ive been fighting this for over a month when I have free time and im starting to get frustrated. sorry for the long post but im losing hope and all I want to do is drive the damn thing!

Background.
bought a 64k mile cammed/stalled 02 Camaro ss, everything checked fine. according to the owner it was a garage queen for years and rarely driven. I drove it more than 50 miles the day I bought it. stopped and started It more than 15 times through out day. i put half tank of 93 from a gas station I use often and have no issues with the fuel in my ls2 tbss. would occasionally stall if I came to sudden stops but would fire right back up no problem assumed it would need a retune soon. parked car for 4 days while out of town.

fired car up when I got back and it had some white smoke at first I figured because it was cold out and maybe condensation but it didn't want to stay running until I kept it around 1k rpms. idled fine after it was warm no smoke. did notice some whitish gunk on oil cap and snout but I believe it to be condensation wasn't very much but noticable. coolant looks normal.

went to drive it to work a few days later car cranked and started fine but didn't want to stay running again, got it warm and it idled. then it would fluctuate by itself so I chose to leave it and mess with it later.

I replaced k&n filter with a wix, cleaned sensor in lid, sprayed maf and sensor, removed tps and iac and cleaned both, sprayed tb and sensor. checked intake and nothing inside. car started but idle still bounced. then it went to a no start no crank randomly.

I cleaned ign cylinder and both keys. idk if that had something to do with it but it cranked and started a handful of times after that but still idled rough. so I thought it was the ignition switch or cylinder causing it. then I began trying to fix the idle issue again and it went to no crank no start again.

No DTCs or security light. I ended up getting starter tested at several parts stores and battery. battery checked bad? (I didn't know the history of it besides the car sat a lot so I just replaced it for ease of mind). starter checked good everytime. I had even installed it in-between visits to make sure it didn't start working just in case. I read on here a starter tested good but didn't have the power to turn over the engine so I just replaced it with one with a lifetime warranty. still nothing but normal dash lights/radio and fuel pump prime.


checked relays and switched them around. checked all fuses and replaced all the ones related just in case. chased wires to no avail. checked grounds, cant see ones on rear driver side head but they feel tight. all lights and radio works as it should.

I installed a fuel pressure gauge to see the pressure it was priming to, I could hear the pump come on. its showing 50psi on the rail, I need to change fuel filter but I don't think that would be causing this, it still has good pressure.

after all that, I am now getting a crank no start!? no DTCS or security light. so that would eliminate the ignition switch? I really don't want to tear into the column, especially if its not the problem.

I pulled a plug that was easy to get to, #3. didn't appear to be wet. I hooked up a spark tester and went to crank, no light..

so the car has fuel but something is telling it not to send spark?

im not sure where to go from here, I checked battery and its at 60% due to cranking so im charging it overnight.... it cant be the crank sensor or cam sensor if its cranking correct?

I really want to figure this out without a shop, due to unexpected news I cant really afford to take it anywhere right now. any help is greatly appreciated..

 

Bump.

 

Sounds like your throttle positioner sensor. When you cleaned your throttle body, your not suppose to clean the tps sensor with carb cleaner or anything. That's why it wouldn't crank or start after you cleaned it, your ECM is telling it not to open. You'll either have to relearn it or replace it or both unfortunately it sounds like.

 

I sprayed the tb with the others removed. I cleaned the iac with eletrical safe spray and pretty sure I used the same on the tps I don't quite remember, but I did remove both. Iac functions as it should. I really hope it's judt the tps.

 

Hopefully its just the tps then and all you have to do is relearn it.

 

How would I relearn it? The tps wouldn't cause a no spark would it?

 

The relearn is simple enough. Unplug the TPS and IAC and key on/engine off for a minute. Then key off, plug in and try to start.

But to be honest, I wonder if your injectors are firing. Cranking and cranking with no spark should make the plugs wet or at least stink of fuel when you inspected them.

 

They weren't wet but did smell of fuel. I did the clear flood mode procedure a few times also. Probably wouldn't hurt to get new plugs. I'll try the relearn tomorrow

 

Nothing changed

 

What kind of ignition system is it? Electronic , Mechanical or Distributorless?

 

Just to see if it needs more air - try holding the pedal a bit while cranking. If it fires up, adjusting the set screw might be all it needs.

Try unplugging MAF also. It'll set a code but might work.

If you have an ohm meter check the heads and negative battery terminal making sure you get zero ohms between them. That will for sure answer any grounding questions

 

Tried opening throttle some and unplugging maf, crank but no start still. I found these relays and a toggle switch under the dash?? When I turned it on and tried to crank car it honked.. some kind of alarm. But off it judt cranks no start. Could this be the issue? But I drove the car and it was fine so idk why this would cause an issue now?

 

Turns out both cooling fan relays were bad and the ignition relay. So when I was switching them around nothing got better. crazy. Thanks for the replies

 

That's crazy! Thanks for posting back the final solution! Probably good you found your fan relays were bad also.