I just don’t mess around anymore, I get the whole thing now so it's all new.

 

Pretty sure it was just a bad connection and or heat soak. If the problem comes up again, I will test the volts and go from there.

 

its back!!, my car was running so good with the new bosch3 injectors. So back to the no start!! (dammit!) . So I guess when this happends I should go and check the volts to the starter? Could it just be the relay in the dash? Seems to only happen when the car is warmed up.

 

That's what taking a voltage reading at the small terminal of the wire as I suggested is going to tell you. If you see voltage there yet the starter does nothing, it absolutely rules out the VATS Starter Enable Relay in the dash without any question since you've just verified the relay is allowing voltage to the starter. It would mean the problem is with your starter.

 

So on my way home from work I stopped by the auto parts store and bought new battery cable connectors. (mine were old) $2.95 prayed the car would start (it did) and drove home. Changed out the connectors to the battery. Started the car 4 or 5 times in a row (no problem) WTF? Soon as the no start shows up again, I will test it at the starter. This damn car is a pain in my ****!! But I still love it!!

 

Just get a new starter and you should be fine. Good luck.

 

A common problem with the Nippondenso starters is the copper disc
on the solenoid plunger and the two copper lugs that are shorted together
by the plunger pit due the high current drawn by the starter motor.

The copper plunger disc and two copper contact lugs can be replaced.

88-91 Corvettes used the same Nippondenso starter.
128000-495 OSGR 1.4kw 12 volts.

Here's a link showing how to replace the contacts. Scroll down towards
the bottom of the page.

http://www.nationsautoelectric.com/Nippondenso.html