Slow to Start

Sorry to keep making these random threads but..it's all for my girl, you understand. you've all been extremely helpful so far. this is probably already a thread but if it is i couldnt find it.
anyway.. despite all the overheating lately, my car has always started up first try like a champ, no pumping the gas or anything. i just took it to a midas recently, got it back and its slow as hell to start. ive got to hold the key for about 5 or 10 seconds, maybe try to turn it over 2 or 3 times before it actually does. i mean after that it runs fine but...its just a little aggrivating that its just suddenly doing this. not sure if midas did it or if its cause it overheated one too many times. pretty sure this is a common problem with 3rd gens, but i'd rather not let it be a problem with mine. any advice? thanks

Sounds like your starter..

Mine did that before the fuel pump went...

check your fuel pressure... it's also possible tho that your starter got heatsoaked and is on its way out

i been dreading having to replace the fuel pump, suppose i could do it before it goes though. ill check into both, thanks

bare with me. acouple little questions here. so im going to replace the fuel pump. electric or no? are there two seperate pumps or does it matter weather i go with electric or a regular fuel pump. mines stock but not sure if its electric or not. lemme know if you have any advice which....hey i know you do. lol thanks

electric.. I doubt yours is manual..

Its electric. Have fun changing it to, changing the fuel pump is probably the most annoying thing on a camaro. I've changed 2 fuel pumps on camaros and let me tell you, both times I ended up kicked the fuel tank until it came out. It seems like the filler neck always gets caught on a little peice of metal.

Another member on here suggested cutting a hole in the trunk so you can get to it from there. Thats the one thing ford did right and chevy did wrong IMHO.

while changing it I would consider upgrading to a 4th gen gas tank. The 99 or 2000 and up had lightweight plastic tanks that were designed a little better as far as slosh is concerned. Just something to think about while your at it.

What was midas working on when it was there?

sounds fun. and they were just checking it, i told them there was an electrical problem where there was no power getting to the d/s fan and they told me they couldnt find what was wrong. i'll replace the fuel pump and/or starter, im just worried i cracked a cylinder head.

I would just check your timing out of curiosity. If your starter is turning the motor over like normal I dont see how that could be the cause of the motor not firing up immediately.

k. little freaked out now. i think ive seen someone talking about this problem on here. its for sure not my starter though. so whenever i make kind of a sharp/hard turn...the car shuts off. i really don't think it's electrical cause the cd player and all that stays on. could this be my fuel pump causing this? i'm going to take it to the shop tomorrow, i just havent gotten a chance yet. thanks

Quick abrupt death = electrical/ignition problem.

sputtering death = fuel delivery problem

Just because the radio stays dosen't mean anything.

quick and abrupt. any suggestions wright? seeing how we've had such similar problems. and replacing the wiring harness is out of the question.

Any specifec direction turning?

no sir, happened making a right AND left turn. if i take the turn kind of slow and easy it's ok, just when i make a sharp or fast turn

I'd check the battery connections for cleanliness and tightness. From there I'd trace the main power supply wire to the starter, best is give it the good ol wiggle test while the motor is running at idle. There's also the main ground going back to the battery running along right (passenger) frame rail tat tends to be a source of misery. If all those check out then you have grounds on the back of each cylinder head, but I'm hesistant on them becasue if they were dirty/loose, you should loose the dash.

Another thing just occured to me is you have a remote coil on the puppy right? Check those wires as well.

Bottom line, something is loose most likey in the battery cable area somewhere :thumbsup:

thanks. i'll ask the shop i'm taking it to to check on that. man i love this car but its not loving me back. lol..thanks again

Another thing that just slapped me upside the head towards the battery being loose, if Midas was looking into the cooling fan problem, the cooling relay is right next to the battery and the easiest way to get to it is by removing the battery from the tray.

Taking it to a shop?

after i check it myself yea. i'm no electrical worker to be honest. i'm taking it to a place that does only electrical though. no more midas or anything like that

it was the ignition coil. *sigh*

Another thing just occured to me is you have a remote coil on the puppy right? Check those wires as well.



The coil wire or the actual coil?

the actual coil, i'm getting it replaced.
and you said the coil wire? why didn't you know it was the actual coil? God, you're useless wright.
lol, just kidding. wouldnt have found the problem without your help, thanks alot bro.

No prob, next time I'll try harder :sorry: :lol:

k so wright..or anyone else. try and answer this? same things happening again, i can't imagine it was just a faulty peice..is there something thats causing my ignition coil to go out? could overheating be doing it? thanks

A) how hot is getting, really?

B) refresh my memory, your coil is mounted over the valve cover right?

C) I still say there's a loose wire somewhere, check the wire form the coil to the distributer for connectivity, cracks, or burn marks.

1. honestly...the gauge gets into the red within 15 minutes. its a bit jumpy, so im not sure about the accuracy. i'll tell you how things go once i install the air dam(should be here today)
2. yep
but the overheating thing is killing me too, the only thing i havent really checked is the water pump/hoses. if thats not it, i can only assume its either the lack of air dam or the fans arent running full power. it's in the shop right now, so i'll let you know

If it's in the shop right now, have them verify the temp with a infrared thermometer. Did you take it back to the same shop that just replaced the coil?

yes sir, same one. and..infrared thermometer? whats that, and whats it do?

infrared thermometer? whats that, and whats it do?

Takes tempereature by bouncing an infrared signal off of a desired object and fairly accurate at that too. So, when the cars dash gauage says it's going into thermo-nuclear melldown (overheeating at say 250*), and you point the thermometer at it and get a reading of 220*, which is normal temp, then obviously the gauge is lieing, surprise, surprise, and your chasing a overheating condition that does not exsist. :thumbsup:

The other way would be to scan and have the ECM say what temp it sees, but then they'd slap a $80 "diagnostic fee".

you're an undying source of info wright. thanks

I hope I'm undying, for now atleast :lol:

DUN dun DUN dunnnnn.........
good news: found the problem, its my fuel pump
bad news: my sending lines are so rusted and nasty that if i drop the tank they'll probably crack, so i'm going to get those replaced for me, then drop the tank and replace the pump myself. don't even ask how much money.

That's cool, and cause and effect, if it's running lean, it will run hotter. What a coinkie dink. :thumbsup:

id be impressed if my engine was running cooler after this. but more goods news..my air dam that i ordered for overnight delivery(i ordered it last friday) just got here today. i decided if its not running cooler after tonite im shooting it.
just realized a few things wright, didnt know you were in the chicago area too, i actually live in waukegan near the wisconsin border and work out in palatine. also, ive never seen your camaro and didnt know it was an 85. you like the lack of ground effect?

My first '85 didn't have effects. I liked the fact it was a "sleeper". This one (Z28) has the ground effects. I had to pull it out last night so I can work on my daily driver that needs a new brake line made, so I'm thinking maybe I'll get a few snaps of the Camaro after I get done doing a step by step make your own line photo montage.

She is definately a 20 ft car at night to be a bragger, for sure or in a cloud of tire fire :lol:

Taht's why it's time to get her in and get it done ground up.

Oh and if you ever get in the Brookfield area, ya found me.

ANd yes, I realised that, that's why I said "are you sure you didin't take my car?"

running circles with this car. so it may just be an electrical problem.. is it likely that i have some kind of short or something to where its not sending the fuel right? cause i may not need to replace the fuel pump, not sure.

Like I said before:

abrupt death = elect./ignition loss

sputtering death = loss of fuel.

you know i think that part really was the ignition coil, cause it hasnt done it since. now its just the..taking forever to turn over thing.

o i thought you were still chasing that

of the many times it's been at the shop lately, did they ever do a starter draw test on it?

Quick abrupt death = electrical/ignition problem.

sputtering death = fuel delivery problem

Just because the radio stays dosen't mean anything.

I'm working on it!

no i dont think so.

You can do it the backwoods way by turning the headlights on (preferably at night or with some one watching them, and duplicating the problem, if the lights go excessively dim then the starter is partially seized and after a few seconds of the windings heating up trying to overcome the resistance it breaks itself free. If it's bad enough you'll here it moan a lttle during this.

If there's little to no change in the lights it's a bad connection somewhere.

Oh my!! I'm on here trying to find out what is wrong with my 89 RS and this all sounds like what she was doing before she died! I did check the timing and it was wayyyyy off. I tried resetting it and finally ended up replacing all the timing components (the damper was coming apart). Not such an easy task for a girl like me, but got it done. She is trying to start better, but she still dies after 30-45 seconds and sometimes I smell gas. Checked the fuel delivery/return. No blockage. I'm curious to see what the problem is with this one. I'll keep my eyes on here...
p.s. I replaced the coil, as well. It had actually melted on the sides and was arcing off the bracket. Found it one night while trying to check my coil wires! Imagine my surprise! I can hear my fuel pump going and smell gas so I don't think the fuel pump is the problem. I get a trouble code of 42 which is the EST system. Could be the computer if both of mine are bad (I actually have a spare).
One more thing...My car used to shut off on sharp turns too. It was loose wires sround the battery. The "wiggle test" is how I found that one. Actually had to replace some wires there. Cured that problem right away.