Hello all, new Camaro owner here

Just got myself an '02 Z28 Convertible, with about 147k on the clock.

And with that begins the quest to get her back to 100%. Fortunately, it appears that there aren't many issues that require immediate attention.

Biggest one is this weird starting delay. I'm not sure if it's an issue with Vats or the ignition cylinder (or perhaps a wire), but in the mornings (and up until I got off work today, it's only been after she sits overnight) there is a long delay between when I turn the key to 'start' and the engine actually starts cranking. Something like 7-8 seconds. The security light doesn't stay on or flash, but I'm thinking that the module has started to wear down?

Most everything else is just cosmetic, needs a new front fascia (was in a minor accident a few years ago) I was thinking of getting the red bowtie SLP grille when I replace it, if I can find one for a good price.
Several large paint chips
Rearview Mirror has started to flake
Ash tray cover hinge is broken (replacement covers are stupidly expensive O.o)
And, like I seem to see in every moderate to high mileage camaro, the drivers side left bolster is extremely worn.

Other than that, she runs (and looks) like a champ!

 

Welcome to the site. I'm not a techie, but have been around for a while... I know one if the issues with older vehicles is often wiring, simply from age and repeated heat cycles. Many intermittent and hard to isolate/diagnose issues on my Camaro went away after installation of a new wiring harness. Every spring I find time to simply unplug, clean and re-plug any easy to access wires and connectors. That process also gives me the time to review and examine pretty much everything under the hood for anything that does not look just right.

 

Yeah, I was finally able to roll her into the garage this weekend and run some tests. Was able to narrow it down to where its not the relay, not the neutral switch (or any wires in between)

Where it seems to be is the wire that runs from the relay to the solenoid on the starter. Tested it with a test light while the starter was off the car, no problem. Put it back on and jumpered the relay, nothing. Not even a blip of voltage. Kept trying, eventually she cranked. Since omce she cranks at all testing is moot (since we cant recreate the conditions) we let her sit overnight. Came back out sunday morming, turned pver immediately.

Tried starting her this morning, same 7 second delay.

Ted, is it particularly difficult and time consuming to replace the wiring harness?

 

It is time consuming and "fussy", but worth every minute.

Anything that connects electronics can be an issue and age and time definitely have an impact on intermittent gremlins. That said, I might replace the ground before spending the money on a new harness... The stock ground wire is a regular lightweight passenger version and installing a new ground (or two of them) can resolve a variety of issues for just a few dollars and very little time.

When I first moved my battery to the trunk I some intermittent starting issues that were worse when the car was warm. I added a second ground cable and redneck engineered an old license plate into a heat shield for the starter and those problems went away.

 

Hmm, well after some further testing I think I've got it narrowed down to an issue with the spade connectors on the relay having trouble making the connection in the fusebox. I took a couple of picks this morning while the car was cold, gently inserted them into the pins and connected them. Car cranked immediately. Cleaned up the spades on the relay, but still had the delay.

So before I go buying a new wiring harness, I guess I ought to look into removing the fusebox and checking that pin connection to make sure nothing was damaged or corroded.

 

I always try to do the simple and least expensive things first. A wiring harness is like bird shot in that it can fix a whole lot of intermittent issues, however it can be overkill if there is only one item creating the problem. Also, the harness will correct connectivity problems but if your issue is caused by a device in the chain the problem will still exist after going through the expense and time of swapping the harness.

Are any codes being thrown in the computer? Do you have access to a scan tool? Sometimes pep boys (or equivalent places) will do a free or low cost scan to look for error codes...

 

I do have a scan tool, but I haven't hooked it up yet. She isn't throwing any codes (at least, none that I've seen) but I'll plug it in this weekend and see if the computer has anything to say about the issue.