97 Z28 not cranking

[killer_z28]

I drove my car to work fine and when I tried starting my car after shift, it didnt crank over.
I even had the car boosted and still was not cranking over. I called a tow truck and he told me to push the car, well I tried that and it fired right up. Came home and turned it off, went to start it again and it hasnt cranked over since then.

i've checked the battery it has 12v
I've checked the alternator and it has 11v in the on position.
checked the starter and it has 11v in the on position.
fuel pump primes.

I'm really stumped here now..

[90_383]

is it doing anything , clicking ?

[killer_z28]

no, there is no clicking..

[iroc22]

I had the same problem, and it was only on rainy/wet days and occasionally. Turned out to be a faulty opti-spark. How old is yours?

[killer_z28]

My opti spark is about 3.5 years old... It was raining hard one day and thats about it...

How would I go to check to see if its a bad opti spark,ignition coil?

[steveo]

if your starter recieves voltage in the on position and it doesn't spin the starter is almost certainly dead

electric motors die, it happens

disconnect your battery + terminal and serp belt for safety and hit the starter with a 12v jumper right to the battery if you want to confirm this

car should still turn over if the opti is dead, just won't spark

[killer_z28]

I just yesterday bought a new starter from napa yesterday and it still is having the same problems... Could it be a rare chance that this starter is fucked to?

[90_383]

could happen, just bench test the old starter

[killer_z28]

ps. should I put the jumper wire to the switch terminal or battery terminal or the motor terminal and what terminal will i be hooking the other side of the jumper wire on the battery

[bcash]

top poost or side post battery, i know i had a side post on my old ws6 and the positive bolt would ground out

[Dunout]

crank that solja boi

[camarokid]

crank that solja boi

that should do it,

[iroc22]

I drove my car to work fine and when I tried starting my car after shift, it didnt crank over.
I even had the car boosted and still was not cranking over. I called a tow truck and he told me to push the car, well I tried that and it fired right up. Came home and turned it off, went to start it again and it hasnt cranked over since then.

i've checked the battery it has 12v
I've checked the alternator and it has 11v in the on position.
checked the starter and it has 11v in the on position.
fuel pump primes.

I'm really stumped here now..


so when you say it doesnt crank, does that mean the engine doesnt crank or it just doesn't fire? Sorry I just want to be clear here.
If it doesnt crank over it could be a VATS problem, if the engine is cranking and doesnt fire, it can be a camshaft position sensor or opti-spark. Things to consider

[IROC-Z]

likely the neutral safety switch but really without testing thats just a stab in the dark

[MonkeyWrench]

check to see if there is power at the exciter wire when cranking then you know if its on the starter/solenoid side or in the wiring side.

[killer_z28]

so when you say it doesnt crank, does that mean the engine doesnt crank or it just doesn't fire? Sorry I just want to be clear here.
If it doesnt crank over it could be a VATS problem, if the engine is cranking and doesnt fire, it can be a camshaft position sensor or opti-spark. Things to consider

Yea the engine doesn't crank.. It doesnt even make a clicking noise. I'm going to get the starter exchanged for another one and see how it goes... Whats VATS and how would I go about fixing it?

[CamaroGirl]

Yea the engine doesn't crank.. It doesnt even make a clicking noise. I'm going to get the starter exchanged for another one and see how it goes... Whats VATS and how would I go about fixing it?

vats is the vehicle anti theft system...my car had this issue about 2 years back...i found this site very helpful
http://shbox.com/1/pass_key.html

[wolfcalibur]

does the security light turn off after u put the key to ignition but dont try and crank it over?. if the security light doesnt go off then its ur ignition solenoid.

[MonkeyWrench]

check to see if there is power at the exciter wire when cranking then you know if its on the starter/solenoid side or in the wiring side.

[killer_z28]

likely the neutral safety switch but really without testing thats just a stab in the dark

bingo... i bypassed the clutch safety switch and it fired right up.. so I'm gonna leave it bypassed for a few days till i hit up lordco and get a new clutch safety switch...