[DrivingFast4fun]

I have a 2003 vette with 52,000 miles on it. I have read some posts about people having intermittent starting problems and most of the time it is the VATS or the lock cylinder. Maybe once every 2 weeks the car will not start, I just turn the key and nothing. Last weekend it was thankfully in the garage and it would not start. I tried cleaning off the key and kept trying to start it and nothing. It would not start for over 24 hours. I left it alone and did not try to start it again until later the next day (24 hours later) and she fired right up perfectly. I checked the codes and no codes whatsoever. Could this problem still be connected to the VATS or the lock cylinder? We frequently take the vette on weekend trips down to Big Bend national park (very very remote) and I am afraid we'll be stranded sometime. I have taken the car to Christian Brothers automotive twice, but they can never get it to act up. Starts up perfectly everytime when its at the shop. Can someone please give me their opinion? Thanks!

 

[Lethal Tendencies]

Sounds like the vats. It happened to me a couple times. I would take off the negative cable from the battery, wait 1 minute, re connect it and it would start right up. It ended up being my key.

 

[vettex2]

I agree with LT

did you pull any codes ?

 

[DrivingFast4fun]

I did pull codes and it was showing no codes at all. I thought the whole no codes thing was also a tad strange. I feel pretty confident it is the VATS, however, having no codes just seems odd to me. It has had this problem since I bought the car about 5 months ago. I of course didn't notice it on the test drives or anything, but starting a month or so after I bought it is when it first acted up. But until last weekend it just did it once every week or so and I would just wait about 5 to 7 minutes then try to start it again and she would fire right up. But last weekend being locked down for 24 hours with no codes just seems strange. I just don't trust the car right now. Sucks having a nice Corvette that I am scared to drive out of town. Thanks for replies everyone! I am new to Corvettes and new to the site and I appreciate all the help I can get.

 

[vettex2]

does it do the same thing with both keys ?

 

[DrivingFast4fun]

Yes it does it with both keys. It doesn't seem to do it any less with one key vs. the other.

 

[vettex2]

does the security light come on at all ?

also try rubbing an eraser on the pellets , but it could be the contacts in the lock
maybe a spritz of contact cleaner would help , use cleaner sparingly , maybe on a q-tip to clean inside

 

[DrivingFast4fun]

Still having the no start issue

I took the vette to Christian brothers for them to look at this issue with the no starting. Of course it started up first time every time for them for a few days. With my permission they went ahead and replaced the ignition lock cylinder, ignition switch, anti-theft relay and neutral safety switch. At first it seemed to fix the problem. It even started up better than before. We drove it to Big Bend for a long weekend, and it started up great every time. I thought the problem was fixed and even started trusting the car again. Last weekend it left me stranded for an hour in a parking lot. Then it has done the problem two more times this week. I go to start it and absolutely nothing. The radio comes on, interior lights come on and dash lights all come on but doesn't even begin to turn over. Then usually 5 mins to even an hour after, it will just fire up like a new car. What else could this problem be? This is getting beyond frustrating....and expensive.

 

[Halnazz]

After reading everything, I'm still not sure what the vat is but my car has been doing the same thing for some time now. I even had my tuner turn the key diode off and still having the same problem and after taking to him and him driving and starting it on the dyno, we came to the clutch switch. If you have a manual, I would look there. Hope this helps

 

[[email protected]]

starter relay under passenger side dash

 

[Halnazz]

Kool. If the clutch switch doesn't fix min I'll look there next

 

[[email protected]]

Kool. If the clutch switch doesn't fix min I'll look there next

Check the Theft Deterent starter Relay TDR relay which is located above the BCM in the passenger side . The easiest method to check this is to remove the relay and jump between the purple and red wires on the connector, If the car starts with a jumper in place you likely need a new relay ! swap it with the Pwr Ant relay next to it, try again.
This relay is located right above the BCM in the pass. side footwell. It has 4 wires attached to it:


Yellow - +12v from ignition switch during starting.
Yellow/black stripe - Ground signal supplied by BCM.
yellow will only show hot during starting ...the BCM has the ability to prevent starting by not supplying this ground signal. .very important!!



Red - +12v from battery
Purple - +12v to starter solenoid during starting.
If it starts by jumping , the relay is probably bad, unless you don't get ground supplied by BCM.. that means Bcm is likely culprit.

 

[[email protected]]

Have you found the problem yet?

 

[Halnazz]

Well it's been a long holiday for me so far to be honest. Had a lot of work done, and after the dyno tune the same night the oil pressure dropped to zero. So it's back at the shop. Haven't gotten to try it out much here lately. I noticed after I commented on your post that it was an old post. After I get the car back again I'll let you know how it acts with the key thing turned off. But thanks for the info on your problem. Looking to as a sc if I can get everything running right after all the work. I'm 100% sure Jeremy will get everything going right soon!! He's top notch!!!

 

[vettex2]

I'd look for a bad ground too.