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Cadillac Repair/car not starting or cranking over
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Question
I have a 93 cadillac deville that will not crank over. Nothing comes up on the message center. If i turn the key and jump the starter with a screwdriver, then it will start. Could it be the ignition switch or the vats? How can i narrow down the problem by myself? Thanks for your time. Ant
Hello,
To eliminate the common defective VATS wiring harness issue, get the car running and take to local alarm store. They should have the resistor bypass kit and can install it. At the same time install a hidden starter kill switch, for theft prevention. With the VATS bypassed, only 30 seconds to defeat the steering column with no ignition lock damage. Done as simply as with a screwdriver.
Yes, old cars are stolen all the time. If insured for theft, insurance company will not pay claim because car is considered unstealable.
Yes, this will cost you money, but takes a lot of guessing out of your situation. The VATS was notorious for failure stranding the owner and the dealer would charge $500 plus to fix, only to have It fail again!!! Junk, Junk, Junk!!!!
No matter what, if it eliminates the problem or not, it is doomed to fail.
The reason I don't give free instructions on the bypass, there are too many different variations on under dash designs. There is nothing secret about bypassing this system. It just got to the point I was getting up to 20 requests a day and I am too busy to fool with that.
If you still have problems after the VATS is bypassed, contact me at robo14@aol.com, and I will try to give you direction.
http://www.www.autotheftexpert.com
http://www.autotheftexpert.org
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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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