I've posted everywhere looking for help... Even on my other cars support website (Team Swift), not gettin a lot of help anywhere, and then I saw this thread, decided I'd give ya'll a try...

Well to start off... I got a 1995 Fiero 4 cyl, free one at that thanks to the guys wife who wanted it gone. It has been sitting in a barn for 9 years... Well, when they gave it to me, it started fine, ran fine, smelled fine. Didn't roll too well though...

Well after I got it home, I started on it same day, I've replaced all the brake calipers (old ones locked up), flasher unit, light bulbs, small stuff of the sorts, even had to fix some clutch problems (who ever put the banjo in put it in upside down, GJ! lol), replaced the spark plugs which raises question number one... How does a car run with no gap in a spark plug? This car was running fine, but idling a little high with absolutely no gap what so ever... Confuses me.

Well anyway THE MAIN PROBLEM... Upon fixing my banjo problem a new problem started... It decided it doesn't wanna start anymore... I've checked the plugs, fuel pump, fuel filter, wires, dist, starter, battery, everything... It would turn over just peachy, but just wouldn't get going... then the battery died... So, it just wouldn't start at all, odd enough, there's no other info I have on it besides it won't start and I've checked the above...I ran out of ideas... But hey I'm not a mechanic, I'm a computer tech, so any tricks or anything else I should check out?

Then another problem, in my impatience (and hospital injury from this car) I can't torque anything or lift anything so I decided to charge the battery while it was still connected... Well, my uncle decided to try to start it while it was plugged in and now it has no power at all, no click, no stereo, nothing... Is there a fuse or something I should look for? Or should I just replace all the wiring?

Thiese two problems are the only ones that keep my Fiero in storage, and any help to get it out and driving would be greatly appreciated

[This message has been edited by jagojay (edited 08-25-2009).]

There are 4 fusible links over near the battery, I assume you checke ALL the fuses under the dash. Double check your battery and starter and ground connections. Trying to start it with the charger connected should not cause any problems.

Welcome to the Forum, you found the right place to get your Fiero running, lots of help here !

------------------
Mike
'86 Fiero 3800 supercharged '86 Fiero SE original
'85 Fiero SE '85 Fiero GT
'84 Fiero SE '84 Fiero Base coupe

Thanks for the welcome, I played with it a ltitle bit, hooked it back to the charger immediately tried to turn it on and I had interior lights and exterior, when I cranked it everything went dead again so I hooked it back to the charger for a few hours, just got back in from trying, it now turns over just peachy, but it still seems like its not firing.

I took all the grounds off, and took a degreaser to them, cleaned em off, put em back on, with no change. All fuses look ok, spark plugs properly gaped and clean (they are new after all), spark plug wires fine, dist cap, and rotor are on right and tight. My battery is putting out 16V, which is more than enough... It was firing just fine the day before I switched the banjo position which is whats odd to me, think it could be a neutral start switch or something I may have done wrong?

Thanks for any help, I just wanna drive this baby, looks so sweet sitting there, can only imagine how it drives.

Ok well 1995 Fiero's are quite rare so we have to get yours up and running...

So, do you get the engine to turn over and if so do you have spark?
You stated your uncle was turning the ignition as you were connecting the battery, I think Mike above mentioned you should check the fusable links in the engine compartment, I agree. Have you done this? Do you have a 12v automotive test light? They are made with a pointed tip and an alligator clip for the neg side and are great for checking things like fusable links.

After this if you verify all links as good I am wondering if the ECM got fried when the cranking incident occured?

sparx22

[This message has been edited by sparx22 (edited 08-24-2009).]

unfortunately all I have is my volt meter, which should work just fine if I'm not mistaken, by fusible links you mean the small pos wire running off of the battery into a lil plastic box with a bolt in it?

The small positive wire stated above is a constant 0V on the bolt, but don't have someone who can try cranking or anything while I measure lol

Also, it wasn't while I was connecting the battery, it was while it was hooked to the charger, while it was hooked to the wall, which is what made me think it may have surged when he tried to crank it

[This message has been edited by jagojay (edited 08-24-2009).]

Does the tach even move? Do you have fuel pressure? Pressure should be between 40-45Psi. If the tach doesn't move it sounds like a ignition module. They are very common to go out, When you replace it make sure to get a AC Delco there far Superior in quality over aftermarket. Does the check engine light come on when you turn the key? To me it sounds like a electrical problem and you said 16v WOW Your battery is way over charged, Check the battery to see if there's any bubbles on the side of it sounds like it's about to explode. In general it should be between 12-13 Not on, and 13-14 With power on.

All the lights are doing their normal thing, everything gauge wise looks fine, pressures good, took it OFF the charger, cranked it, it turned over about 3 times, tach jumped a lil, and then it stopped turning no clicking and all the lights went off... Measured the battery, it's at 16v and it's not on at all, no physical bubbling or anything, looks fine...

If I turn the key off and let it sit a lil bit the stereo will turn back on and all the lights will, but when I recrank everything dies again.

[This message has been edited by jagojay (edited 08-24-2009).]

If your links and fuses are all good suspect the battery. It could be a bad connection at the battery cables or an internal crack in the battery post. A crack like this can cause all kinds of funny things to happen. Either swap out the battery with a known good one or take the battery to a parts store that can do a load test. On cars that have sat for years there is usually a reason it was abandoned in the first place.
Once it cranks OK try this: squirt some gas into the air cleaner and then crank it over. If it fires, even briefly, then it's not getting fuel. Sitting around for a long time does a lot of damage to the fuel pump, fuel strainer, fuel filter, and clogs injectors. Threads here will help with checking the fuel pressure. Sometimes a bad fuel pump never works and some times they will work until you shut them off. When turn the key to the run position, but do not crank the engine, you should here the pump run for a few seconds. Good Luck

-Tim

The fusible links are the thick black section on the red wires, you can see 4 of them in this pic


The fuel pressure on a 4cyl should be around 15psi. not 40-45. It sounds like you first need to start with a good battery, sounds like yours has no amperage left.

Is your fuel pump priming? way to tell this is listen fora humming noise when the ignition is turned on.

fuel pump is new actually, along with the master cyl and clutch (sorry forgot to mention that in original post)

As far as it priming, honestly I haven't heard it, but I haven't heard it since I replaced the pump and its been running fine since then (3-4 weeks before it stopped starting) and I've never heard it on this car... Then again I am somewhat hard of hearing so I may just be missing it

Well the battery tested good at autozone, I'm kind of miss on how to check the fusible links, I assume hit the volt meter to where they go and measure, but does the key need to be on or?

returned your PM yesterday with a description of how to test. let me know if you need more explination.

Well, ok here's my day...

Beginning problem: car would turn completely off when I turn the key without cranking

What I did: Well, I started by talking to Mike... I had the battery tested, it's running 12.47V 774CCA tested at 550CCA (or some such), passing.

I've redone the grounds, I tested the fusible links (1 clip on the battery, other clip on the other side of the link) they all passed, ran a jumper cable from battery to the battery bolt on the starter and tried to crank it, it turned over, but very sickly. Tried jumping the battery bolt to the engine bolt (purple wired one) on the starter, sparked, but no turn. Ran a jumper cable from the battery directly to the starter bolt to bypass all that good stuff, sparked, and almost caught my pants on fire (I was sitting on the engine, found it easier to reach from above), but that's it, no turn over.

After I almost caught my pants on fire I unplugged the spark plug wire, cussed a bit, and turned the key, and it turned over a few time, I suspect it's got a few more turns left in it before it starts slowing down (again) and start eventually clicking (as if the battery were dead).

Now I'm back at my original problem that started this problem before, engine won't go. Fuel pump is working, fuel filter is filtering, put gas in the carb and it still wouldn't get on with it. Spark plugs gapped properly, dist cap seated properly, and tightly, spark plug wires on correctly, and in the right order.

Diagnostics show the normal 12, and then 34 which I believe is related to a sensor that I kinda broke off when fooling with the starter =\

I did note a few things... When it gets to the point where the whole car shuts down when I turn the key, the headlights work, but that's it unless I leave it sitting. When its trying to start if I stay on it it'll act like the battery is kaput, start turning over slowly, and then go to clicking.

I've been through all this with Mike, he was very patient and very helpful, but still seeking a solution to my problem. Any thoughts?

Forgot to say, I don't hear the fuel pump priming, but it is pushing gas through the filter, weather or not it's clogging somewhere after that I haven't looked at, but considering it didn't try to get goin from the gas in the carb I'm at a loss

You might have a problem with the switched ignition power. When you turn the key to the run position this powers up everything from the ignition, dash,and IIRC the power to the starter solenoid when you turn the key to start. Try this: turn the key to the run position, turn on the radio and turn on the fan to the high setting. They should both be on. Jiggle the key a bit. If the you can hear the fan change speed or see the radio lights flicker or fade the ignition switch has a problem. You can also jiggle the wire harness under the steering column and see if the fan changes speed. If that doesn't do anything, go back to the battery and jiggle the cables and grounds.
Sometimes people have replaced the battery cable bolt with one with the wrong thread. This causes the cable connection to the battery to loosen up after you think it is tight. With side post batteries the face of the cable connection has to be tight and clean or you get all the symtoms of a weak battery.

- Tim

[This message has been edited by Gravitic Anomaly (edited 08-26-2009).]

Well after trying to start it the EXACT same way I did yesterday (which DIDN'T work) it turns over like a champ, so I think I need to replace the wire from the battery to the starter.

As for the ignition problem I've noticed the spark plugs have stopped sparking since I checked last time

i'm thinking the ignition coil is bad, cause it's not sparking either and it's the only thing I haven't replaced whenit comes to ignition

[This message has been edited by jagojay (edited 08-27-2009).]

Wow... you'll have to repost your last using english if you want us to understand what you meant!

My bad, using my phone, does that sometimes.

The ignition coil seems to be bolted on the bracket using little pins, how do I remove the bracket from the old coil?

quote Originally posted by jagojay: My bad, using my phone, does that sometimes. The ignition coil seems to be bolted on the bracket using little pins, how do I remove the bracket from the old coil?

Drill the rivets out with your cell phone, it has the tool feature right? Then use screws to attach to the fresh coil.
Sounds like you are close.
sparx22

[This message has been edited by sparx22 (edited 08-27-2009).]

Well... Now she turns and fires... But with this car nothing is ever over...

Now when she fires, she dies... I checked the firing order (its correct), engine codes (nothing), my next guess is spark plug gap, but I know I gapped them before I put em in, so I doubt that's it. I'm gonna go check right now, in the mean time what else could it be?

WOW...the crank only spins 2 and a half times per minute?

srry had to!

2500 RPM idle just SCREAMS vacuum leak @ me

Yep... vacuum leak. If there's unmeasured air getting into the intake manifold because of a disconnected or broken vacuum line, then the engine will rev high at idle. Check your Manifold Air Pressure (MAP) sensor since it has a vacuum line going to the bottom side of it that you may have disconnected accidentally (it's a black rectangular box about 3" X 1.5" with a three wire electrical connector on the bottom and a little tube to plug the vacuum line on). This would also account for why you're getting code 34 too... MAP failure. The MAP sensor sends a voltage signal to the ECM to let it know what the pressure is inside the intake manifold, along with other signals like temperature, to help calculate how much fuel to inject. If the MAP sensor fails because it's unplugged either electrically or from the vacuum line, (you also said you think you broke it), the ECM will substitute a fixed MAP value and use the throttle position sensor (TPS) to control fuel delivery. The engine will run with a broken MAP sensor, but not very well.

Well, there was a small vac hose that slipped out of the little black rubber boot, fixed it rather easily... However guess what!

New problem! YAY!

On he starter solenoid, the threads where the battery cable bolts on came loose... And you guessed it, I can't get the bolt off to take the sol out... Joy... Anyway, I have a few ideas on how to take the sol out without taking the starter with the cable on it so I'm good on that...

However if it can be avoided, and repaired somehow without me having to buy a new one I'd be happier... So can it be fixed, or can it still function? Or is a new one 100% needed?

According to the manual, you'll have to remove the field coil wire (the lug with the wire that disappears into the starter case) and the two mounting screws, then you have to rotate the solenoid 90* to remove it along with the plunger and return spring. It'll probably want to jettison itself so hold on tight as you rotate it. If you're removing it to check the electrical contacts, the book says you don't have to remove the solenoid itself. Apparently you should be able to remove the end cover once you've removed the two lug nuts off the terminals, and a pair of hold-down screws to access the contacts and contact disc.

Its not that I need to test it, fact is I removed it while mounted from the top of the car with no problem

what's happened is that the threads on the solienoid has come loose from it, I can pick up on the threads and they come out about 3ish cm.. JW if that's fixable or still possibly operable (which I highly doubt)

[This message has been edited by jagojay (edited 08-27-2009).]

Someone else with experience overhauling starters will have to chime in.

No one has any idea on the sol?

I guess if there's nothing I did to make this happen I'll just buy a new battery

The evil Fiero needs ebrakes now cause apparently when I put the ebrake cable on the new calipers I broke it... lol WEEEEEEEEEEEE!

OTHERWISE IT RUNS! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0blLg9Kz-TM =D =( >.< DAMNIT!

So more adventures in store for the non-mechanically inclined me...

Dont give up so easy ! You can get her going still, and I bet there are some out here that are nearby that would be able to help you do a clutch. Its not as difficult as it seems, and you seem like you are good at following directions so we can all help you from here ! Gotto get her back on the road, dont let it go to waste. You put alot of time into it so far, just a little more and you'll have it going !

I've found a place... I'm thinking between CowPatoot's (lives like 10-20 miles away from me) knowledge, and my mechanic friends we may be able to make a weekend job out of it...

I'm gonna have to have like a whole string of borrowing, borrow friend 1's truck to haul friend 2's dolly to friend 3's truck to pull dolly with car to his place after I get all the parts in and what not... I really do hope this is all that's wrong with it now =\ I noticed some smoke coming from the engine compartment, there's a lot of dirt build up bubbling near the exhaust manifold, I cleaned it off with degreaser and it seems to be smokeless now... Hope it's nothing serious =\


The video was a good way to vent some pent up frustration though lol I have to return to work tomorrow though, sucks, less time to make the FIero go

Think I have the basics of the clutch change down, not sure which way is best though, or fastest for that matter

[This message has been edited by jagojay (edited 08-30-2009).]

Good !! glad you havent quite given up !.....Now if you spend your time workin on that thing instead of editing video you might have it done by now !! J/K

I figured someone nearby could help !

Needing help with clutch, any advice or any directive links to step by step stuffs would be appreciated.. I'm on my own on this and my searches come up with close to nothing...

Didn't think I'd let the Fiero of Doom thread be forgotten did you?

Yep still working on it, just decided to update (WOHOO!!)

In the beginning I was skeptical that I could make it anywhere.. I broke a few hoses
http://img199.imageshack.us/i/dscn0269e.jpg/

But I decided to keep on, even though I was horrible at it... and eventually decided I wanted to lable things
http://img199.imageshack.us/i/dscn0284gk.jpg/

7 hours past... and before I knew it I realized I hadn't busted one knuckle or bled even once before I took the rear cradle bolts out...

And before you know it, half supported by center blocks and 2x4s and the other half by the hoist and 2x4's it was on it's way to be lifted

http://img199.imageshack.us/i/dscn0286gc.jpg/

http://img210.imageshack.us/i/dscn0285a.jpg/

I've now removed the 6 bolts holding the tranny to the engine, but am having problems figuring out how to move it to put the clutch in... Hmmmm... Anyone have any pictures of the thing I need to mess with to do this?