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Cadillac Repair/92 cadillac seville security center displayed on dash

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Expert: - 3/21/2009


Question
i recently purchased a 92 cadillac deville ....when i bought the man explained how he tried to put a cdplayer in it and set off the security system....well he plugged the wires and old stereo back in and expected it to work but now i have the car and when i try to start it..it just turns over and isnt getting any spark or fire...i replaced the distributor cap and rotor and still no spark...i tested the wires and plugs and no spark at all...sp im wondering what went wrong and how much its going to be to fix it

Answer
Hi,

I have no idea of what this guy did to the car, but the security system is not hooked into the secondary ignition system (Wires, Plugs, distributor etc.)The factory security in this vehicle only affects the start circuit and in the case of your vehicle, it would not crank either if it was an anti-theft problem.

This is where people get confused. The electrical ignition switch (not the lock cylinder) is primary at 12v or in the case or your car with VATS (lower) and the stuff under the hood is secondary high voltage.

The stereo wiring should have nothing to do with the problem you describe.

I recommend to many that plan on keeping the vehicle to get the service manuals. They are worth gold for anyone trying to repair their car instead of paying someone else. The electrical service manual for your car has flow charts for diagnostics that would give you an idea of exactly what is wrong.

You can get the service manuals for your car either through Ebay or by googling "Helm."

Mitchell books are good too, but they do not have as extensive information as the factory manuals.

To tell you what this guy did, would only be guessing like you are doing right now and I am trying to save you valuable time and money.

Good Luck!

Rob  

Cadillac Repair

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Rob Painter

Expertise

Alarm system questions cannot be answered on this forum. These systems are not what I can answer. Without being physically at the vehicle and not knowing what kind of electrical service has been done on the vehicle, there is no possible way to give an accurate answer over the internet. My expertise is in Ignition/key based anti-theft systems. These issues include GM VATS (resistor chip in key blade) PASSLOCK (MRD)-ignition lock rotation based, no special ignition key and the PKIII Transponder (computer chip in key) systems. These systems are not alarm based and are integral with the starting of the engine. This is why I cannot diagnose alarm problems without physically looking at the vehicle: Alarm systems are a completely different annimal than ignition key/lock based anti-theft system. Many alarm questions come from vehicles 10 years old, and since older, many hands that had been involved over the years.I am an expert in all GM factory (ignition/key based)systems. Alarm system questions pose to many situations beyond my knowledge as to what has been done to the vehicle over the years. Some guy may have actually wired the stereo into the alarm system. Who knows? Over my past 30 years in vehicle wiring repair, I have seen unbelievable wiring disaters done by guys that consider themselves "mechanics." I have seen stereos and alarms intalled using surgical tape. I have seen modules burn up, un-fused circuits, wiring jambed between the doors and even lamp cord used for a starter kill. To answer alarm questions over the internet without examining the vehicle is like asking; What does it take to remove a dent?

Experience

Education/Credentials-ASE certified. 11 years with a GM dealer and 17 years with a repair facility dealing with only the repair of theft recovered vehicles.

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