Sweetness88

Okay I have a 95 Camaro with a 3.4. It has sat for about 4 months because the ignition went out so we just bought a new truck. Well in the past 2 days we have put a new ignition in, then the fuel pump went out. So we replaced it. Now the problem. The spark plugs are firing the engine is getting fuel and the car still will not start. The car acts like it really wants to but just wont. Any suggestions please!?

kallcium

I am not sure and I could be totally wrong, but doesn't the 3.4 have a distributor rather than coil packs? If so the first place I would check is the timing.Since you can't get it running... loosen up the distributor and turn it slowly while some cranks over the engine.... if it starts then pull out the timing light and get it set correctly. Also if you took out your distributor ... make sure it is in correctly not a tooth off or 180 degrees out... Double check your ignition wires to make sure they are correctly routed. Let me know what your find.... and I will try to help you from there

Sweetness88

Thanks for replying but the car does have coil packs. I forgot to note that all 3 were replaced about a month before the ignition went out. But again thank you for the suggestion.. We are EXHAUSTED with this car!

2000GTP

What ignition components have you replaced. Also, a very simple check would be to make sure all of your plug wires are firmly seated and in the correct firing order if you haven't already done so.

Sweetness88

The ignition switch has been replaced 3 times..once by my husband and then again by the dealership twice because they were determined that was the problem..at $600 a visit...the lock cylinder new key and all new wiring in between. We replaced and checked all the plugs and wires yesterday! Thanks for the reply everything helps lol it is most likely somethign small we are over looking!

2000GTP

When you confirmed the car was getting fuel, did you do so with a gauge, where was the fuel pressure at? Was there a reason the ignition switch failed three times?

Sweetness88

My husband took all of the correct procedures coming to the fuel ect. He was on the phone with the mechanic from his job most of the day yesterday. The ignition switch was replaces the first time because it went out. Something to do with the alarm. The second time we took it to a dealer because it began having similar problems and my husband didnt want to fool with it. They had it for close to a month and then determined it was the switch again...we think only because my husband had told them it was recently worked on. So we accepted that got the car back finally after several rude phone calls and alot of money. The car ran fine for about a week and the same problems showed up again. We took the car back. They claimed that it was nothing on their part it just went bad again. 3 ignition switches in about a month also being informed if i didnt believe in them I could have the car back in parts on a trailer we let them continue. Simply because I wanted my car. Another $600 and the car is fine again for about a week. Then the same problems. My husband got tired of messing with the GM dealer and took it to the mechanics at his shop (he does body work) they determined it was the lock cylinder causing all of the fuss. So it was replaced and ran fine until the fuel pump went out.

2000GTP

I would verify a couple of other things as well, first make sure that the fuel pressure regulator is not bad/leaking and also that the fuel injectors themselves are not leaking either. Another thing that can lead to a hard start/no start condition and leave people chasing their tails is a bad ECT sensor (engine coolant temperature).

Sweetness88

Thank you.! That seems to be a possible problem the car was running warm before it quit. But I wasn't aware that it would affecct the car starting!

2000GTP

The PCM uses the readings from the ECT sensor and compares it to a table of values that it uses for fuel calculations. If the sensor is faulty and giving inaccurate readings, then the PCM is going to give inaccurate fuel delivery. Don't get confused though,this sensor is different then the one that is on your dash giving you the coolant temperature.

kallcium

One other thing you can check out is the Body control module. For Some reason I remember someone talking about it that it can cause a no start .... also making someone think that it is the lock cyclinder.... maybe the reason it worked for a week and then quit ... then worked for another week and quit again. Just something to check out... do you have a Helm's factory repair manual.... this will help you troubleshoot.

Sweetness88

Thanks for the suggestions. We have checked most all and they seem okay they are down to the timing chain now. Hoping it is the problem. We realized that it wasn't a common problem on these cars (or so we are told) however that is the original timing chain from 95 with 225,000 miles on it. I think it is over due!