Hey to whoever can help me PLEEZ!! I bought a 1982 Corvette off of eBay in Feb of this year. It has now been at the shop (GO HONDA) for probably 10 weeks total and they don’t seem to be making any headway on figuring out what the problem is with the car. Supposedly the alarm has been disconnected and the huge, stupid amp, but there is still something draining the battery. PLUS, they ‘fixed’ the car to begin with (took them 5 weeks that time) I picked it up, started right up, drove it all day, stopping and starting, no problems. Went to start it up next morning, the engine would turn over but would not ever catch, and eventually the battery died (3 brand new batteries so far). Don’t think they can figure out what the problem is and why the car won’t start and exactly what is draining the battery. PLEASE HELP>
Just to clarify; by turning over and not catching I assume you mean the starter motor cranks the engine over fine but it will not start, cough, or sputter into life?
These cars are near bone simple and it’s going to be near impossible for someone to diagnose a problem like this on the net.
As to draining the battery while parked, that involves using a test light or VOM on the battery cable and removing fuses one at a time until the voltage draw goes away. This narrows it down to a particular circuit anyway.
As to cranking and not starting it needs to be determined what is missing; spark or fuel. Take the top off of the air cleaner, work the throttle by hand, and note if you see gas being discharged out of the accelerator pump discharge nozzles in the front 2 barrels of the carb. If not, a fuel pump problem or possibly clogged up carb.
If you have fuel then verify if a spark is produced when the engine is cranked over. No spark means a bad ignition switch, bad fusible link, faulty electronic ignition component, or even a crummy connection on a fuse such as the ECM fuse.
Do not dismiss something simple such as fuses or fuse connectors; many cars have been towed and had a lot of money spent on them while ignoring the obvious.
I wished I could be of more help but there is no reason on earth for someone to spend 10 weeks on problems like this. The cars are not THAT complicated and once it’s determined if fuel or spark is missing then it should be a simple matter of a little electrical fault tracing.
The only other suggestion I would have is to take it to a Chevy dealer. They are going to be better equipped to handle their own products than what appears to be a Honda repair shop.
If you know someone knowledgeable in cars and electrical test meters (multimeter), you can get them to troubleshoot the battery drain. Follow this article: http://www.aa1car.com/library/battery_runs_down.htm
THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH ok4450 - I copied and pasted your response which I’m going to send to Go Honda - or rather TAKE it to them. I’m amazed that people who work at being a mechanic for a living have this much trouble - to me, a car is a car, and just try all the stuff, but I have no idea if they’ve tried fuses, etc. I’m pretty disgusted with the whole thing. All I want to do is sell the car as I’m really trying to get out of debt. So, would be nice to have the car running so I could sell it!! Arghh!!! Thank you again for your suggestions.