I have a vortec v6 and it starts when it wants to. i changed the spark plugs, wires, coil, distributor, cap, and roter, checked the firing order, set it at one, nothing

theres no distributor and the firing order for your 3.8 is 1-6-5-4-3-2-the following link shows the coil pack
Buick General Motor 3800 V6 Engine Firing Order DIS IDI ignition timing 3.8 Buick Engine Coil Pack Firing Order Spark Plug Wire Location Which way do the spark plug wires go on & what cylinder is what?
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For the Buick V6 231 3.8 liter turbocharged engine:
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Answers!
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Firing order:
1 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2.
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Spark plug wire location on coil pack:
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Closest to the back of the car, left to right: 1 - 5 - 3.
Closest to the front of the car, left to right: 4 - 2 - 6.
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Spark plug wire location on engine:
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drivers side, front to back of car: 1 - 3 - 5.
passenger side, front to back of car: 2 - 4 - 6.
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3 8 Buick Turbo Engine Coil Pack Firing Order Spark Plug Wire Location

if it is a vortec motor the wire numbers are on the cap 3 on one sid 4 on the other one of them being the coil wire

Check the plug wire from the ignition coil to the distributor cap.
If you haven't already, replace the distributor cap and rotor.
The GM Vortec's have issues with moisture getting inside the cap and rotor and causing problems.

I’m happy to help further over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/jason_00b31cc8f593773a

1st, check to see if the fuel pump runs for 3 seconds when you turn the key to run (not start). If it doesn't run, then check the fuel pump fuse & relay in fuse box under hood, if OK, (spray starting fluid in the intake to see if engine fires at all), if no fire then look towards the ignition as the problem. There are 5 things need to start an engine: 1. fuel (delivered & pressure), 2. air, 3. spark (distributor/ignition module or pickup coil), 4. rotation & timing, 5. compression. any of these that are wrong or not there, the engine fails.

This diagram is for 1998-1995 Chevy 6 cylinder 4.3L engines.
Your got the firing order exactly correct, at 1-6-5-4-3-2, but here's the thing to double-check:
The distributor rotation is clockwise (note badly rendered arrow in picture).





Since you probably got everything right, then you're left with really unusual/rare causes of
failure of the ignition system:
(a) rotor button misaligned/failing to make contact?
(b) rotor button not pressed onto distributor shaft far enough therefore failing to provide correct
proximity to distributor cap contacts when coil fires
(c) coil wire or contact loose/disconnected - press coil wire firmly down into distributor cap.
(d) distributor shaft of other damage caused during installation of rotor.
(e) spark plug wires defective from factory
(f) spark plugs defective from factory
(g) battery low - may need a charge to start
(h) ICM (ignition control module) failure - hook up your HEI (high energy ignition) tester, and
watch the quality of the spark on each cylinder.
(i) fuel problem? If spark is being properly delivered, its gotta be a fuel problem...
(j) distributor cap not screwed down flush to top of distributor? maybe just on one side?

Inspect the inside of the distributor cap - if there are lots of little metal bits all over the inside
of the distributor cap, then you know you have a misalignment of some type in there, and the
rotor and cap are destroying each other. normal operation will throw a quota of spark-ed off
metal bits inside the distributor cap, but since your cap is brand new, your attempts to start
the engine should have rotated the distributor so few times, you should see no metal debris.

Inspect the distributor cap contacts to see if any spark marks are more of less in the middle
of the cap's proper "contact zone". If not, you've diagnosed an internal misalignment, which
you know how to correct.

You may have got the spark plug wires out of sequence.
Reseat the coil wire going to the center of the distributor cap Check the spark plug wires at the distributor against the firing order as follows:
The spark plug firing order is 1 - 4 - 2 - 5 - 3 - 6 The distributor rotor turns CLOCKWISE The engine cylinders / spark plugs are numbered :
firewall 3 - 6 2 - 5 1 - 4 front
Best wishes,
TF

Since you didn't state whether it is a V6 or V8, I'll give you both.

V6 -4.3Liter
Firing Order is 1-6-5-4-3-2
Distributor rotor turns Clockwise
Number 1 spark plug tower on distributor cap, faces the front of the engine.

->Drivers side, spark plug order in engine, starting from the Front going back:
1-3-5
->Passenger side, spark plug order in engine,
starting from the Front going back:
2-4-6

If it's Electronic, the distributor cap has a Left side, (Drivers side), and a Right side, (Passenger side)
Starting from the Front, going back on the Left side,
3-1-5
Starting from the Front going back on the Right side,
2-4-6

V8-5.0, 5.7, and 7.4Liter
Firing Order is 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2
Distributor rotor turns Clockwise
Number 1 spark plug tower on distributor cap,
faces Front, towards the Drivers side.

Electronic distributor cap has two sides. Drivers, (Left), side and Passenger, (Right), side.
Starting from Front going back on Drivers side,
1-7-3-5
Starting from Front going back on Passenger side,
8-2-4-6

Spark plug order in engine, starting from Front going back, Drivers side:
1-3-5-7
Spark plug order in engine, starting from Front going back, Passenger side:
2-4-6-8

Your ignition circuit is faulty- it's probably the ignition switch itself that is defective. The misfire is that the distributor cap has a crack in it and the spark is directed to a particular plug wire and the spark has found its way to a non designated plug wire. It wouldn't be the coil, change the rotor and distributor cap be sure to mark your plug wires and reinsert into the proper hole in the distributor cap. Good Luck, Jim

Check for possible vacuum leak, maybe a hose off or partially broken. Make sure your firing order is correct when reconnecting those wires to the new cap.

I assume you have the 4.3 vortec. If so, check to make sure you have the spark plug wires in the right position on the distributor cap. firing order is 1,2,3,4,5,6. right side of engine is 1 front 3 middle and 5 rear. Left side of engine is 2 front, 4 middle, and 6 rear. On the distributor cap # 1 should be toward front of engine and work counter clockwise from there. Hope this is helpful. KS