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Cadillac Repair/97 Eldorado Reset of alarm system?

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Expert: - 5/18/2009


Question
My car dies and loses all electrical power upon hitting the brake pedal. I was told this might be theft system related. So far I have jumped started it 3 times (thinking it was battery). The check engine light has not come on yet so I am hoping I am not totally locked out of the system yet. I will try resetting with locking the driver's door with the door open on the inside button (etc. from someone's other posting) then do the 10 minutes thing three times. Is there anything else I am missing on this process? It started when the alarm went off and my AAA driver closed my driver's door and locked it from the outside with the key to disengage the alarm. Ugh...lady in distress

Answer
Hello,

Whoever told you this was a security problem does not know what they are talking about. I do not know what type of problem you have by depressing the brake and losing power, but I guaranty it is not either in a factory alarm system or the ignition based VATS.

There are some out there that claim to know about diagnosing problems with cars and the easiest thing to blame is the security system.

I would suggest taking the car to a local repair garage and having the vehicle scanned for fault codes. If no codes are found, explain the problem and they may have ideas.

Your sysptoms are not consistent with a theft system related problem.

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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