minivette

Is it worth the approx. $90 to upgrade to the AutoTap Hardware and AutoTap for Windows with Manufacturer's Enhanced Parameters? Id like to be able to check all of my basic parameters, be able to tell if my car is running lean or fat, etc. I do know I don't want or need EVILive.

The reason I am getting LS1EDIT is that I am having a serious problem with my VATS module. It is disabling the starter and/or stopping the injectors at random times I try to start the car. This results in the car either not starting with the SECURITY light on and I have to wait the 2 minutes for it to reset (and then it starts perfectly fine) or the car starts and runs for 1-2 seconds then dies. It usually starts and runs fine the second crank. The second scenario occurs with no SECURITY light being illuminated.
I am not going to spend $300 for a new VATS module, tear the dash apart and have something that may go out again. I'd rather buy LS1EDIT so I can disable the VATS system and do a few other things to my car such as delete rear 02's, raise speed limiter, !CAGS, !AIR, !EGR, turn fans on earlier, etc.
At this point I do not have any desire to actually do any kind of tuning unless I find I need to.

MODS:
-ported Macs
-ORY
-lid, descreened MAF, etc, etc, etc...

CAR:
-2000 Z28, M6
<img src="http://www.minivette.com/index/desktop_image.jpg" alt=" - " />

minivette

<img border="0" alt="[boring]" title="" src="graemlins/gr_zzz.gif" />

Camaroholic

iTrader: (1)

Honestly, I would take a different approach, because LS1Edit may not solve your problem.

You may be having a problem with the actual VATS relay system. Turning off the VATS requirement in the PCM will not help - the VATS module will still be interrupting your starter circuit, and it won't allow the car to start. The 'flag' in the PCM merely looks for the presence of a signal, but the VATS module actually interrupts the wires.

If I were you, I'd take that $550 set aside for LS1Edit and put $200 of it in to a set of factory manuals and some basic test tools (voltmeter). The factory manual will pay for itself VERY quickly when trying to diagnose stuff like this. It tells you where to poke and what to look for. You can get them from SDPC or places like http://www.helminc.com - they should be around $120-140 or so.

Good luck. Electrical gremlins can be nasty.

Andrew

minivette

Camaroholic, thanks for the reply. I was under the impression (and hoping) that if I disabled VATS, the PCM would no longer know that it was there. So, if it were malfunctioning, the PCM would never know it.
After reading about hybrid swaps of LS1's in non LS1 vehicles, people delete VATS in the PCM with LS1 edit so that they don't have to use the key with the chip. I would assume that they don't have the VATS module in the hybrid car so when you delete it in the PCM, it's like it is not there.
I do see what you are saying. I guess I need a wiring schematic to be able to tell if any wires go from the VATS module to the starter/injectors. I can only hope that the VATS module is wired so that it goes from the steering colum thru the VATS module and then to the PCM. If this is the case, I don't see a problem with deleting VATS and that curing my problem.

Am I making any sense? <img border="0" title="" alt="[Confused]" src="images/icons/confused.gif" />

<img border="0" alt="[guns]" title="" src="graemlins/gr_guns.gif" /> <img border="0" alt="[kaboom]" title="" src="graemlins/gr_bomb.gif" /> <--- Electrical Gremlins

minivette

<img border="0" alt="[Banging Head]" title="" src="graemlins/gr_banghead.gif" />

Camaroholic

iTrader: (1)

In retrofit situations, the VATS module is normally not there, so disabling the flag in the PCM allows the car to start when the ignition key hits the starter.

With the VATS module, there is at least one additional relay in the module, and I don't remember whether it interrupts the starter, fuel pump, or ignition, but it does disable *something*. If you simply disable VATS in the PCM, but are having problems with the module, this relay may or may not be working - hence, LS1Edit may or may not solve your problem. If the relay is what's acting up, you can disable VATS, but with the relay open, still can't start the car.

Don't get me wrong, I encourage people to buy LS1Edit <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="gr_grin.gif" /> but I think you'd be buying it for the wrong reason.

Andrew

minivette

Here's what John at Speartech said...

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">VATS controls two things on a production car.
1) The VATS signal to the PCM allows fuel injector pulses.
2) The VATS signal to the starter relay allows the car to crank.

If you disable VATS with LS1 Edit, #1 is taken care of, but you must still physically jumper around the starter relay so the car will crank.

The VATS control circuitry is located in the BCM on these cars. There is not a separate VATS module like on the earlier LT1 cars.
</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">So, I would still need to jump the starter relay if I deleted VATS with LS1 Edit. I think that would still be a better alternative than spending $300 and ripping the dash apart to fix the module.

Thanks for everyone's help. <img border="0" alt="[cheers]" title="" src="graemlins/gr_cheers.gif" />