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Cadillac Repair/1995 Cadillac Seville Security Light

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Expert: - 8/28/2010


Question
Hello my husband is currently stranded in the autozone parking lot with a 1995 Cadillac Seville that will not start. This hasn't happened to us yet we just bought the car a few months ago. The security light is on and it is giving him the message to wait three minutes and try again, it's not working. We only have one key so not sure how to tell if it is the key or steering column wires or something else. He has checked the fuses, cleaned the key, locked and unlocked the doors and so on. Any advise you could lend would be much appreciated, after some of the things i have read so far I hope it's not hopeless we need this stupid car!
Thank you,
Kristin

Answer
Hello,

The answer is not simple because it cpulf be an alarm issue or the junk GM vats anti-theft anti-owner system.

Have your husvand lock the doors and unlock by using a key in the driver's side outer door lock. In theory that should disable factory alarm.


If it is a broken ignition vats wire, try starting with the column in different tilt positions.

Whatever he does, don't by anything from auto zone to fix it. They have no clue.

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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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