Expert: Rob Painter - 7/31/2009

Question
QUESTION: i had a customer who has had a attemted theft on his car, they did not do much damage. but in the process the battery went dead. i have done the repairs and everything works except it wont start. i get on the dash is "disable start..... remove key". The vat wire is good, i checked it when i did the repair. we are trying to jump start it. do we need a new battery? or is it one of these thing where you open the door,hold one arm up while you legs sticks out and wiggle your big toe!!!(lol)anyway please help me with the no start thing. thanks for reading my mail.

ANSWER: Hello,

You said you checked the VATS wire. There are two. Insert the key in the ignition and check both wires for the VATS under the dash below the steering column to see if you have continuity with an ohm meter.

You state it will not start, but everything is general about this. Does the engine crank? Can you get someone to turn the ignition while you have a test light at the starter solenoid? If power is there when ignition in the start position, you need a starter.

The VATS wires running down the column are very small and you will never see the break. The plastic sheath does not split and the wire breaks inside.

Rob

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks Rob for a fast return. but i did check the ohms before i plugged it in to the ignition that is one of my ways of checking to verify that the key is good and that both wires coming down the column is not bad.

Are you saying the wires on the other side of the ignition could have went bad?
If it was a starter would the dash say it was "disable start......remove key"?
No it doesn't crank. I will test the starter today. thanks again for the fast return.       letha

Answer
Hi,

You appeared to have tested the wires properly, however I think I would tell you to go to the junction block at the firewall. Use a 7/16 socket and remove the connector. Check those two wires at that point. If still good it sounds like you may have a bad decoder module located behind the glove box.

I have not seen a lot of these burn up. Probably 2 out of thousands. If the module is bad, even a bypass will not work.

If Cadillac no longer stocks, you can try Chevy for the Corvette. They used the VATS until 2005. Just make sure the connectors are the same. The box is uncoded new and the first key it sees is the resistor that will be used for the car.

This system to me was junk and more problems to the owner than the thief. Really, how good can it be? Computers are obsolete in 3-6 months. This system was used for 19 years.

As for the message at the dash and if it will concur with a bad starter, it shouldn't however I have seen everything on these computer controlled cars. Sometimes there is more than one problem.

Check the VATS wires to the junction block. Confirm you are getting 12 to the starter solenoid and then consider the possibility that the decoder module may be fried.

Good luck.

Rob