My 88 vette at times will not turn over, all lights ect. work fine but the starter acts as if it's getting no power. Could this just be a dead spot in the starter or should I check elsewhere? The car has 31,000 miles and trying differnt keys and cleaning the key chip makes no differance. This only happens rarely and eventually the starter will crank and it starts and runs fine, any help would be great.

I am sure you have done all this already but just to go over the basics . Battery cable conections clean and tight ( both ends ) does it click every time you turn the key ( sound of the click coming from under the hood ) if so it could be the solinoid has a bad spot ( new solinoid or starter ) this is a common problem with chev starters, the contact disc wears out in the solinoid . I use to pull it apart and flip the contact bolt and disc 180 . If it has to do with the key chip I am not familliar with the diagnosis of that . I have heard that the motor will turn but not start if the chip is out of the key, but have never seen it . good luck

I had my local hardware store take a shot at an ignition key for my '89.

The key fit fine.. turned the ignition right over.. but did not engage the starter.. nothing .. nada.. put my normal key in and fired it up and drove it right home. On my '89.. wrong chip in key means no starter moving at all.

bang the starter with a hammer and see if that works.

Without the right resistance reading on the VATS system and the system won't work.

was up, clean the key, the try again. you have to wait 3 min for the ecm to reset if it didn't read the key.[atleast with my 93]

Checked battery cables, switched keys, and there is no click sound, cleaned key. It will do this even if the doors have not been locked or the key removed from the ignition. Any other suggestions?

Do you still have lights? Does the dash light up and not get dim when you rotate the key to start position? If you have a voltmeter, check your battery voltage. You should have at least 12.5 v before starting. If all are ok, you might be experiencing key reader problems. Built into ignition switch.