Pino91Formula

Iv been having vats problem once in a great while , car wont start, after a while car starts ,, its done it to me about 4 times now ,, im thinking about haveing the dealer check it out and maybe replace the ignition cylynder

gta324

It's real simple to remove VATS function, I think it is a Tech art. about it here on thirdgen or was it camaroz28.....

If you cant find the article feel free to email me.

/N.

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GTA -89:383, 4-bolt,Free flow muffler,dual 3" HF cats, Edelbrock headers, Canfield heads, 1.52 RR 7/16, ZZ-9 cam, Big Mouth, AS&M LTR, !plenum, 52 TB, MSD 6AL, TPIS level V prom, Superior shift-kit and all the minor mods,looking for a SR ...
http://www.itv.se/tacs/members_cars/m279/m279.html (Swedish Trans Am Club)

89cam305

I have had the same symptoms. No clicks, nothing. Thinking it too was something to do with VATS. The last time it happened I watched my voltage guage. Sure enough every time I turned the key the gauge would drop slightly cuz the starter was trying to turn. If you haven't done so, you may want to check your starter and the connections before replacing the ignition cylinder. Just a thought. Good luck.

Red Devil

Get a new key and be amazed at the difference. The chip wears down so much it isn't even funny. If you look at the new ones, you will notice a 'step' in the chip, the old ones just look like a mound barely protruding from the key.

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"Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blind-folded fear."

-Thomas Jefferson

Pino91Formula

Well it didnt start this morning ,, you know what i will try a new key before i send it to the dealer.

Stuart Moss

This subject has been covered often here. You can do a search (e.g. "VATS") here for some discussions on this topic.

The tech article at this site is at: https://www.thirdgen.org/newdesign/tech2/vats.shtml

This is a recent post: https://www.thirdgen.org/messgboard/...ML/002119.html

This is from sethridgen linked in the above mentioned post: http://sethirdgen.org/vats.htm . It is more detailed than our site (thirdgen.org) and give a more detailed explanation of how it works, but saying "If the problem is not found, it will have to be taken to a reputable repair facility." goes against the fundamental philosophy of every "do-it-yourselfer". Especially when the repair is simple and easy (IMO).

Unfortunately, it then goes on to say that "I do not endorse bypassing the VATS system, therefore I will not go into great detail about it., so you will not get any help at that site for modifying/bypassing it other than an explanation of how it works, perhaps helping you to figure out how to bypass it.

I still like my suggestion (see post above) for putting in a toggle switch so you can have the best of both worlds. This is what I have done to my VATS. If you are having a problem with the VATS reading the ignition resistor (security light will not go out after two seconds), simply toggle the switch to put a fixed resistor into the VATS. I did this because I still wanted the "security" of the VATS, but wanted to be able to bypass it so I wouldn't be stranded anywhere simply because it wasn't reading the pellet.

Concealing this switch will make it hard for any would-be thieves to bypass it, yet still allow you to bypass the ignition key pellet if/when VATS can no longer read that resistance.

If you decide to permanently bypass VATS with a resistor soldered into the wires, you may want to consider adding a hidden switch so you could switch this resistor out of the circuit. This would allow you to switch the resistor out of the circuit, making it a little harder to steal it. If the VATS is already working but just needs to see the proper resistance to start it, why permanently bypass it when you can easily switch it, and retain the security feature? You'd be able to use the cheaper ignition keys and not have to worry about VATS not being able to read the pellet.

If VATS needs the resistor to only start the car, then you could use a push button (vice toggle) switch. then you would only have to press this switch any time you start the car. This way you would not have to always remember to switch a toggle switch "off" to use the VATS security feature. Of couse, this will depend if the resistance is needed only to start the car. I don't know if VATS (the resistance) is needed once the car is running. It would be easy to test. Once the car is running, simply disconnect the two-wire connector to the ignition. If the car dies, you'll know that the resistance/VATS is needed to continuously provide a pulsed signal to the ECM to enable the injectors.