1981 Chevrolet Corvette - Page 6 - Answered Questions & Fixed issues

so you have no power to the wires to the switch or no power on the switch

Thats because the older style GM blowers depended a lot on bushings for rotation, and as we all know bushings just cant outlast bearings. It looks like you'll need to replace that fan motor.

You must remove the steering cowl below the steering wheel and see what is loose, broken or worn. It more likely to be a loose bolt, in which case just tighten it and refit the cowl.
Hope that helps

Hook up an Ammeter in series to the negative battery cable and negative battery post.This way you have full battery voltage during testing .
Then remove the switch for the wipers . Watch the meter once the voltage returns to normal you have found your culprit. If voltage doesn't return to normal do the same for the motor and its relay(I would open up the relay and look it over first)
If all this fails I'll send you the diagram.At that point your on a "Hunt for Red October" I'm out of town currently keep me posted.

Big problem with these cars is the electrical connector behind the driver seat on the floor. Son of a gun to open use a small screw driver and be careful. They must closetightly and hold. 90% of time the terminals are loaded with corrosion. Remove battery power from the vehicle and either clean them or replace them. If that doesn't work pull seat cushions out and test the switch. Use shop manual for this
simple test. Either check the switch for resistance or remove the switch from the electrical connectors and jump the terminals with a jumper wire to see if you get the seat motor to move. If it does you need a new switch if it doesn't you need a new motor. Shop manual may have another way to test this with the switch in place. Here you are measuing for continuity.
This is fun stuff . good luck &keep me posted

Sounds like its the switch. But check fuse first for B+ ,grd and a blown fuse. Check bulbs. Next get the shop manual, make yourself two jumper wires ( use same gauge wiring as the switch connectors have) remove the switch and jump whatever terminals the shop manual tells you to do and see if the lights come on. If they do you need another switch. You can also ohm the switch out( checking it for resistance) to see if its within spec's. usually once you open the switch you can see where it wore out. if your testing determines its not the switch use the shop manual and a volt meter to look for your open. repair the wire accordingly.Good luck this clean fun I love working on these cars. keep me posted

STANDING IN FRONT OF CAR 1 ON DISTRIBUTOR CAP IS ABOUT 5 OCLOCK POSITION.

sounds like a bad ground or maybe a worn or broken turn signal cam.

I personaly would run amsoil 5w-30 or royal purple 5w-30. Those are a full synthetic and I can tell you from experience they are great. I run Royal Purple in my silverado and Amsoil in my cbr 600rr. Also, from independant studies done on Royal Purple and Amsoil they can go longer between oil changes then most oils. Royal Purple has been tested after driving 22,500 miles and still could be used if you wanted to leave it in the engine. I usually change mine around every 10,000 to 12,000 miles.

hello. Thanks for choosing fixya! I would begin by getting this baby scanned. I agree with you that there are some carb. issues, such as gumming which could be cleared up with a couple of bottles of Seafoam, from your local auto parts store. Good luck with it. Regards, Joe

just an idea, have you tried using spring blocks(rubber wedges) ?

chek power to starter and signal to smal wire to solonoid when starting u need second person to start and u chek or try to litly tap on starter sametime starting

Aluminum heads--
Short bolts-65 ft.lbs.
Long Bolts-75 ft.lbs.

If no aluminum heads.....80 ft. lbs.

If it starts with gas down carb, then pump, pump relay, is faulty, or plugged fuel filter. Or carb floats sticking.

ran bypass wire from alt to starter

Black smoke is caused by excess fuel that has entered the cylinder area and cannot be burned completely. Poor fuel mileage is also a common complaint when black smoke comes out of the tailpipe. Black smoke out the tailpipe is the least cause for alarm. Excess fuel will usually effect engine performance, reduce fuel economy, and produce a fuel odor. Some of the causes of excess fuel are a carburetor that is out of adjustment, a faulty fuel pump, a leaky fuel injector, or a faulty engine computer or computer sensor. If black smoke is present, check the engine oil to make sure excess fuel has not contaminated it. Do not start the engine if a heavy, raw fuel smell can be detected in the engine oil.

1981 corvette no power to the power seat need location of the fuse

hmm..there might be a fuse box under the hood or most likely in the dash or under the passenger or the drivers dash..hope i solved your problem :)

it will be in the fuse box it should be a 5 amp fuse

I would say you have a faulty motor.