Wasps

Hi,

I'm posting on behalf of my father who has a 2001 Z28 which currently won't start.
I just posted the same on Camaro5.com before finding this site.
If anyone has any ideas or pointers, I'd really appreciate it.


His 2001 Z28 has recently developed a fault whereby it won't start.
The car turns over, but doesn't fire. There appears to be no spark and no fuel.

This has happened a couple of times. On previous occasions, he found that pressing and holding the trip button reset "something", and the car would then start again.
As far as I'm aware, this should only reset the "oil change" light.... but it certainly seemed to do something else.


This time though, the behaviour seems mostly the same, but holding the trip button has no effect.
The only difference currently is that when the ignition is turned on, the fuel gauge actually moves backwards. This apparently didn't happen before.
i.e. as normal when the ignition is off, the gauge will be at Empty, but when the ignition is turned on, the gauge registers less than empty.
I am assured there is plenty of fuel in the tank.


As well as holding the trip button, we've also performed a process which supposedly resets the PCM whereby a couple of fuses (PCM Battery and PCM Ignition) are removed and left for 10 minutes before replacing them.
We've also removed/swapped/replaced the Starter and Ignition relays, and left the battery disconnected for a period of time before hooking everything back up.

We've tried a couple of different OBD I and II code readers on the car and none seem to be able to read the car at all.


We've had a couple of local mechanics look at it, but their code readers have failed to read anything from the car either, and then they walk away. We're in the UK so don't have many Camaro specialists nearby.


Does anyone have any idea what could be causing a problem such as this, or any ideas on how to troubleshoot the problem further?


Thanks
Steve

Chris97b

iTrader: (1)

No spark and no ignition? Could be VATS (anti-theft) related

02DroptopZ

iTrader: (3)

Electrical issues are a hoot to diagnose. Couple questions: Do you see a "SECURITY" light pop up and flash on the dash when the car won't start? Can you hear the fuel pump prime when you turn the key on? In the passenger footwell, do you hear any clicking when you turn the key on?

When you say the scanners weren't able to read the car at all, can you be more specific? Do the scanners not even get power from the port? If not, does the cigarette lighter work? If they do get power from the port, are you able to get in and try and communicate with the PCM, or does that fail?

01CamaroSSTx

iTrader: (3)

Make sure you have a good battery and check the grounds and connections to make sure they are clean and not full of corrosion. As mentioned VATS could also be the cause for your starting issues as the components can become defective so disabling that could fix the problem. Do you have a test light and is power being provided to to the relay for the fuel pump when you turn the ignition key on? Do you have a fuel pressure gauge and are you getting 58psi on the gauge when you turn the ignition key to on? GL

Wasps

Thanks very much for the ideas.

The security light appears, but then disappears.
It's my understanding the security light stays on if it's a VATS issue - is that correct?

We don't hear the fuel pump priming at all.
I was thinking it would be pump related, but as we're not getting a spark either it seemed like it would be something else.

The scanner plugs into the port and gets power.
I've not seen it, but apparently it then throws an error saying it can't connect (or something along those lines)
We've tested the scanner on my car (not a Chevy) and it works fine
According to the documentation, the scanner should work on a 2001 Camaro, but it failed to work on a '99 Camaro too (and a 2001 Citroen)
Other mechanics who have used theirs have all had similar issues - it gets power, but can't connect/read anything.


I'm possibly beginning to doubt the info about no spark as well, so i'm going to try to test that myself.
If there is a spark and no fuel, I'll go back to thinking this is pump related.

02DroptopZ

iTrader: (3)

That is correct, you’d see it come on and flash, or come on and remain lit.. One of the two, I haven’t seen it for myself in years so it’s hard to recall, but if the light is coming on and going out its functioning normal. VATS usually prevents the car from cranking at all anyways.

Definitely the best next step, find out for sure if there’s no spark. If it turns out the car is getting spark that makes things a LOT easier.