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Cadillac Repair/96 Eldorado wont start

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Expert: - 4/23/2010


Question
My 1996 eldorado wouldn't start today. It seems to have power, I could put down the windows, and everything on the dash came on as normal, but when I turned the key all the way over, nothing.  I pulled codes and there are none. Any ideas what is going on? I haven't checked fuses yet. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Answer
Hello,

It's very common for the wires for the VATS anti-theft (Anti-owner) to break in the steering column.

The first suggestion would be, try tilting the column in different positions and try starting. You may want to shift the transmission back and forth to park. What you are trying to do is see if the broken wires go back together where the engine starts. Give it a try and let me know and if it does or does not start I can give you suggestions.

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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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