I just purchased my first third gen, and while its a bit rough around the edges its a nice car, however its had a frustrating issue that when its sat for a while ( enough to cool down) the car wont crank, the gauges light up and everything it just wont crank. i have to put the tilt the whole way down to crank it and even then it takes a few tries do get it to fire. when its warm i still have to put the tilt the whole way down but it cranks no problem. any ideas for fixes? Its gonna be my daily for a while and i have to have it start everytime. thanks.

 

Sounds like starter switch alignment

 

ok so how do i go about fixing that? do i have to pull the column apart?

 

Ok now the car wont start at all and its been in my driveway sitting for the past few days which is really frustrating. I work and really need to find a fix for it now.

 

Did you try starting it with the shifter in the neutral position? If nothing then put the E-brake on, hold the key in the start position, push forward on the shifter, then jiggle the shifter around and between gears to see if it starts. Try to start it with the wheel tilted in different positions.
I don't remember the switch position for sure and somebody will correct me if I'm wrong but I think the safety neutral switch is down on the column by the firewall.
If still nothing, you need to check voltage to the starter. Sounds like it could be a bad starter.

 

It sounds to me like a wire in the VATS system is broken or otherwise making weak contact.

 

Ive messed with both the shifter and clutch as far as the neutral safety switch and nothing worked. my car is an 86 so no vats to deal with. i just thought that it was weird that the car would only start with the column the whole way down to begin with.