Issues with my 91 Camaro RS.. - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

facelykemurderrr · 06-13-2012, 04:32 PM

hey everyone! I'm currently having some trouble with my car, bought it awhile back and it's been a huuuge project since.. I don't know what the owners before me did to this poor thing but it had to completely be re-wired, all new pipes, etc.. basically was a total wreck and wouldn't run without over heating and shutting off at random, among many other things. I've finally got my car in great running condition, but I've hit another issue.. it absolutely will not pass smog! I've had it to 2 mechanics specifically for this problem and they both "fixed" things supposedly, but still no luck for me on smogging it.
I'm wondering if the owners before me could have really messed something up with all the weird things they'd done to it? or maybe I'm just going to bad mechanics :(
I really don't want to sell this car..but I don't know what else to do at this point, it's costing a lot of money and I can't even legally drive it.

does anyone have any suggestions? or know of a good mechanic in the 951 area?

Firebreed · 06-13-2012, 06:33 PM

best place for you to go would be thirdgen.org, that forum has been around for ages and 99.999999% of all problems with the thridgens have been disscussed/fixed there.

facelykemurderrr · 06-15-2012, 02:02 AM

thanks! I'll check it out. (:

Third-Gen · 07-04-2012, 03:50 AM

where you at in so cal? Im pretty darn good at 3rd gens, as well as the newer ones. PM me if you want. Im in Lake Forest.

Third-Gen · 07-04-2012, 03:51 AM

could be a bad EGR valve, or the smog pump tube could have come loose (did on my 89RS), or maybe you just need a new cat.

facelykemurderrr · 08-26-2012, 12:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Third-Gen

where you at in so cal? Im pretty darn good at 3rd gens, as well as the newer ones. PM me if you want. Im in Lake Forest.

I just noticed your reply, I don't believe Lake Forest is that far..could be wrong but I'm in Riverside county.

unfortunately I have another issue now aside from smogging it, about a week ago after I was done running errands I parked in front of my house and when I went back out to put my car in the garage (only like 15 minutes later) it wouldn't start. the battery is fine, everything was fine while I was just driving it..so I'm very confused. now I have to get this problem checked out so I can go back to focusing on my smog issue.

I feel like I'm dealing with a lost cause here, but I really love this car regardless of everything it's putting me through.

Third-Gen · 08-29-2012, 01:26 AM

ya its not very far. well when you turn the key, does it make a click or nothing at all? next time it does it, grab a hammer and hit the starter, its on the passenger side, about a foot behind where the front left wheel ends, and about 2 feet in. mine did the same thing for a while and it was just an old worn out starter. It would be worse when it was either really cold or had just run the car and gotten it really hot. average days it worked most of the time.

facelykemurderrr · 08-29-2012, 05:31 AM

I'll have to check it out tomorrow but I'm pretty sure nothing at all.. you're probably right though, bad starter. I'll have to pull out my papers from mechanics because I'm pretty sure that was one of the things I had taken care of..and not that long ago, so I wonder if the mechanic actually even did anything.

but one of the things I did have to do was have the car rewired so a key in the ignition would start the car..when I first got it the previous owners had rigged it to start by a button on my dash, weird. I'm guessing something went wrong with the ignition and that was the cheaply way to go, so now I'm wondering if maybe something bounced out of place, wires or whatever. wont know until I get this puzzle of a car to another mechanic!

garcmol · 08-29-2012, 06:16 AM

Before you yank the starter, check the negative battery cable. That plagued me after putting in a new starter. Wouldn't turn over but the dome light and gauges were on, fuel pump everything was fine. Turned out my negative battery cable at the battery wasn't making good contact. Replaced it and the car was back to normal with no more problems.

facelykemurderrr · 08-30-2012, 07:30 PM

thank you both for the suggestions.. I'm trying to figure everything out now and in the process my friend and I discovered there is no ignition fuse in my car, it was completely bypassed when I had to have it rewired to start from the ignition with the key instead of the button on my dash. the mechanic was not supposed to take short cuts on me, I was paying for everything to be completely redone properly. so I'm very disappointed right now..but what can I do? so we're tearing apart my car tomorrow..friend has a few ideas to get it running. if anyone else has any suggestions I'm open to them!

One-Bad-ZL1 · 09-19-2012, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Third-Gen

where you at in so cal? Im pretty darn good at 3rd gens, as well as the newer ones. PM me if you want. Im in Lake Forest.

Hey Third-gen,
I don't want to hijack this thread, but my son's 92 RS stopped dead right after he hit a hard bump. He's got batter power, but the car won't prime the fuel pump or crank the starter when the key is turned. It's a VATS car, and I suspect that the system is damaged and/or the module is dead.

Do you think I'm on the right track?

If so, can I by-pass the VATS to get here rolling?

Thanks for any advice.

Third-Gen · 09-21-2012, 01:24 AM

the vats is pretty easy to bypass. you have to measure the value of the resistor in the key, and place one in the sensor loop in place of the key. thirdgen.org another camaro forum has a writeup. its located at the link below. if the VATS module is damaged, even doing the bypass wont do anything, you will have to bypass the starter enable relay. let me know if you need any more help.

One-Bad-ZL1 · 09-22-2012, 03:30 PM

thanks Thirdgen. The 92 RS roared back to life this morning after the humiliating ride home on a car dolly towed by my truck.

Thanks to your suggestions for the VATs, I got instructions from Thirdgen.org, plus yours and I ruled out pretty quickly that it was not the VATs causing the car not to start. I hooked the battery back up, had my son sit in the ****pit, turn the ignition on but not to start and preceded to start jiggling wire bundles. The was power in the engine bay, but none inside the car. Turned out to be the master bus at the firewall, came loose on the engine side and apparently when my son went over one too many bumps he jarred it loose and it disconnected. I pulled the relay pack out of the way to get good access to the harness and torqued the bolt down really well and she fires up like a champ.

Which is great for both of us because he can goto the University of New Haven car show on the 29th with and my 5th Gen.

Third-Gen · 09-23-2012, 12:41 AM

ya those old 2 piece firewall plugs are a pain sometimes. and that tar filling they used as insulation always makes a mess. glad you figured it out.

06-13-2012, 04:32 PM	#1
facelykemurderrr Drives: 1991 Camaro RS Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Southern California Posts: 20	Issues with my 91 Camaro RS.. hey everyone! I'm currently having some trouble with my car, bought it awhile back and it's been a huuuge project since.. I don't know what the owners before me did to this poor thing but it had to completely be re-wired, all new pipes, etc.. basically was a total wreck and wouldn't run without over heating and shutting off at random, among many other things. I've finally got my car in great running condition, but I've hit another issue.. it absolutely will not pass smog! I've had it to 2 mechanics specifically for this problem and they both "fixed" things supposedly, but still no luck for me on smogging it. I'm wondering if the owners before me could have really messed something up with all the weird things they'd done to it? or maybe I'm just going to bad mechanics :( I really don't want to sell this car..but I don't know what else to do at this point, it's costing a lot of money and I can't even legally drive it. does anyone have any suggestions? or know of a good mechanic in the 951 area?

06-13-2012, 06:33 PM	#2
Firebreed Got Boost? Drives: 2011 1SS/RS M6 SLP TVS 2300 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 404	best place for you to go would be thirdgen.org, that forum has been around for ages and 99.999999% of all problems with the thridgens have been disscussed/fixed there. __________________ 2011 1SS/RS M6 MOD List: SLP 2300 Supercharged, Flowmaster AT Cat back, aux 4 guage cluster, 12" kicker sub and Kicker Zx400.1 amp, PFADT Lowering springs CAI Inc. CAI, Hurst Short throw shifter, JBA 1 7/8 Long tube headers. Future Mods: 416ci stroker.

08-29-2012, 06:16 AM	#9
garcmol Drives: 10 1LT SIM; 91 B4C sleeper Z Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Ft. Mitchell, Alabama Posts: 7,199	Before you yank the starter, check the negative battery cable. That plagued me after putting in a new starter. Wouldn't turn over but the dome light and gauges were on, fuel pump everything was fine. Turned out my negative battery cable at the battery wasn't making good contact. Replaced it and the car was back to normal with no more problems. __________________ Pedders Pace Car Package, Injen CAI, Flowmaster AT, AAC Lighting, ZL1 fascia/skirts, RKSport Ram Air hood, vented fenders, painted stripes (Gary's Customz), Honor and Valor badged (Thank you, John)

09-22-2012, 03:30 PM	#13
One-Bad-ZL1 So easy to love Camaros Drives: 2013 ZL1 VR #3457 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Marlborough, CT Posts: 3,768 View My Garage	thanks Thirdgen. The 92 RS roared back to life this morning after the humiliating ride home on a car dolly towed by my truck. Thanks to your suggestions for the VATs, I got instructions from Thirdgen.org, plus yours and I ruled out pretty quickly that it was not the VATs causing the car not to start. I hooked the battery back up, had my son sit in the ****pit, turn the ignition on but not to start and preceded to start jiggling wire bundles. The was power in the engine bay, but none inside the car. Turned out to be the master bus at the firewall, came loose on the engine side and apparently when my son went over one too many bumps he jarred it loose and it disconnected. I pulled the relay pack out of the way to get good access to the harness and torqued the bolt down really well and she fires up like a champ. Which is great for both of us because he can goto the University of New Haven car show on the 29th with and my 5th Gen. __________________

06-15-2012, 02:02 AM	#3
facelykemurderrr Drives: 1991 Camaro RS Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Southern California Posts: 20	thanks! I'll check it out. (:

07-04-2012, 03:50 AM	#4
Third-Gen Olson Kustom Works Drives: 91 Camaro, LS3, TVS2300, TR6060 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Anaheim, CA Posts: 134	where you at in so cal? Im pretty darn good at 3rd gens, as well as the newer ones. PM me if you want. Im in Lake Forest.

07-04-2012, 03:51 AM	#5
Third-Gen Olson Kustom Works Drives: 91 Camaro, LS3, TVS2300, TR6060 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Anaheim, CA Posts: 134	could be a bad EGR valve, or the smog pump tube could have come loose (did on my 89RS), or maybe you just need a new cat.

08-29-2012, 01:26 AM	#7
Third-Gen Olson Kustom Works Drives: 91 Camaro, LS3, TVS2300, TR6060 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Anaheim, CA Posts: 134	ya its not very far. well when you turn the key, does it make a click or nothing at all? next time it does it, grab a hammer and hit the starter, its on the passenger side, about a foot behind where the front left wheel ends, and about 2 feet in. mine did the same thing for a while and it was just an old worn out starter. It would be worse when it was either really cold or had just run the car and gotten it really hot. average days it worked most of the time.

08-29-2012, 05:31 AM	#8
facelykemurderrr Drives: 1991 Camaro RS Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Southern California Posts: 20	I'll have to check it out tomorrow but I'm pretty sure nothing at all.. you're probably right though, bad starter. I'll have to pull out my papers from mechanics because I'm pretty sure that was one of the things I had taken care of..and not that long ago, so I wonder if the mechanic actually even did anything. but one of the things I did have to do was have the car rewired so a key in the ignition would start the car..when I first got it the previous owners had rigged it to start by a button on my dash, weird. I'm guessing something went wrong with the ignition and that was the cheaply way to go, so now I'm wondering if maybe something bounced out of place, wires or whatever. wont know until I get this puzzle of a car to another mechanic!

08-30-2012, 07:30 PM	#10
facelykemurderrr Drives: 1991 Camaro RS Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Southern California Posts: 20	thank you both for the suggestions.. I'm trying to figure everything out now and in the process my friend and I discovered there is no ignition fuse in my car, it was completely bypassed when I had to have it rewired to start from the ignition with the key instead of the button on my dash. the mechanic was not supposed to take short cuts on me, I was paying for everything to be completely redone properly. so I'm very disappointed right now..but what can I do? so we're tearing apart my car tomorrow..friend has a few ideas to get it running. if anyone else has any suggestions I'm open to them!

09-21-2012, 01:24 AM	#12
Third-Gen Olson Kustom Works Drives: 91 Camaro, LS3, TVS2300, TR6060 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Anaheim, CA Posts: 134	the vats is pretty easy to bypass. you have to measure the value of the resistor in the key, and place one in the sensor loop in place of the key. thirdgen.org another camaro forum has a writeup. its located at the link below. if the VATS module is damaged, even doing the bypass wont do anything, you will have to bypass the starter enable relay. let me know if you need any more help.

09-23-2012, 12:41 AM	#14
Third-Gen Olson Kustom Works Drives: 91 Camaro, LS3, TVS2300, TR6060 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Anaheim, CA Posts: 134	ya those old 2 piece firewall plugs are a pain sometimes. and that tar filling they used as insulation always makes a mess. glad you figured it out.