Hey I am new to this thread although I've looked around it often and have done a lot of reading. I was planning on making a proper intro thread (still plan to) but something came up that I need help with. First off let me say that trust me when I say I have done a ton of research on the matter already and have spent most of my day at work trying to find a direct answer to the problem. I also do work at a Chevrolet dealer and I have a friend who is a mechanic so he has given me some pointers.

I've had this car for a few months now and have not had any issues at all. Yesterday I drove the car around and everything was fine. Well this morning when I was going to leave for work, my 1998 Corvette Base manual wouldn't start. Put the key in turn it and everything works, gauges, lights, radio, etc. Try to turn the car on and I get absolutely nothing. Doesn't crank at all, don't hear anything from the starter. When I did this, the security light began flashing, and a message came up saying to remove the key for 10 seconds. I did this to no avail. I didn't have any other time to mess with it so I went to work and began researching and talked to my mechanic friend who printed this schematic out for me and told how to check some things. When I went to lunch I started to try diagnosing the issue. One note is this time the security light wasn't flashing when the key was in the ignition. First off, I tried using my wife's spare key in case it was the VAT system, that didn't work. The battery seems to have plenty of charge but I tried jump starting it as well, that didn't work. I checked the maxifuses for Ignition and Starter and they were fine. I then had my wife push the clutch in and turn the key like you would to start it, while I tested the purple wire going to the starter which the mechanic said should be hot, and it wasn't. This tells us that the starter isn't getting power. According to the schematic then, the problem is either with the (1) ignition switch, (2) clutch pedal position switch, or (3) theft deterrent relay. Does anyone know if I am on the right track here? Is there any way other than testing if there's power to know if one of these is bad? And finally where are they located?

Sorry for the very long post. I greatly appreciate any ideas or wisdom you guys can throw at me. I was planning on taking the Vette on vacation this week so I would really like to get this fixed within the next few days. Thanks!

 

My issue like yours ended up being the starter solenoid. Starter was fine solenoid not. Gave that area a few healthy wacks with a broom handle trying not to damage any wiring and it started right up. Replaced both starter and solenoid with new and no problems since. Just a thought you may want to try it. You might get lucky.

 

Kaleb, has your friend, at the dealership mentioned anything about the
"column lock issue" on C5 Corvettes? Ask him about it....

For starters, double check your battery...bad things happen to our Vettes with low voltage.

An LMC5 might be in your future.

 

So I have an update. My mechanic friend ended up coming over after work to take a look at it. He hooked up his Tech 2 and read all the same codes I had, nothing to correlate to the problem. He double checked the purple wire going to the starter and there was no power. He then jumped the main power wire to the purple wire and it started right up, so again it confirmed it is not the starter. So we moved on. We still can't find where the Theft Deterrent Relay is located, as it doesn't appear to be in either fuse box. However when he had the tech 2 hooked up it showed that the theft deterrent system was inactive, meaning it wasn't locking us out from starting it. So we moved on to the ignition. He wanted to test if the ignition was getting power, so he put the test light on the yellow wire connection, and when we tried to start it to see if there was power, the car started right up. He said when he put the tester on it he put some pressure on it, so maybe it jiggled the wire back in place or something? But after that I was able to start it up about 5 or 6 more times without trouble. So we're thinking it's the ignition switch and I think I'm gonna go ahead and replace it. But it's working for now at least.

 

Ignition switch is a common problem on these cars, as is the column lock. Get yourself a new ignition switch and install the LMC5 while you are at. That will go a long way towards making your car trouble free.

 

You might take a look at the switch under the clutch. I think the purple wire comes from this switch. You must have the clutch all the way down to enable starting. Either you are not pushing the clutch peddle in far enugh or you have a faulty or intermittent switch...
MrE

 

I assume his mechanic friend checked that with his tech2. You can see if the switch activates in the diagnostics screen when you push the pedal.
You can pull the ignition switch and clean the contacts instead of buying a new one. There is a couple of good write ups on this forum.

 

Yeah he's been a Chevy mechanic for over 20 years and he's pretty sure it's the ignition so I'm thinking it's that.

Side note, I found this under the steering wheel, do you think it's the column lock thing?

 

IF,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, The security light is FLASHING, it will never start. You MUST resolve that issue FIRST!!!!

That involves the VATs system and the sensor on the end of the ignition switch reading the resistor pellet in the key.

If the BCM can not read get the proper resistance/voltage when the pelet is in the system, the engine will not crank.

You should also read the DTCs using the internal DTC reader and that will tell you if the VATs is having an issue.

Bill

 

Well that's what was weird. The first time it did it, the security light flashed. Ever since then it hasn't. And it started after simply jiggling the yellow wire on the ignition. So I wouldn't think it's the VAT system. Especially cause I had tried both keys I have and nothing changed. I did pull the codes and there was nothing related to the car not starting. But at least it starts for now.