My car won't start after rebuilding my steering column and pulling out some wiring under the dash which shouldn't have had anything to do with anything as it wasn't connected on either end. In any case I noticed this connector. There was a wire plugged into it that was hanging off the end but also not connected to anything. I pulled that off and looked to see what this might plug into but I haven't found anything. This looks like it is attached to the neutral safety switch but again its only connected on one side.

 

I dont remember the wire colors, but I think its the column connector for your VATS. Did the wire you pull off have resistors on it. If so then someone did the resistor trick to bypass the VATS.

 

I don't think so. Then again 1991-1992 cars have some different color wiring as I understand it. I found the VATS wires in the column. That's two wires in an orange housing that go from the ignition lock cylinder to a plug under the dash which then merges with the rest of the harness. Those wires are much smaller than these. VATS has definitely not been bypassed. The wire in question actually goes up to the button that the clutch pedal depresses against the firewall. That's why I figured it was the clutch safety switch or something like that. I found the other side of the connector tucked up in the dash and down toward the kick panel. I reconnected it but so far it doesn't seem to do anything.

 

Thats the only 2 prong connector in that location that I know of off the top of my head. Ive got a 90-92 dealer service manual for Camaros, Ill flip through it and see what i can find.

 

Thanks I appreciate it. If it helps my car is a 1992 Formula Firebird with the 305TPI engine and manual transmission. It has all the power options excluding power seats.

 

Cant find anything, Is there something in the dash that isnt working?

 

That's what it is... the connector for (the manual calls it) the clutch-operated neutral/start switch. The switch is located at the top of the clutch pedal, much like the brake switches are at the top of the brake pedal.

A good way to get ideas for where it might go is to look at how short the wires are, so it must connect somewhere in the immediate vicinity of where it's hanging, and it looks like it'll reach right over to the clutch pedal.

 

Nope. Everything is working. Well except for the car won't start. It doesn't even try to. I must have undone something I shouldn't have. Though as I said before all the wiring I pulled out of the car wasn't connected to anything on either end. Well excluding one wire which was disconnected on one side but ghetto plugged into the fuse box. It was for an A-pillar mounted tachometer which the original owner installed and the previous owner removed. Maybe I might have messed up VATS? However, I thought the car would still act like it was going to start, but send a signal to the ECM which cut fuel and spark so the car would just die in a couple seconds.

I found the connector. The part of it shown in the picture actually comes down from that switch and the rest of it was stuffed into the kick panel. I've since reconnected it but it doesn't seem to do anything. I'm guessing that the clutch-operated neutral/start switch had been bypassed at some point. Possibly for remote start or something. There are other remnants of an alarm install I've found in the car such as the LED for one installed in the switch panel on the dash.

 

Have you checked for trouble codes?

A VATS-related no-start issue would result in absolutely nothing happening at all, not an engine-related sound of anykind, and the security light will illuminate. There would be no "acting like it was going to start and dying in a couple of seconds." So this does sound like the problem might be VATS-related.

The VATS wires run down the steering column from the key cylinder, so in a column swap, if the swapper didn't know what that orange sleeve containing the two little white wires was for, or he simply didn't notice them, this could easily be overlooked.

So if you didn't swap your key cylinder from the old column to your new column, then there's the problem. Even if the key cylinder in the new column is also a VATS key cylinder, the chip in its key isn't likely to be of the correct resistance value to match the VATS module in your car, so you will still have a dead vehicle. So you need, either the key cylinder from your car's original steering column, or the VATS module from the car the column came out of(if you used the new column's key cylinder).

Edit: The important part of this is the chip in the key. It has to be the one from your original key because that has the resistance value the VATS module in your car needs to see. So swapping key cylinders back to original, swapping chips-in-keys back to original, etc., whatever's easier for you.

There are some good pictures of the VATS column wires in this thread:
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/elec...plain-why.html

 

I agree, if its not turning over at all it sounds like a VATS issue. Or if that is part of the clutch/neutral saftey switch and its now not registering that youre pressing the clutch when you start, it wouldnt try and start either. You can always jump the starter with the key on and it if starts its not a VATS issue.

 

There are no trouble codes being generated. My security light should have come on but didn't. For all I know it is a simple bulb failure. Your right about VATS and how it works. I read Travis401's post in this thread which helped me better understand VATS.

The reason I was "rebuilding" the steering column had to do with the sloppy tilt. I also had a problem with my hazzards not working and I am installing a Grant GT wheel and ditching the stock wheel. I just pulled all the airbag wiring out but kept things clean and intact in case I need to reinstall them for inspection or something. However this car did pass inspection with a crappy APC steering wheel and badly installed Grant adapter.

I think I've got the issue figured out. The column is original. The vats wires were intact though the current ignition cylinder isn't the original one that came with the car. Its one for an automatic transmission equipped car. There was a second ignition lock under the dash taped up in there. This one had a VATS key inside it and it was all zip tied in place. I thought at first this must be the original lock cylinder or something like that. I don't know if this is the case or not but all three keys I've got are cut the same. Two non-VATS keys and one VATS key. None of them turn the lock cylinder that's under the dash. What I think happened is that the original owner lost the ignition key for the car but some how figured out the ohm resistance of the key's resistor. He then got a spare key and probably paid through the nose for it, but didn't want to pay for additional VATS keys, yet wanted spares. In any case he took the original lock cylinder out as it has nothing to do with VATS aside from having contacts inside it for the resistor. So he just left the VATS key in the lock cylinder and kept it under the dash so VATS would basically be bypassed but instead of using a resistor he used a spare lock cylinder and key. He would then be able to get more keys cut cheaply as VATS keys are more expensive. He may just have done this because he didn't like the manual lock cylinder's key release button and wanted an automatic style lock cylinder.

I don't know. After the fact you can't always understand the reasoning but there it is. I've ordered a new lock cylinder which I will get keys cut for. Its a VATS lock cylinder but I may bypass VATS all together to avoid any further issues. Oh, and the connector I found does appear to be the clutch safety switch. I'm not sure how the car was starting without it before but it sure as hell doesn't now. I may have undid the bypass for this when I pulled some of the crap wiring out that didn't seem to be connected to anything. The car still isn't starting but it attempts to. The starter just clicks and acts like it wants to turn over sometimes but doesn't. Voltages are good as is the battery. I knew the starter was on the way out since I got the car so this should hopefully get me back on the road again.

 

If the VATS key you have is the original for the car, you can take on ohm meter to the "chip" and get the resistance value of the key. Then you can use that to order the new lock cylinder with key, or just bypass it all with a resistor of that value.

 

The VATS key I have is not the original one. But I can get the resistor for it. I think I'm going to bypass VATS and get the right type of lock cylinder for the car.

 

So the original VATS key cylinder was under the dash with its key in it? No cutting, no splicing, no searching for resistance values... Yeah, I suppose that's one way to "bypass" VATS lol.

 

Well I'm going to do it the right way. In any case the wiring under the dash wasn't too bad despite the added wiring that didn't do anything. I pulled that stuff out. There was only two or three things there. The wiring for the stereo is a mess but I took most of that out and I'm redoing the car's audio. Under the hood things are pretty much as they should be. The only real oddity there is the big *** fuse and wire he's got for the sub-woofer power.

 

la my vats "bypass" waz the smae way and i finally fixed it when i lost the blank key that came with the ign tumbler !
87 that plug is a 2 part plug that goes to your css
mine looked like this


match the black with the black plug and plug the blue plug into the top of the css close to the clutch pedal
good luck !

 

Well my no start issue continues. It has nothing to do with the battery as I replaced that. I get a code 46 and can't seem to get around it. The key / lock cylinder method no longer allows the car to start. Even worse, I can't find a starter enable relay. Nothing in the 1991-1992 cars seems wired with the same colors are previous years. So I've been totally unable to locate the relay or even anything that looks like it in the usual location under the driver's side kick panel.

I've got the Hawk's VATS bypass module and frankly I can't get that to work either. The instructions are completely off base from what I can tell. The wires they tell you to use by number and by color do not exist in my wiring harness. They are number far differently and differently by color. So I've got no idea where to install this stupid thing. I've always heard "three wires and your done with VATS forever" mantra in plenty of threads but none of that talk is of any use when you have no idea which wires you need to use. I just need to know which wires I need to splice into and where I can find them.

I'm starting to really regret getting a 1992 car as most of the help and information out there doesn't seem to pertain to them in the slightest. I'm not even sure if the problem is VATS. I get the code 43 but it could be the failed starter I replaced as well. The after market starter didn't allow for the "R" terminal connection and evidently if you need that you need a separate part which I picked up just in case. Though there are no instructions on using it and it doesn't connect to the spade connector marked as "R" on the starter instructions. I don't get a click or anything so I wonder if my starter isn't just installed wrong. My question on that is, do I need the diode wire and if so, where the hell do I actually connect it? The connector is even different than the factory "R" switch connector so do I need to lop the end of that off and splice in the "R" diode wire?

I was trying to avoid this complicated mess and replace one thing at a time but since the car doesn't start at all anymore its come to this. Any help would be appreciated. I'd really like to get this thing running again.

 

The relay should be behind a black square of good in under the driverside. Its not just visible when you take the panel off, but the square of goo is. The starter should have 2 connections, the constant from the battery and the solenoid wire. No clue what the "R" terminal is about. When I did my engine swap, I moved all the connections from the starter to a junction block, so my starter only has 2 wires, battery constant and solenoid. Its the stock one off my 305TBI btw. The bypass module should be wired to a switched 12v, a ground, and then the 3rd wire goes to the ECM harness (should be the only dark blue one, bottom half of the black connector, 3rd wire over from the left).

 

http://www.austinthirdgen.org/mkport..._1992_C207.gif that should help, its pin L

 

There is nothing behind the square of goo. My research on this site led me to look there and there wasn't anything behind it save for some dust. As for the bypass module, I've found accessory/ignition power, a ground and I believe I've got the right wire for the VATS signal now. That wiring diagram is just what I need to confirm, thanks for your help on that.

 

Well either your relay has been removed or moved. But if you get the VATS bypass to work, it wont matter since it will be triggered when you power the box.

 

It was moved and its already bypassed. We got the bypass module working, so the problem must be with the starter installation at this point. I'm closing in on this issue slowly but I'm getting there.