Ok i have a 1990 Camaro RS with the 3.1L 6 banger. Evey once in a while ill be drinving around, Ill shut the car off, do whatever i stopped for, come out and it wont start. I wont get any juice to the starter at all. Its not the battery, beacue all the lights stay on and dont dim when i hit the key. And its an optima so i dont think thats the problem. Then i figured it the starter so ive changed that a few times now, but theres no way its blowing away starters that fast, plus ive had them tested at my work(pepboys) and they test fine. Ive narrowed it down to 3 possible senerios,
#1 is the ignition itself, but i dont understand how that could cause it.
#2 is my year is the first year for the pass-key system with those keys with the computer chips in em, could that do it?
#3 is my alarm system, but when i switch the alarm totally off it still wont start so i have noidea at this point, has anyone had this problem or have any ideas for me?

 

Personally, I'd take a very close look at #3. Alarm installations are seldom as reliable as the factory wiring. Scrutinize every connection and device, since they are typically using crimp connections instead of solder and the cheapest relays available.

#2 is not likely, unless the SECURITY lamp on the dash remains flashing when you attempt to start.

If you want to test out theory #1, watch the instruments when you try to crank the engine. Does the temperature gauge move to full-scale? If so, the cranking circuit is at least trying to work.

Item #4 is the clutch/neutral safety switch. If you have an auto trans, try starting in neutral instead of PARK.

Item #5 is the linkage for the ignition switch itself. If you have a tilt steering column, move the column to the lowest position before cranking to compensate for any wear in the linkage.

 

Could it be the hot start problem? I know that in the V8's some have the problem of when restarting after driving a while, the starter will heat up and not start. It take 15-60 minutes to cool down, then starts fine. There is a soleniod relocation fix in the Tech articles here: https://www.thirdgen.org/newdesign/tech/solenoid.shtml

 

If you suspect that, have an assistant try to crank the engine while you measure voltage at the starter solenoid. If you get voltage but no solenoid action, you could have a failing/weak solenoid pull-in coil.