I will give all of the info i can in the order i discovered it.

1990 Camaro
305 TBI

First, i sit in the car, turn the key to the run position, hear the fuel pump come on like normal, but none of the idiot lights go through their test cycle.

Next, i turn the key to start and nothing happens, except the "brake" idiot light comes on and the radio display goes out.

I jumped a wire from the hot post to the start post on the starter solenoid with the key in the run position and the car turned over but wouldnt start. I pulled off my intake and jumped the starter again, and found no fuel was coming from the injectors (injectors werent firing at all)

I have no idea about spark, the car is in the college parking lot and i didnt have a volt meter to test the coil.

So the facts are:
Fuel pump comes on (made me rule out the ignition switch)
Idiot lights do NOT go through their test cycle
Injectors are not firing
Spark is unknown at the time


Any help would be great guys, i need to get the car home ASAP, thanks

 

So your car was running FINE until that day that it would not start? No "Service Engine Soon" light?

 

it was running fine when I drove it to class a few hours ago, got out of class and attempted to drive it home and it wouldnt start...

It has had an intermittent check engine light but it is because the timing is off slightly

 

Had a similar problem w/ wife's 94 Tempo........It would ONLY start if the floor shifter was exactly dead center of the Park position. It had a stick switch/sensor. IDK if our car's have it too?!?!?! It's too prevent starting car up in Drive, Reverse, etc.....

Try turning the key to ON, hold it there while moving the shift around in the Park position!

 

im pretty sure the park safety switch wouldnt prevent the injectors from firing... it is sounding like a VATS issue to me, thats gonna be the next thing i check

 

[quote=excessiveego;4873026]im pretty sure the park safety switch wouldnt prevent the injectors from firing... I wouldn't rule it out, my Troubleshooting book lists that as a posibility...."Automatic transmission not completely engaged in Park or clutch not completely depressed"......it is sounding like a VATS issue to me, thats gonna be the next thing i check...Many of us on here have had problems w/VATS, keep in open mind though.......[/quote]

 

Agreed, it sounds like a VATS issue. Just try to keep it simple, check for loose wiring, bat terms clean, good bat, etc.

Avoid what many have done by throwing new parts at it!!!

 

the fact that the idiot lights dont do their test cycle is a dead giveaway its something more than a loose wire issue... im gonna try the jumping a resistor into the VATS wiring harness thing today, and if it dosnt start im towing it home so i can work on it more seriously

 

the VATS system was the problem, checked the coil and had power with the key on so i really ruled out the ignition. checked the resistance in my key, went to radioshack, got a combination of resistors that was supposto equal 6.1 but when put together actually equaled 5.9 which was exactly what my key was... spliced it in and the car started right up.

 

If interested in keeping the VATS and making it work again someday, the usual issue is inside the key cylinder - there are tiny spring-loaded contacts that touch the pellet in the key - they wear after years of use (usually the springs break and thus won't make contact). You can replace the key cylinder and usually that works, but make sure you get a VATS key cylinder with the contacts inside.