Z28MeastLS1

Hey guys quick question. I have 98 trans am and lately when i turn the key to start the car it has been taking about 7 or 8 clicks to finally turn over and start. At first I though maybe my injectors were dirty, so I threw in some gumout to clean them but nothing changed. Any ideas???? Also sometimes when I turn the key it click 4 or 5 times then ill stop.... then ill turn it over and it will fire right up no problem. Do you think maybe i have a fuel problem? like fuel filter??

thanks

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Could be fuel pump/pressure related. Try a new filter, also you could check fuel pressure. How many miles on the pump? Some fresh spark plugs might be in order too, if they are old.

When it does finally fire up, does it kind of sputter to life or fire up strong?

Does the engine run well otherwise, or do you feel any sort of excessive roughness/hesitation/power loss anywhere between idle and WOT?

Z28MeastLS1

When it does fire up it fires up strong! Other than that the engine runs pretty strong, no issues with power loss. No hesitation. It just takes too long to fire up. Ill throw on a new filter and have the pressure checked.

Z28MeastLS1

oh btw car has 80k miles. Just bought the car 2 weeks ago. So not exactly sure if the pump has been changed.

ROCNDAV

iTrader: (100)

Is the Security light on?

When you say 7 or 8 clicks, do you mean that you are turning the key back and forth, or are you hearing clicks like when a battery is low?

Z28MeastLS1

Negative sir

topgeer

iTrader: (2)

Is it clicking from engine bay? sounds to me like lose connection, maybe starter soloid. does the battery have a good charge?

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

My impression was that by "clicks" he was actually talking about "cranks". Yeah, if all you are hearing is actual clicks (like when the battery is weak), then I wouldn't worry about injectors/fuel pressure/pump/etc., that's going to be a power/electrical issue.

slo2pro

it has somthing to do with the ignition my car does it too however it only take 2 tries.. almost everytime.. this is what i do. jumo in turn the car on, listen for the fuel pump.(electric buzzing) if you dont hear it when you turn the key on try to bump it over then listen for the buzzing, mine will normally fire right up after the second try.. i dont ever hear the fuel punp before the first try.. as soon as you hear the buzzing it will buzz then stop, after it stops try it again..

slo2pro

any luck?

98TransAmAngryBird

My car has been having the same issue... too many cranks to finally fire up.... Like i will turn the key and try to start it but it will crank over numerous times. Then ill turn the car off. Then ill turn the key over and it will fir right up... Must be a fuel pump problem.. Oh also today when it fired up it was making a rumbling sound and the car kinda shake. Like i flooded it maybe?? idunno what do you think?

slo2pro

l
was it missing? like it didnt want to run... almost wonder if a bad lifter would cause that.? i am starting to have a lifter noise in my car and sometimes in the morning it takes like 5 seconds for the lifter to pump up before the cars runs right.

Flink

I'm experiencing the same problem. It takes three tries to start my car cold. I changed my spark plugs, and now the car idles smooth and runs like a champ, but it's still hard to crank. I guess the fuel pump is going bad.

pino

just got this problem fixed in my 99 TA. after changing out the fuel pump, filter, and rail and injectors it ended up being the electrical connections in the ignition switch. when those connections get worn down the security system thinks your trying to start the car with something other than the key. I ended up taking to my mechanic because i know nothing about electricals and he got it fixed within two days and only charged me for the part which ended up being only about twenty bucks. If you have a bunch of miles on the fuel system it might still be smart to change the filter and the pump also. Mine now runs like the day i bought it.

Flink

Check engine light came back on 3 days after I changed the spark plugs. I scanned the codes today: P1153 (O2 Sensor Bank 1 Sensor 1 - insufficient switching) Also, my old plugs indicated I've been running lean. This seems to confirm that the problem isn't fuel related, since only one O2 is throwing a code. I'm going to do some more searching to try to find the most probable cause.

dontbl1nk

iTrader: (1)

I have the same problem, i'm guessing it's a week fuel pump. Although i'm not sure.

Flink

Yesterday, I performed a Seafoam treatment as directed for fuel and intake. Now the car cranks like new. I won't know if the problem is actually corrected until my next fill-up. But this product has fixed an emissions problem about 3 years ago on my SS, after I replaced both O2 Sensors and my MAF to no avail.

Hope this helps someone save some $$$.