okay..i drove my car for 5 miles this mourning...to my cousins so he could grab something inside. i turned off the car...he came back out and i tried to start the car....nothing happens..no clicking..not anything. The SES and security light stay lit when the key is turned. after i take the key out...all of the lights turn off. I figure my key is garbage, so I go to the dealer and get a new key. When I put this one in, the same thing happens but after i take the key out the security light stays on for a couple of minutes and is solid, no blinking. anybody know what this is? is it the vats? or is that the locking cyclinder? and how much does a new cyclinder go for?

 

anybody? i'm stranded right now...also..its a 2001 ss m6..don't knwo if that makes a diff or not.

 

so i went out and tried again..the car did the same exact thing...security light doesn't start on, but ses light does...does that mean there is a code? also..the car does the same thing..if the clutch is depressed or not? so does that mean my clutch start switch gong? how can i check that?

 

i don't know if it is this or not but I had a close friend that had a corvette (99 model) and he had a bad ground and it did that to him. It was triggering codes of all sorts and wouldn't stay on. How many miles on it, whats all been done to it....etc

All my friend had to do to fix his problem was check all the grounds in the engine bay...it ended up being the one directly connected to the block towards the front bottom of the car...it was really weird..guess it had just wiggled loose. This may not be your problem though.

 

its stock besides a TSP Rumbler and slp lid...and it has 64k on it.

 

Well, if it is VATS, you can delete it using tuning, but you will also have to jump the BCM / VATS feed wire and trick into thinking the correct resisitance is there. I wrote a lil bit on this either here or the stereo & electronics section.
Rado shack, adjustable resistance pot (potentiometer) and a multimeter. measure the ohms from both sides of the key, and then set the pot to match it, splice the pot into the wires from the VATS under the steering column (under the column is a pair of wires inan orange sheath both are white, goes into a connector on its way to the BCM behind the radio). Use the pot only on the BCM side, set to match the keys ohms and your golden. once started AND the VATS deleted in the tune, you can remove the pot and not worry about it again. *note the sec. lit will stay on though*

 

i don't think it is the vats...becasue I had another key made..and that key actually sets off the security light for a few minutes...the original key doesn't...the car jsut doesn't do anything. i hooked it up to jumper cables to see if the battery was dead...and it didn't do anything. also, one thing that I noticed was that the car does the same thing wether you have the clutch pedal pushed down or not.

 

Ok. My friends SS the light came on etc....and thats what we had to do. Once set into the BCM the VATS has to be bypassed. Unless someone else chimes in. Good luck.

 

is there anyone with an answer to this.....my car is now doing the same thing. I have to reset the PCM to get the car to start. It has done it twice in the last 2 days. Both times, a pcm reset fixed the problem. still PITA then you got to deal with a rough running car for a few miles. Any Ideas...........PLEASE

 

how do you reset the pcm? so i can do that tomorrow? if it doesn't start tomorrow when i get back to it(had to leave it at my uncles) i'll have to get it towed to the dealship and have them work on it . but i have gm major guard plus or some **** liek that...so as long as it isn't considered normal wear..i will only have to pay 100 to get whatever it is fixed.

 

To reset the PCM you need to pull the two PCM fuses. There is one in each fuse box under the hood on the driver's side. both are just in front of the tower. one is called PCM and the other is called PCM BAT. pull them both, let the car set for a minute or two and plug them back in. one is a 15 amp fuse and the other is a 10 amp fuse if that helps, but I can't recall in what order. I am far from being an expert here but I just thought I would let you know what worked for me. I have not had that happen again (it has only been 2 days) but I sure would like to know what the issue is. If anyone comes up with anything please let us know. And let me know if that worked for you. Good Luck.

 

BTW, if the wires breaking inside the cyl for the VATS, as is common, all the new keys in the world wont save you. Do a search in the stereo section for VATS.

 

well..its weird..the new key turns on the security light...and it stays solid for a few minutes....old keys just don't do anything...all of the warning lights come on in the cluster...and then everything turns off besides the SES light...i'm not sure it that is normal.

 

Did the dealership use your old key to cut the new one? If so, then the resistor should be correct, although I would find it odd they happened to have the correct resistance on a blank key on hand!

So you dont have to do a search:

VATS explained from researching:
1) your keys have that little look near the base, which has xxxx.xx resistance.
2) your ignition cylinder has a small wire that sends that resistance to the BCM in a check go, or check no-go.
3) often times those wires break, failure of the car to crank normally results with a solid lit Sec Lt. Sometimes the keys get wet, and it fails the check due to less resistance, in that case, wait two minutes to attempt restart.
*just because the flashing Sec Lt, or Solid fails to light doesnt mean the system is not functioning properly. I have seen this first hand*
4) if the VATS fails and it is seen by the BCM, then it must be overridden. Using multimeter to determine ohms on key, set adjustable resistor to said ohms, splice in the BCM end of the white sheathed wires coming from under the steering column, the BCM is located behind the radio area. Use one side of each of the BCM to VATS wire on each side of the adjustable pot. Once connected and set, you will be able to start the car.
5) once running if you tune the VATS to "none", then you can unhook the adj pot, and not worry about any more issues, although the Sec Lt will remain on whenever the ignition is on. If you dont tune out the VATS, you will have to hook the pot up each time you start your car.

FWIW, at the dealers here in Hawaii, the cost is roughly $500 to replace the VATS, as the tech has to deal with airbags as well as the fine wires connecting the VATS to the cylinder.

 

its at the dealership now. I have gm major guard, so the cost should only be 100 deductable because it covers everything besides normal wear items..such as tires, clutch, body panels, pant, carpet...ect...so i should be good to go..i just didn't want to have in towed to the dealer.

 

so did it work when you reset the PCM?????????????????

 

Please post back up what the dealer had to replace!

 

I never reset the pcu...i brought it to the dealer. the second key that they cut had the wrong resistor..lol...******* morons. then were under the dash checking grounds and the tech said it just worked...he doesn't know who. i'm guessing maybe a ground came loose..and he tightened it..and now it works...but thats only a guess...it even says on the service paper that they have no idea why it didn't work...so i'm still confused, but it runs now.