Expert: Rob Painter - 5/13/2011

Question
I have a 1992 Cadillac Sedan Deville that won't start.  Lights on instrument panel come on except for the security light which never comes on even when first turning over the key.  No error messages at all.  Won't crank or click at all.  Changed the alternator,took starter off & had it tested which was OK, tried relearning system, moving shifter a little at a time, cleaned battery cables, checked fuses,raised and lowered steering column many times-still nothing.  Please Help!

Answer
Hello,

You must have a lot more time money and patience than I do. I do not  
replace parts or do too much on a car on a guess. This is not because  
I am good at finding problems the first time. I have ADD and get bored  
very easy.

The most common no start issue is the VATS. Very temporarily to get the engine to start, try starting in different tilt positions. Sometimes the VATS wires will go back together to start the engine.

I can tell you how to bypass, but it is much easier to call local alarm stores and see if the have a VATS bypass kit and have them install it.

The very first thing you need to do is get a factory service manual if  
you are going to work on your car. Otherwise it is like trying to find  
on how to get somewhere without a map. You waunder aimlessly and never  
find where you are going. Think of all the time and money you have  
wasted so far. A manual could cost you hundreds, if you can even find  
one. Motors, Chilton, Haynes are too general. Mitchell on Demmand is  
way too expensive.
Go to http://www.alldata.com Scroll the chart availability of cars.
If they don't have 1992, 1993 are basically the same car except for engines, but 1994 and  
up is different. You can download the manual for a year for $30. How  
much did that alternator cost you?

Secondly, the most common problem in all these cars is that piece of  
GM junk they called an anti theft system known as VATS. That is the  
resistor chip in the key with the junk ignition lock that has a very  
thin 2 wire harness that runs inside the steering column up and down.  
They break inside the plastic insulation, so you will never see the  
break.

This issue was rampant and Cadillac had a scam going that they would  
charge up to $500 to replace the special ignition lock, which was  
designed to fail in the future. This caused no crank issues all the  
time and is the most common problem for no crank issues in all GM  
vehicles that had VATS. Rarely prevented theft after it's premier in  
1986 in the Corvette, yet even on the Corvette, this junk was used til  
2005.
Now, in the world of electronics, after 6 months the product is an  
antique, yet GM used this over priced ignition lock in many of their  
cars for 19 years.
Its not worth you trying to bypass this system. Alarm stores get the  
Vats bypass kit for free. The bypass kit comes with every alarm with  
remote start and the kit is almost never used.
The manual does not tell you how to bypass, but would give you the  
diagnostic tools to find this is the problem. Shouldn't cost over $50  
to have the system bypassed.
Once bypassed, there is no theft protection.
Now, don't be like so many naive people and think no one would steal a  
20 year old car. Old cars are stolen more than new cars because they  
are a lot easier to steal than the new cars and they blend in. Its  
next to impossible to have a cop look for and find a new stolen car,  
muchless an old car. You might think that it does not matter if the  
car is stolen. Oh yes it does, which leads me to another stellar  
engineered GM security issue and since the average person has no clue  
as to how these cars are stolen, I will expound.
GM was nice enough to use the same crappy steering column, with some  
design changes from 1969 to 2001 in many models. That's 32 years of  
the most widely used Saginaw steering column. In fact, if you by a  
steering column for any street rod, that is what it is.
You will see on cops that chased a stolen car and once stopped, it may  
be said that the car was hot wired and the column was punched. This  
grates on me because so often cops show their ignorance on stolen cars  
and yet people listen to the guy behind the badge as being an expert  
on auto theft. I assure you, they have no clue as to what they are  
talking about! These GM cars have not been hot wired since 1968!

To defeat your steering column, all it takes is a 10 year old kid with a screwdriver! 30 seconds to the left side of the steering column with a screwdriver, with no damage to the ignition lock on the opposite side, all the locking mechanisms to the steering column (taken out of my book "Auto Theft-Let the Truth Be Known!" in 1998 for the movie "Gone in 60 seconds" for the dialog by the actor). The dialog used was "and no damage to the steering column locking mechanisms." Yes, I was involved in the making of that Nick cage movie.

Your column has no security and if you bypass the vats, you need to keep the car from going anywhere. I have personally rebuilt 10,000 of these steering columns from the damage! In fact, I still do. You need to cut the yellow or purple start wire at the electrical ignition switch on the top of the steering column under the dash. Once cut, you need to attach one 3 ft wire of 12 gauge wire on one end and secure with electrical tape. Attach another 12 gauge 3 foot long wire to the other end. Wrap the two wires together until almost the end of the wires making a harness. Then install a heavy duty single throw toggle you got from the parts store with the yellow butt connectors wire and tape. Attach your toggle and secure the wires.
We would hide these switches in different parts of the car. On yours, you could run the wires under the dash, along the kick panel and the molding at the driver;s sill plate. Just leave a tiny part of the lever exposed.
This switch does not stall the engine and you can flip it while you are driving. This was even with keys, the engine will not start without flipping the switch, and no one is going to steal your car!

Good Luck!

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