i was pulling out of the parking lot today about mid afternoon, after driving her around in the morning and parked her for like 2 hours, then i came out and i turned the key and the lights came on and everything but the starter didnt turn over at all, then i tried push starting her and couldnt get a good speed so i decided to call a tow, then when i was on the phone i turned the key one last time and she started right up. what could it be?

 

sounds like an anti theft problem do you have a chip in the key

 

yes i do

 

Vats

 

how can you fix it?

 

my camaro has a chip then out of the blue turn the key and all the gauges topped out and the starter wouldnt engauge. turns out the wire on the key switch broke pulled the steering wheel and the switch a little solder and heat shrink fixed it. If thats your problem and it sounds like it could be and you choose to replace the key switch make sure the chip in the old key maches the chip in the new one .you have to ohm them out and they need to be the same or very close cant remember the tolerance but its not much.I read on a web site you can bypass it with a capasitor but I couldnt make that work.you could take the easy way out and get a steering collum guy to fix it.Taking it apart not to bad putting it back can be a pain to compress the spring

 

When it won't start, try your spare key whose pellet contacts aren't worn like your everyday key. VATS won't allow a start for 6 minutes if it doesn't detect the correct pellet resistance. Then, unplug the clutch safety switch (gear selector sw at the base of the shift lever if auto) and jump the socket. Measure the voltage to ground on the jumper and try a crank. You should measure 12v and the starter should crank. If you have 12v but no cranking, then the problem is with the starter. You can test the starter by jumping 12v to the clutch safety sw jumper. If no 12v, then remove the hush panel above the drivers feet and locate the 2 wires from behind the steering column going to a 2 pin connector. Unplug the connector, insert ign key and measure the resistance across the 2 wires from the steering column. It should measure the same resistance as the pellet. If over 13k ohms, you need a new ign lock which will have new contacts that make connection to the pellet. You can temporarily bypass VATS until you get a new lock by connecting a resistor the same value as your pellet across the 2 wires from the wiring harness (goes to VATS module). You can use a 1/4 watt 5% resistor from Radio Shack. Don't permanently bypass VATS because 99% of thefts are done by bashing the column and jumping the ignition.