socal714

Hey you guys, socal714 here, yeah..Im still around, and we still cant seem to get the ole 87 Corvette up and running just yet..... BUT.. my partner and I have made much progress and do believe we're getting close...we stubbornly refuse to throw in the towel, especially after we agreed to consider it a " pet project "now vs stressing out, being in a hurry, throwing money at it trying to get it up and running again, all under some sort of time frame..( I am the owner, my partner the mechanic ) all said...we have the right mindset to move forward...you folks here at CF came to our aid in my previous posts..which really helped us out quite a bit .thank you..respect !! but now we've hit a new obstacle and we humbly seek some more advice from any of y'all whom care to chime in and give it.........quick run down....1987 C4 Corvette Coupe, I bought it off an old friend of mine about 8 months ago...My friend said ( to me 8 months ago );,,it was about 2 years ago that the.car suddenly stopped running, so he had it towed to his house... COVID was in full swing at that time.., then he got laid off at work and couldn't afford to take it to a shop, so it sat in his garage for over 2 years,by the time I took it off his hands in AS IN CONDITION.....so ever since in my possession..my partner and i have..*.installed.new battery *car lit up but no crank, *replaced starter *still no crank, *started learning about the car, shop manual, internet etc,,, *by passed starter relay.by running a jumper...*and it cranked *but still no start...*discovered square GM keys that were handed to me when i bought it DID NOT HAVE RESISTER CHIPS IN THEM..and.yet, *they turn the ignition lock..*we searched for a possible VATS bypass somewhere in the car, to no avail,,,*so rather than going through 15 different resisters, *i began searching locally for a VATS Interrogator i even reached out to you folks .to no avail... *so i then decided to invest in The New Rockies VATS Passkey Bypass device.*which unfortunately did not work on my car, *i was given a full refund.... *we decided to leave the VATS alone at this time and..*then we thought it best to inspect the entire electrical system and fuses,*then we replaced : spark plugs, cap, rotor and coil, starter relay, drained gas tank, replaced fuel pump and fuel pump relay,...after all that...with starter relay still cranking with jumper ..car still wouldn't start...no fuel getting to the injectors , pulled out fuel pump did a bench test and it works fine, reinstalled fuel pump...replaced in line fuel filter...still cranks with jumper no fuel getting to engine... so we ran a jumper to the fuel pump and low a behold fuel finally getting to engine....STILL WONT START... so we now decided to do away with the jumpers to the starter relay and fuel pump and then went and picked up a bunch of resisters making sure they had the right values and hopefully put the VATS issue to rest .. and low and behold, after 7 different resisters WE NAILED IT..it cranked with the new starter relay.. without the jumper ...we were ecstatic to finally solve the VATS resister issue...HOWEVER.... the car still wont start...THIS IS THE OBSTACLE I SPOKE OF EARLIER..and where we seek advice..... we properly did a VATS Bypass with the right resister value which will remain in car eternity, car has spark. with new starter relay.. car cranks BUT even with a new fuel pump and new fuel pump relay, it still wont start...well it appears the Fuel Pump is not powering up, no sound when you turn the ignition key.., fuses are good... we realize it could be several things, and it is for this reason we were kind of hoping that someone could tell us what the heck is going on and/ or have any suggestions on what steps we need to be taking to get to the bottom of this issue.. also trying to solve this problem intellectually before spending a bunch of money on parts we may not need to replace.is certainly a factor.....thank you for taking the time to read this, care to help ? then please respond...it would be greatly appreciated...socal714

auburn2

Ok here is what I recommend.

1. Unplug the fuel pump relay and ensure the power side of the plug is live. I believe this is an orange wire and it should always have 12V. If it does not have 12V all the time there is a fuselink that is probably bad.

2. If the relay is getting power ensure it is switching while cranking. The ECM should turn on the fuel pump when cranking and if you are touching the relay you should feel this. If it is not clicking then it is a problem with the relay ground, a problem with the relay or a problem inside the ECM.

3. IF the relay clicks then check at the pump to ensure you are getting power. If not splice into the wire at the relay (I think it is red) and see if you get power there when you crank.

That is how I would start to look at this.