jackpawt883

up until sunday my camaro had ran like a champ, then one day after getting some stuff at a store i went out to start the car, nothing, and smoke plumes from the column, i wait a minute, try again, fires right up
yesterday the problem got worse as every time i had to start the car it did this
and today it wont even crank, occasionally you can hear the starter solenoid engaging and one time it sounded like it spun the engine, but i let off the key because the fumes started to gag me. the gauge shows battery is at 8-9 volts, however when i jiggle the key in the cylinder it jumps to 12 or as low as not even reading
is there a wire that goes into the upper section of the column there? one that could be causing a high resistance issue? i tried hooking up my truck while running to aid my brand new delco battery in attempting to start the vehicle
i did also test the ignition switch, lower down on the column with a known good switch i had laying around, as well as jumped all the connections individually
but it didnt seem to do anything
another note, the headlights do not dim when i attempt to start it
any help would be greatly appreciated, im moving in 5 days and this is the worst possible time to have this car do this to me

shoebox

So, you say you think the switch is ok, but what about the connectors going to it? They often get burnt up.

jackpawt883

the connectors are okay as well, it almost seems like something with the ignition cylinder itself but i know there isnt any 12v going to the actual cylinder, however i've watched smoke pour out of it
ive bypassed the ignition switch by jumping the wires in the blue connector and i get the same result, but smoke still comes from the ignition cylinder when i do it
aside from the VATS wires, are there any wires that run up to the cylinder? could i be smoking the VATS wires? its bypassed on my car, but could it cause an issue?

shoebox

If the VATS is bypassed with a resistor from below, then the wires are just lying dead to the cylinder above. There are lots of other wires (cruise, turn signal, etc.) going up the column. You might have to dissect the top of the column and pull the wires out for inspection after disconnecting the connector at the bottom of the column.

Injuneer

And be careful, because the steering column wires also include the wires for the airbag.

4586

Only as a FYI only:check out this link and open the pics at post #12:

https://www.camaroz28.com/forums/lt1...t-help-701338/

I have an extra 95 steering column and those switches.

jackpawt883

i just tried again and it sparked off some metal in the column, im assuming that a 12v wire shorted to the metal of the column since its energized, the smoke is the vats wires because the contacts are smashed against the metal of the ignition lock cylinder (because the plastic piece came off and i couldnt get them back in so i smashed them in, oops)
and its showing higher resistance (noticible by voltage drop in the battery shown on the gauge in the dash) in the run position, not just cranking, so i think the 12v wire is shorted somewhere
4586, how much would you be willing to let that column go for?

shoebox

I'm not there to see what you did, but how can the VATS wires have any power to them if you disconnected them under the column and to put a resistor in? Whatever it is, you need to quit letting it arc and smoke and take care of it before worse things happen.