More often than not, when i get in my car to go somewhere it will not start up on the first try. when i do try and start it and nothing happens, the security light stays on and u can hear the fuel pump come on. i'm pretty sure its the vats system because i dont have the original key for the car. when i bought the car all i got was a "walmart made" key without the chip. how would i go about finding the resistiance so that i could get a key made or even splice a resistor into the vats wire into the steering column? i have been driving the car like this for awhile and lately it has been taking up to an hour for the car to start up.

 

get ahold of the dealership tell them you need a key for oyur make and modle there ask for your vin number so they can get the key made for the car

 

ok i went to the dealer and they just told me that the car shouldnt start at all without the key that has the resistor in it. they said they couldnt make a key just by looking at the vin #. they would have to take it into the shop and have it put on the computer and it could cost 75 dollars or more just fot the labo and another 35 for the key

 

before you spend money on that look into the bypass module for the vat system. you can get a bypass on tpiparts.net and it cost about as much as a key.

 

ok after i came home from the dealer yesterday i decided to look under the dash to see if anything was bypassed. there are a few spliced wires under the dash board and im not sure what happend but now the car will not start at all. I also dont get the security light at all. when i turn the key, i still hear the pump turn on, but the security light doesnt even flash on for a few seconds like it should. any ideas whats goin on? :'(

 

under the driver side kick panel is where you can find the the starter relay. if it was me i would try and jump that relay. the car still wont start but should crank over. if this is the case do yourself a favor and get the bypass module. also what year is your car?

 

the car is a 1992 firebird formula with the 5.0 v8 TBI. how would i jump relay?

 

the two heavy power leads going into the relay are the two you need to jump. i don't remember what color the wires are hang and i will try to look it up for you.

 

there is a TSB on that car for the starter relay. that being said it might not be under the kick panel. if the dealer did move it it will be taped to the wiring harness right by the fuse box under the dash. does your car have an airbag?

 

looks like the wires should be the green and yellow wires on that year. do not jump the pink or the yellow & black wires they go to the vat system.

 

Okay i found the relay. i got it jumped and it turned over but like you said it didnt start. and yes the car does have an air bag :-P

 

ok vat system is fuc#ed with the air bag i don't know what color the key reader wires in the steering column are. my 89 are yellow but most airbag harness wires are yellow also and you don't want mess with them. if you find the harness for the key reader look and see if someone has jumped that with a resistor. that the best place to do it. also if so make sure the wires are still conected to the resistor.

 

well i got it running. i found the 2 wires that were spliced together with the resistor. they were stuck way up under the dash board. i guess when i took the cover off of the bottom of the dash to see if it was bypassed, i must have bumped the wires and knocked it loose. it was probably loose to begin with because i barely moved any wires under there and it could explain why the car was giving me intermittent starting problems. so far i started it up about 10 times and not once has the vats kicked in. thanks for the help man:-D!!!!!!

 

no problem anytime