im not absolutely sure on my problem being a VATS issue, but it follows all of the symptoms. i just want to test it.

if anyone could post a detailed enough picture of where the wiring harness is for VATS it would help me out so much.


Thanks.

 

it is a 2 lead connector under the column in a orange sheath (in my bird neways) pretty easy to find. what exactly is the vats issue your having?

 

also i forgot to mention, this is a 92 V6 Firebird

when i turn the key the car does not start. it does not even crank. i switched keys and it went away for like 3 days, then out of no where it stopped working all together

something interesting though that ive never seen before, when i turn the key the thermometer goes all the way up as if the car were overheating, i found that to be odd.

i need my car back, i just got a new job, and its currently parked in front of a friends house.

 

Before you go wasting your time with the VATS system, have you starter tested. A bad starter will do the exact same thing you're describing and is a lot less of a pain than messing with the VATS system.

However, if you insist on messing with VATS, here's a couple of things you can do.

If you want to keep the VATS system intact, locate the two SMALL white wires in an orange tubing under the dash. (See picture below). The picture below is a camaro and you see the connector is black. However, on my '91 Firebird V6 the connector is gray but looks exactly the same. Once you find this connector, disconnect the two sides. Put the key in the ignition and turn it to the ON position (don't start it), connect a volt meter to the connector you disconnected (the side that goes up the steering column) and measure the OHMS at the connector. After you do that, remove the key and use the volt meter on the KEY (one lead on the little metal part of the chip on one side of the key, the other lead on the little metal part of the chip on the other side of the key) to measure the OHMS of the chip. IF the value you measure on the connector is NOT the same as the value you measure on the key, you need to replace the ignition key cylinder. If they are the same then either A. the VATS module is bad or B. the starter enable relay is bad. If you want to test the starter enable relay, it's under the drivers side kick panel. The color of the wires going to the relay "should" be 1. Yellow, 2. Dark Green, 3. Yellow/Black, and 4. Pink

Now, if you want to just bypass the VATS assembly completely all you have to do is A. locate the starter enable relay (drivers side kick panel - see wiring colors above), B. locate the Yellow/Black wire going to the relay, C. cut the wire in half (give yourself enough lead in either direction), D. take the wire half that goes to the starter enable relay and connect it to GROUND. To explain why, the Yellow/Black wire that goes to the relay comes from the VATS module. When you put the key in the ignition and turn it on, the VATS module reads the value of the chip in the key and if the value is correct then the VATS module creates a ground for the starter enable relay and allows it to energize. By grounding that wire directly, you will have a constant ground and not have to worry about what the VATS module sees or doesn't see.

If the starter enable relay itself is bad then the above bypass method won't do any good without replacing the relay. However, you can bypass the bad relay by cutting the thick yellow wire to the relay and cut the dark green wire to the relay and splice them together. By doing this you are bypassing the relay and the VATS module at the same time. However, I don't recommend bypassing the relay completely because if you do this then you are allowing any spikes in current to go directly to the ignition switch and shortening the life of the ignition switch. If at all possible, keep the starter enable relay intact.

 

hey, you can go around the starting part of it, but what about the fuel, i tried that. I cant seem to get my car to stay running (or even idle). I can get it to start, but not really run. some other dude on TGO said that the VATS messes with the injectors too, I dont know if thats what my problem is!!!?!? It could also be timing. Here is what I have done to it....


Fuel Pump-fuel filter-spark plugs and wires-cleaned out the distributer cap and rotor. i have good spark, but I cannot get it to start, I have hooked the fuel pump up to a switch, but I still cannot get it to stay started, I have to feather the gas pedal to get it to stay started.



ANY IDEAS???

 

If you can get the started at all then it's not the VATS. If the VATS doesn't receive the correct resistor value from the key then it won't start at all. If you put the wrong key in and/or the VATS system doesn't recognize the key 3 things will happen..... 1. The starter will do absolutely nothing, no click no nothing, 2. When you turn the key to the ON position (not start) the Security light on the dash will stay on constant (normal operation the security light comes on for about 5-10 seconds and then goes off), and 3. Even if you put the correct key in the ignition the car will not start for about 5 minutes. There is some kind of a resetting starter disable mechanism that will prevent the car from restarting for about 5 minutes. You have to sit and wait it out.

 

well, I got no keys to the car, I bought it from a local bank, for real cheap, so I just wanna get it running, so I can get it inspected, and legal, and fix everything on it.....I am trying to go around the vats, but right now I am pretty broke, so whatever I do will prolly be next weekend. If you got any ideas on how to bypass vats, let me know, I really need to get this car running so my wife and I will both have transportation instead of sharing one car.

 

Read the following post by BigBabyLou:
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/post...852-post3.html

AND

Read this post by myself:
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/post...70-post56.html

Using either of these methods will completely bypass the VATS

 

on Big Baby Lous way....what do you do if you have a manual transmission? I tried your way, and Nothing....got anything else?

 

W_mortel

I just had this same problem. It would only run if I feathered the gas pedal. Your problem is the vats system. Since you can't find the key you will not be able to find the correct resistance to bypass the missing key resistor. You will need to by a vats bypass module $25 Find one here http://mysite.verizon.net/vze7erz1/id1.html or check ebay. With the starter bypassing the vats it will crank over but it still will not turn the injectors on until it has the right resistance from the key. You can not bypass this because the vats sends 5 Volts to the computer which then the computer will turn on the injectors. But this bypass module you can buy will send the 5 volts. A good thing to look at is when your vats is working properly you turn your ignition on your security light will light up for 3 seconds then shut off. If you vats is not working properly when you turn your ignition on the security light will light up and stay lit up and will not shut off for as long as you have the ignition on. Another reason to buy one of these bypass module's is for a remote starter installation.

 

I am having what I believe to be a VATS issue, after replacing battery. Took car to store about a mile from the house and for the first time ever, it would not crank or anything. Waited awhile and it started right up. It has done it a few times since. Before this, I had noticed it would run rough at times, other times perfectly. Only at idle would it stumble. I honestly thought that the VATS issue would not even allow it to run......