Before I spend anymore money on what my mechanics think is wrong with my car.. please someone help me out here. Here's the scenario- 1992 Camaro RS, 305 automatic, TBI , polished 16" IROC wheels . I got a pretty damn new starter (3 months), new fuel pump, and a new computer. It has a superchip in the computer, not too sure about the specifics of it though, it was in there when i bought it. My car runs great, in fact it runs like a champ. The problem is that it won't start after driving it for a while. I can go around and drive it for 20 minutes or a couple of hours and shut it off and within like 20-30 minutes after its turned off, it won't start up at all. IT will crank and try to turn over but the overwhelming feeling i get is that its straight not getting any fuel at all. If I pour gasoline directly on top of the carburator or throttle body (not sure which its called) and then start it up, it just barely starts and runs for as long as that gas poured in can let it run.(maybe 3 seconds) The mechanic said that it could also be something like the super chip has gone bad or the little chip on my ignition key has gone bad as well and it isn't making the connection that it should in trying to start the car as a theft deterent. I'm hoping someone has heard of a problem like this or can help me out. The weird part is after like 5-6 hours of sitting, the car does actually start, barely idles at first, but it does start. Coincidently, just about the same time it takes for the tow-truck to find me. But if it means anything, the idle is unpredictable as hell, sometimes it idles as high as 1000 rpm in 1st gear when driving or any other gear for that matter or 1700 in neutral or park. Thanks!

 

problem could be that you have too much fuel rather than too little. injectors have been known to leak enough that they flood the engine after the ignition key is turned off. after car sits for a while, the fuel evaporates and the car will start again.

 

would that require new injectors, or would a simple injector cleaning take care of that (as simple as an injector cleaning could get)

 

check IAC valve

 

Try posting this on the TBI board.

 

I had a somewhat similar problem. My 91 rs wouldn't start sometimes and then would. I would let it rest a while and then it would start. I drove it like this for a few months and then it just quit on me. On a recomendation of a tow truck guy I had it taken to his buddy's shop where he had it for a Fuc**n month and ripped thorugh all kinds of wiring. (and screwed stuff up i'm convinced like the horn) anyway he gave up on it and had it taken to an electronic specialist auto place and they had it fixed in 2 days. It was the key reader like you mentioned. that could be your problem. My car starts up great now all the time. But I now have Caddy symbols on my keys instead of theGM ones.

 

i called up my local Radley Chevrolet dealer and they said they could test the key, so i think im going to have that done sometime this weekend. also, they gave some helpful information about the new fuel pump i got about 1-2 months ago. they suggested that i turn the key to the "on" position, the one right before the engine starts to crank and sit and listen right by the fuel pump for it to turn on and it would sound kinda like a fan or there'd be some electrical noise so i'd be alerted to its working. and i checked it out and sat right under my car with my head as close to the fuel pump as possible and i most certainly didn't hear anything. also, my dad unhooked the fuel lines right before they lead into the engine and started the car up and there wasn't even any fuel coming out of those pipes. I'm seriously thinking this is an electrical problem involving the fuel pump or fuel system. let my know what you guys think, all your posts so far have been really really helpful

 

Can someone move this thread to the TBI board?

 

a little update of sorts-
i got my car to run, and i did this by cleaning the key with some bartenders wife soap and scrubbing on some metal polish. this finally gave me the sweet fuel pump sound and i drove it around. here's where it gets tricky again though, the car idles around 600 and it drives really great, in fact i went over to a friends house to help him figure out where to put the heat sheilds on his 83 restoration project. but i drove it fairly, not overly, hard the way home which is about 3-4 miles and once i get home it idles at 2000 rpm. it seems to happen this way- i'll push it kinda hard and when i do it begins to have a ridiculusly high idle. now when i got my new fuel pump a couple months ago the mechanics said they took out the 02 sensor cuz it was causing problems and they just dumped it and didn't replace it. so i was driving around with the service engine soon light on all the time until they replaced the computer. but now im thinking they didn't bother with putting an 02 sensor on and maybe thats what is causing the ridiculus idle. and if i try to start it after it idles that high, it sounds like it starts but it idles way too low to run so it shuts down. then after a while of letting the engine get cold it will start up, not right away, but start up and idle at 600 and once again i go through the whole thing. thanks and if this would be better off at the TBI board im all for it, but i think a moderater has the authority to pull a trick like that cuz i know i don't

 

fixed the idle problem, i just reset the computer and drove it for a couple hours really easy. but it still won't start up right when its hot. is this still a VATS problem? right now im just letting it cool down to where i can listen if the pump will work. the mechanic i take my car to thinks its a problem with the super chip, but how could that affect just trying to start the car? it seems like when it does start though, the idle is reallllly really low and just barely turns over. i have to hit the gas to get it up to a good idle rpm for a while before it stays up

 

I would think that if you have a fuel problem it might be a vapour lock. It is a situation where the fuel in the line gets too hot and vapourizes and locks the fuel line. It happens mostly in a mechanical fuel pump situation but can also happen in a electric fuel pump.