I need help asap 97 z28 turns over but wont start
 

My car for a few weeks was hesitating when trying to start i wasnt sure what it was but it would start so i didnt think to much into it. But now last night went to go home from the club and it refused to start. Went back today and the same thing. It started to start and then died out kinda like it wasnt geting fuel. I tested spark and i got one spark from the wire but only one time it didnt spark a second. I am lost i dont know what to do but i realy need my car by monday and i cant get it running without figuring out whats wrong. Can anyone help me. :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

is your SES light on?

If so, then there is obviously something computer related not letting it start. If not then I would just start eliminating the other possibilities..

If it sounded like it ran out of fuel..push the shrader valve down on the back of the fuel rail to see if there is fuel pressure there-

no ses light didnt cheak the valve though ill have to see about that when i go back down there tonight but you can smell fuel while trying to start it im not sure whats up im confused as ****

Well if you can smell fuel, it would seem as though its gettin fuel..just not sparking it..

My first thought was perhaps the opti went, but if the SES isn't on then thats not the case. Get a multimeter and check the wiring going to the coil to make sure its getting signal to fire.

Other than that just double check all your connections around the coil, opti ect.. to make sure they are all tight..kinda hard to diagnos without either hearing it or seeing it

thanks ill cheak that i apreciate it

if battery voltage is too low it won't fire the coil, but it may turn over what sounds normal, check your voltage(has to be over 11 volts).

They can start on 10 volts..I know, mine has before. And that was reading thru the computer so don't say I was lookin at the gauge either.

I assumed he would know if the battery was too low on volts. And usually if the battery can turn the motor over it has enough juice to fire the coil as well...

is the coil being bad a posibility if it was how hard are they to replace

I have had a few newer gm cars that the engine cranked good, but the coil wouldn't fire, the ecm shuts the coil down if voltage is too low.

it is a possiblity, tehy are fairly simple to replace once you get to it

anything other then the coil comonly go out on low millage cars that alows the engin to crank but not start?

ecm, corroded connections, bad cap, plugs bad

connections are all good and most cars still start with bad plugs dont they i have no clue about the ecm or the cap though im hopeing its nothing expensive cause i am so broke right now lol

depends how bad the plugs are, if the porcelin is cracked it won't start since the spark goes to teh head not the electrode.See if any codes are stored I've had a couple cars the ses light never came on but set a code

i cant get it to a shop to read the codes lol this sucks so bad im going to go back down and work on it tomarrow with a friend like i said im just hopeing its nothing thats expencive so broke tell like the 15th **** bills lol i just hope i can get it running tomarrow

or at least pin point whats wrong with it

you may be able to rent the code reader from a place like advance, the only other way is to swap known good parts (I don't like to buy parts for this)see if you have power to the coil, if power gets there then it may be the culprit (checking for signal with normal tools is not that easy) so swap it with a good used one (for testing) basically you want to do a process of elimination

You wouldn't happen to have a MSD coil on there would you?? Me and numerous other people have had lots of problems with them. I had that same problem. Just replaced my coil and I was good to go. Of course I replaced my **** optispark in the process trying to find out the problem... :grumble:

good luck!!! I would say the opti check the ends of the wires i know on lt1s if they get to close to the manifolds theyll ment causing an immediate ground

there not melted all seams good im to the conclusion that its got to be the opti or the coil witch is more comon any one know

opti is more common, do you have another car you can swap parts with to test?

no and cant afford to replace the opti

try a junk yard, you may be able to get both for a decent price

If its the opti- it should throw a code. The problem with opti is that usually it loses where its at in the rotation and doesn't know what cyc to fire and when. When it doesn't know that it will throw the code.

The opti either works or doesn't. Its not one of those parts that will work one day and not another..

I guess what trips me out is i got a spark form one of the plug wires but i only got one spark and it was pretty week but i can smell fuel so i dont think its a feul problem. On top of that if i let it sit for a while it when i go to attemp to start it it starts for a second then dies i dont have any tools so i cant test for electricity any where unless i test for spark. I dont have a code reader but the ses light never came on so i didnt expect the opti. I am lost and this happen at the worst time posible financialy lol guess thats how it goes some time. Well with the up dates on what its doing and the one spark i got does any one have any more guesses?

When my coil went out, it did not throw a code. And your problems sound just like mine. If I were you, I would replace the coil.

try coil tehy are cheap

thanks guys thats my plane ill let you know if it fixes it

it sounds like a ignition module to me because i had the same problem

DONT REPLACE THE OPTI!!!!!!!!!!!! joe (rice killer) is right, the opti is only bad if you've got a code. there are many things you can check before replacing a $300 distributor and wasting 2 hours of your life.