My Vats has been acting up. (1987 Base Coupe)
One Key I have starts car about 50% of the time, the other key works about 95% of the time.
When it acts up.
I turn the key and nothing happens.
if I hold the key in the start postion, After about 3 or 4 seconds the starter turns on a it Starts up.

Is this normal????

 

Certainly NOT normal. You might try cleaning the cylinder with electronics contact cleaner and the keys also. Yours is an unusual, not typical problem ie VATS generally works or doesn't work. A possible way to trouble shoot would be to use a new cylinder with one of your keys (the 95% key) inserted and plugged in at column base then crank with the key in the column. If that works with out failure repeatedly then go ahead and install the cylinder. The key in the new cylinder would satisfy the VATS request and the crank is only a mechanical operation.

If you had a "relationship" with a parts store it would be good because generally the cylinder would be considered "non returnable". If the cleaning doesn't work it's the first check I'd likely do, you could drive yourself "crazy" attempting to check the resistance at the column base every time it failed to do the same check.

You could also take a resistor array of the correct for car and plug it into the connector at the column base, that would accomplish the same. If that establishes a crank and start every time then buy the cylinder and do the install. If you do the cylinder install you will need new keys, the cylinder will come coded to a mechanical cut and you would need that cut duplicated on keys with the correct resistance for your car.

 

The contacts on the key wear down after a year or two in the pocket as well. Find out which VATS key you have and buy a few on line, then have a locksmith cut them.

 

If it's cylinder contacts all the new keys in existence aren't going to improve the 95% that he mentions he's getting with the better of his two. Buying several and having them cut as a "first choice" is foolish, if it's indeed the cylinder all of those that have been "CUT" become "JUNK"!

 

Today it acted up on me and it would start until 15 minutes later

 

Try one of these.

http://www.corvettemods.com/C4-86-91...m-_p_5989.html

If it is still hard to start try this.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c4-t...nk-solved.html

 

Bypass the VATS and be done with it. C4 Corvettes just ain't on the top of the stollen car lists. That's what I did. And what a relief it has been. I got tired of getting stranded.