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Howdy! Was hoping to get some help regarding a swap I just completed here in California. I put in a lq4 out of a 2002 denali into a 1995 Land Cruiser and have pretty much everything dialed in now. I am planning on getting this truck reffed and California smog legal and after speaking with a referee I was informed that the VATS must be active and on. Can someone point me in the direction of how to keep the VATS ON when doing a swap. I have a sister pcm that is stock with the vats on, I just need to know what else is needed(ignition,key,body module)? Any help is greatly appreciated and I already know I need to get out of California...
ECM looks for a signal from the BCM to allow it to enable fuel pump and injectors and affect the starter relay. BCM makes that decision based off a resistance pill/responder chip in the key. so youd need the ignition cylinder, BCM, and a programed key to your application to get VATS to function properly. A proper pin out to make sure the signal from the key cylinder makes it to the BCM and then feed that back to the ECM. This will likely open addttional cans of works ttryping to make a BCM from GM work in a Yota, but maybe not? BCM from that era werent near as complex as todays since interior electronics and creature features were quite limited
Thanks for the info! I have heard through the grapevine that guys in California are just throwing the ignition and bcm in the glove box to get it by the ref then removing after passing inspection. Do you have any clue if I could just go to a wrecking yard and grab a bcm and an ignition cylinder off of another denali or yukon and have a key made at a dealership?
I was able to buy a little device on Ebay that made the ECM for a 98 Camaro think it was still in the Camaro so I could use the motor in my Porsche. This device replicates the happy signal that the BCM normally generates. The advantage to this is it allows you to not have to mess with the keys/chips/BCM side of the equation and just focus on getting the ECM (which you need anyway) to run the motor but believe that all is well with the anti-theft features.
Here's a screen shot of the listing - this was from a few years ago but I'm sure you can still find it on Ebay. You will need to figure out if there is same/similar for the 2002 era GM ECM's. You also need to figure out which pin on the ECM is the wire for this signal to feed into.
Last edited by Sparkydog; Jul 28, 2021 at 12:57 PM.
if you took the junkyard route, getting a key may be difficult depending on your area. some dont like to cut a key without a vin. You also wont know what resistance its looking for if you dont have the key handy. not sure how many values are availble for that year model wouldnt be hard to find.
though what sparky shared may be simpler if it would pass inspection
I personally have wired in the Vats system on 3 LS conversions. On my 1966 GTO (LQ9/T56), the car would have been stolen but for the vats system. It is not complicated. You can get a stand alone VATS module out of a number of GM cars (from the mid 90s) - the ones we have used are from a 1993-1996 camaro. Get the VIN number for the car the module came out of because that VIN will tell you the value for the VATS chip in the key. Next you need a key setup - I have used a 1993-2000 camaro column (because it had other things I wanted) on one of my conversions and a 1997-2004 corvette key switch for the other 2 (where you want the "old school" look of the key on the dash. You will need the vin of the car the key switch came out of so the cut in the key will unlock the key. Ask the dealership parts department to cut the key using the chip value found in the VATS module. I have never had any trouble getting the dealership to cut the key when I am standing there with the ignition lock in my hand and especially when I ask them to put a vats key chip from a different VIN in the key.
That’s lots of work for a simple fuel cut off switch. I can’t see using a Camaro column on any of the swaps I have done.
That is true-it was a lot of work for each project, but the only way someone can steal them is to load them up on a rollback. Nice to know you can leave the car for hours somewhere and not worry about it being gone when you get back. I am currently working on a 64 corvette coupe with this system.
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Vats question 
