Intermittent no start condition

[Bobby DiDomenico]

Originally Posted by John Nechiporchik

SS3011 and Rich,
This morning I read your post again and went back to the drawing board. I have the wire pin out list and started looking for the power feed circuits(+12v) to the ECU. I found a power feed that had an in-line fuse in a Packard fuse holder with a cover on it. I looked at this previously and thought it was a connector....not a fuse. Well, I popped the cover and found a blown 30 amp fuse. Replaced the fuse, car fired right up. I started it 7 times and each time it fired up.
Recall this started as an intermittent problem, then a full blown no start. So, the fuse got the car running again. I'm hopeful that running the ground back to the negative battery lug solves the intermittent issue. I will continue to start it randomly throughout the day and validate that the problem is solved.
I will also replace the coil as the MSD 8261 seems to have a history of problems.
I hope this is the last I need to post on this issue.
I want to say "Thank You" to all of the help you guys have given me as we walked through this thing.
I learned more about this electronic fuel injection system in a week then I thought I would ever learn!!!

John,
Been following this with some interest after talking with a guy at a cruise night near me who installed a tuned port Chevy into his Avanti and he mentioned some issues he was having. That 30 amp fuse is pretty big, maybe see if you have a loose connection somewhere which popped it when contact was re-established. A 30 amp breaker would reset but you'd need to have some type of indication it tripped, such as a light which illuminates when that circuit becomes open so you would be aware of potential issues.