alright, so my T/A has been sitting in the driveway for about a monthe now and ive tried just about everything to get it running.
ive:
-replaced the distibutor cap
-replaced the rotor
-replaced the ignition module
-replaced the fuses under the drivers side
-replaced fuse by battery

so, im at a loss. my last idea is that it could be the ECM? but the only thing that makes me think its not the ECM is that the car stopped working when it rained. this happened 2 times, the first time, my dads freind came over and fixed it.okay. then about 2 weeks later, it rains again. and it dies. so yeah? not too sure..CAN ANYONE PLEASE SHED SOME LIGHT ON THIS?????? im 17 and HATE having to have my girlfreinds mom come get me every morning for school. just lame...and people are always asking me where my Trans Am went...
Mikey

 

I actually just got done fighting this problem myself... It turned out to be my timing was way off, apparently my dizzy gear was chewed up pretty good allowing it to bump itself outta whack.. My distributor was a little rough to be honest... Now I got a replacement one.

During that trip to the mechanic he also found out that my MSD box was wired up completely wrong, and that my pick up coil was almost fried lol, so now it runs just like it should

 

my timing is fine..ive had it checked...my pickup coil may be done...maybe ill try that. thanks

 

bump for any other input....

 

brap.....i mean...bump

 

does it crank? or nothing at all...? do you hear a click?

 

it will crank for hours..no clicking...the battery is fine.. just got it charged

 

have you checked for spark and injector pulse? You didn't list whether you changed the ignition coil... also how is your fuel pressure? check to see if perhaps your coil is corroded from the rain somehow sneaking into the engine bay... have you tried pulling diagnostic codes from the ECM?

 

alright...slow down homie..lol..okay...igniton coil...where is it? and how do u get codes from the ECM?

 

somewhere in the engine bay... ... dude I'm not sure, follow the middle cable on your distributor cap, it should plug to a small box like electronic device, there should be two plugs that snap in together... you can get it tested at Autozone... I am not familiar with TPI setup, I've been lurking in the forums for the past 3 weeks, as I am converting to TPI before the end of this year...

 

oh lol..alright...well...idk lol..

 

Pull one of the spark plugs, hook the wire up, hold it (with a glove or rag so you don't get a shock) with the base against some bare metal (TPI plenum works great) and crank the engine over, you'll be able to see if there's a spark or not. If there's no spark at all, try disconnecting the plug on the coil that runs the tach and connecting the power wire back in. Guess this sounds a bit weird. To clarify: There's two plugs with two wires each going into the top of your coil, one of the plugs supplies power through one wire and runs the tach through the other wire... if there's a short to ground anywhere along the tach wire it'll ground the coil, preventing it from generating a spark. Sorry, but I can't remember off the top of my head which wire it is. Weird sounding problem I know, but I had a similar no-start issue with mine, replaced almost all of the ignition components before someone suggested this and it turned out to be my problem.

 

its getting spark and fuel in the fuel rails...it shocked the hell outta me..haha

 

Dude """""""DON'T """"""" hold it with a rag, juice will still
get you... oh wait.. too late.... .... cleared those sinuses right up, huh? lol...

 

hellz yeah..haha..woke me up too.

 

well, I didn't feel a thing... was your rag wet? also, I wrapped it around the boot, not the actual wire... learned that lesson a long time ago

 

i had it bare hand...on the wire..help to OP

 

Is this fixed yet? If you have spark and it still doesn't fire, then you probably have a fuel issue... How did you verify fuel at the fuel rail? Did you put a guage on and check the pressure? If your fuel pump is going bad it might not be putting out enough pressure, or maybe injectors not firing properly? Keep it simple, remember air fuel spark, if your missing any one of those 3, the car won't run. Are your plugs wet with fuel after you try starting it? Have you tried pulling any codes, when my ECM went bad, the computer actually put out a code for bad ECM... Try pulling the codes and let us know.

 

How does one pull codes from an ECS?

If the fuel filter is pugged... would you get enough fuel to start for a few seconds then die?

 

I have a code scan tool, but I've read on here that some guys just jump the terminals on the data port ( on my car there is a little rectangular cover under the dash to the right of the steering column. Pop the cover off and you'll see the connector. Your car has OBD, or On Board Diagnostics. The system will use you SES light (Service Engine Soon light) to tell you what codes if any are present. So you have to verify the SES light works first. Turn the key to on position. Does the light come on? If not the bulbs burned out or not working. If it works you can scan for codes. The computer will always flash a code 12 if it's working properly. It will literally flash one long and two short flashes then pause and the it will flash code 12 two more times. Then it will flash any trouble codes, there may be several so write them down, it will flash each seperate code 3 times, and when it's done it will return to code 12 and start all over. If it only flashes a code 12 then there are no codes stored in it's memory. Always scan for codes before you start replacing parts! You have replaced a lot of things that maybe you didn't need... If you do a search there should be a bunch of posts about which connectors you need to jump. Let us know what you find because the codes often times don't mean you need to start replacing parts, sometimes it means something may just be out of adjustment, or that something else is causing it to malfunction. Seems intimidating at first, but be patient and learn, these are great cars when you get them running right. Also computers are here to stay in cars so the more you learn now will only benefit you later on.

 

Thank you very much... I've been writing business software and building computers for years... the trick is knowing where to look and how to apply the info learned.

You have helped me!!!

 

Fuel filters should be changed periodically. Especially considering the ageof our cars. Yes a clogged filter can cause the car to starve for fuel.

 

thanks except since then I've tested the injectors and they get no voltage... checked the ECM where they come from and it outputs no voltage at key on or during crank.

Hawks said i need a VATS bypass but I can't figure out how to hook it into my system... all the places the directions tell me to connect it to don't exist.

 

I wish I could help you with the VATS, I've never had to deal with that one yet... Post a thread of your own if you havent already, I'm sure someone on here has been in your situation and can help.

 

having the same problem my self changed the distributor cap and now nothing

shes trying to turn over but nothing

 

mine is running now... there is a connector that I had nothing to connect to... engine, Harness and ECM from a 1987 IROC car is an 88 GTA... ran new wires problem gone... good luck with your problem.

 

sorry say that again???

 

 

idk what to do just gonna get it towed to Don Lee today

 

get a can of starter fluid and spray some in the throttle body if it turns over you probably have a bad fuel pump.

 

unplug the MAF sensor and see if it cranks... spark, fuel, and air ... that's all you need....

 

AAA is on there way lol