VATS or battery?

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Oct 8, 2009 | 10:08 AM

4.6traitor

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From: Frisco, TX

VATS or battery?

I have had trouble starting my 99 SS the last few times. It wants to turn over at first, but doesnt' fire and the security light flashes. Then I try immediately after that and nothing happens. After about 30 seconds and removing the key, I try again and it has started right up but the gauges sweep, the trip meter resets and so does the radio. Would the VATS cause those things to happen as well or is it just the battery? There doesn't seem to be any hesitation starting after waiting and the battery gauge (I know it may not be accurate at all) says its over 12 volts when it is running. I checked the battery connections and everything looks fine with no corrosion. I cleaned the key but have not tried it yet, just waiting until I leave the office to see if that helps. Any other ideas?

Oct 8, 2009 | 02:46 PM

hitmanws6

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Quote:

Originally Posted by 4.6traitor

if your battery gauge says its just over 12 volts you have a bad battery. go get a new one

Oct 8, 2009 | 02:53 PM

2001NBMZ28

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From: Jacksonville, FL

It's your battery or connections. The gauge sweep/trip reset on 99's is low battery voltage.

Oct 12, 2009 | 08:00 AM

4.6traitor

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I had the battery tested and it had mixed results. I just took it to the nearest O'Reilly. At first check it looked like it needed a charge, then it was bad and the last test he said it was good. However, the alternator was acting "funny" according to the O'Reilly guy. I didn't get much of an explanation as to what that meant so I decided to take it over to Autozone to test it there. They said both were good??? Not sure what is going on.

On the way to work this morning it wouldn't idle at all, just wanted to die unless I kept the RPMs up. It did the gauge sweep at least twice after starting up after dying. Could the alternator be causing all of this, would it die while idling due to that? The battery is not that old (Dec 2008). Any suggestions would be great at this point.

Oct 12, 2009 | 09:07 AM

evilZO6

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There seems to be a few issues. Security light is a BITCH. It only seems like 99's, but mine also had this problem. Only i would have to wait a few minutes before the light went off and there was no guarantee it would start after that. Easy fix! There are some black and orange wires under the driver's side dash that you unplug after removing the kick panel and rather than plug them back into each other, you put a resistor in the piggytail connector and it fixes it. Search in electronics for "flashing security light"

Now your battery. Just FYI. A normal "12 volt" operating system actually runs at 13.4-14.8 so if your needles above 12 its where its supposed to be. If its FAR past 12, you got problems. Before replacing your battery, also have the alternator checked. If it checks out fine then i suggest getting a new battery and if it doesn't fix it, you can return it within a few days.

Oct 12, 2009 | 09:21 AM

4.6traitor

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Quote:

Originally Posted by evilZO6

There seems to be a few issues. Security light is a BITCH. It only seems like 99's, but mine also had this problem. Only i would have to wait a few minutes before the light went off and there was no guarantee it would start after that. Easy fix! There are some black and orange wires under the driver's side dash that you unplug after removing the kick panel and rather than plug them back into each other, you put a resistor in the piggytail connector and it fixes it. Search in electronics for "flashing security light"

I read through that and was thinking about doing it. At first it seemed like the problem might be realted to that, but the latest occurrence seemed to point in a different direction. It may still be an issue though.

Now your battery. Just FYI. A normal "12 volt" operating system actually runs at 13.4-14.8 so if your needles above 12 its where its supposed to be. If its FAR past 12, you got problems. Before replacing your battery, also have the alternator checked. If it checks out fine then i suggest getting a new battery and if it doesn't fix it, you can return it within a few days.

I think my gauge reads within your specified range, if anything it is higher, I will check for sure when I start it up again. The alternator may not have been functioning properly during the first time I had it checked. The guy who was testing it said it was acting strange, but I got no indication of exactly what that meant. The next guy tested it and said it was fine. The problem does not seem to manifest itself every time I drive, but rather it comes and goes.

Oct 12, 2009 | 03:17 PM

evilZO6

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Quote:

Originally Posted by 4.6traitor

........ The problem does not seem to manifest itself every time I drive, but rather it comes and goes.

Is this in reference to the not starting? My security light aka VATS (i think) had no rhime or reason. Just randomly you would get stuck. Sometime for 5 minutes, once for 2 hours! I did a quick search and found some threads for you to check out. Follow these!!

https://ls1tech.com/forums/stereo-el...ont-start.html

https://ls1tech.com/forums/stereo-el...-no-start.html

https://ls1tech.com/forums/stereo-el...ity-light.html

They go on and on, this will get you started. Cleaning it is the simple answer, but didnt work for me. I even replaced my ignition key, waste of $65!! Again, if nothing here helps, just go to the stereo and electronics and search "flashing security" or "security light"