Whats up! I was on my way to work the other night when all of a sudden my car would jerk a bit; as this was happening, the headlights would dim also. I had no idea what the cause was at the time until I got to my destination. I found that the positive battery cable had a section that was melted exposing the wire and it was hanging right by the crank pulley. I guess when I would hit a bump (there are quite a few btw) the cable would come into contact with the pulley explaining the dimming and jerking! Anyway I got some electrical tape, patched it up real good, put the plastic rippled tubing on it and tied it with a twist tie for now! I thought the issue was resolved until this morning when I got out of work! I tried turning the car on numerous times and all I got was a 'click' from the starter. I then noticed that the 'security' light from my dash wasn't turning off like its supposed to when you put the key in the ignition and turn it; mine has VATS btw; I tried moving the battery cables around and nothing until I inserted the key once more and voila the security light shut off and the car cranked and fired right up! I had to go through this again today at a drive-thru bank (yes there was a line also ). I was there for atleast 10-15 min. trying to get the thing to fire up but got the same 'click' instead and the 'security' light remained on. Luckily a couple of strangers helped me move the car outta the spot and park it; they even helped me inspect it a bit. One of the guys got a screw driver and I don't know how he did it but he passed current directly on to the starter and after that it fired up! Anyone know whats going on here? can it be the battery cable or is it the VATS? I'm not blaming the starter (its possibile) because its brand new and was put in last month; before all this, it would fire up all the time. Thanks in advance guys! take it easy!

 

Hey, well, I have a starter click problem also, if you read my post below yours, you'll experience that fun. Well, I haven't iured mine out yet, but mine is also a little different, because my security light turns off, hopefully someone will give me some input on that too, cuz that is all confusing with the security and everything. But, from what i have heard, if that light is staying on, than you VATS usually is the cause. Try seeing if the pellet in the key is loose and try cleaning it off for good conection and resistance. Also, if you want, there is a way to bypass the pellet thing without meesing anything up... its not too hard, and it is pretty cheap. Let me know what happens. Take it easy and Good Luck!

 

So far the car has been firing right up lately; no problems what so ever! I'll repost if anything happens.

Thanks,
Ruben

 

Ok so this morning when I got home from work, I tried turning the car on but got the same wierd problem again; this time the starter didnt't even click. I slept on it and when I tried turning the car on later, It fired right up! Whats I looked under the car where the starter is and everything seemed fine except for what looks like a wire that is supposed to go into the oil pressure switch; the wire has a metal terminal which looks to go into a plastic connector and it must of been grounding with the starter or exhaust pipe! Anyone have a clue as to whats going on?

Thanks in advance! Later!

 

Crap! Now my car won't do anything when I turn the key in the ignition; I've tried atleast 50 times and nothing! I've checked my starter and the fusible links and they're ok so that narrows it down to the VATS system or possibly the ignition switch! I should also mention that I recently had a new VATS key made for my car since I lost my other key and it turned on just fine with the old one! Could it be that the locksmith did something wrong or made me the wrong key? I called another locksmith and he told me that its possibly the wires to the switch that are cut or damaged! There are times when I just insert the key without turning and the seatbelt alert beep goes off. Today while I tried messing with it, there we're a couple of instances where the security light wouldn't even come on until I would switch it off and on again, then it would come on and stay on; the brake light also comes on but turns off right away! Don't know if this is normal or not but when this problem occurs, the seat belt alert sometimes doesn't come on either! I'm having the locksmith come over tomorrow to replace the switch! In the meantime, is this caused by a faulty switch or VATS?? Thanks in advance!

 

Sounds like you're experiencing some wiring Gremlins like I am. If you've got a wiring diagram for your ride (I've got one for my '87, dunno how different yours will be. Probably enough) I'm soon to be in the possession of a nice multimeter. I'll help you dink with it.

 

Yeah this just started to happen within the last 2 weeks! Whats going on with your car? I have a chilton and a haynes manual both with wiring diagrams. Yeah man I'd really appreciate the help! Hopefully its the VATS thats causing this cause I already have enough 'little" things to repair or replace on the car! Take it e z!

 

Ok problem solved! It turns out the switch was bad and the locksmith who made my new VATS key did a half-assed job! I guess you get what you pay for! Anyway I had another locksmith come over and replace the ignition switch for $125! He found that the faulty switch had a small hole drilled into it (why? I don't know) and the wires spliced with out taping them up atleast possibly done by the other *******! Now the car fires up just fine and I got a 1yr guarantee on the job unlike the other pansy who didn't even offer one! All systems go guys! L8R!