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Expert: - 6/28/2010


Question
1998 cadillac deville will start but only run for about three seconds. the info panel wont work the radio wont come on the climate control wont work trunk release or fuel door wont work either. it was runnin fine then those thins all stopped and it would still start and drive for the rest of that day the message theft system problem cer may not restart and something about an air bag and it wont run lomger than a few secomds now. yhe dealership says its the ignition but they never looked et the car now the baterry is dead so i have to charge it and see if i cant figure it out

Answer
Hello,

Without being at the car, there is no way I can diagnose it.

My suggestion to you though is to make sure you have a good battery.

As for the dealer stating it is an ignition problem, make sure they put it writing that if they charge you $500 for the ignition that they guaranty that is the problem and no matter what you won't be charged a dime more. They are incompetent to give you an answer like that.

If you want to bypass the VATS go to an alarm store. They have bypass kits. You need to have a hidden starter kill switch installed at the same time.

bypassing this junk system that GM deceived its consumers using that verbiage. The manufacturer did not just misstate the effectiveness. They outright lied and a class action lawsuit should be considered for misrepresentation.

With the system bypassed, you have eliminated any anti-theft related problems and you treat the car like it was never installed.

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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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