My 89 Trans Am sometimes will not start - i can wiggle the steering column a little and then sometimes it cranks right up - just awhile ago when i came home - i turned the car off because it was running about 240 and the fan was not running - so i was trying to see if i coudl turn it off and then back on and see if the fan would start but not even the car would start then - so I then came back a few min later and the car wouldnt start -- you could turn the key and the guages and all would blink - i had to unhook the battery cable because the fuel pump was stuck on and i know the fix for that -- jus thaven't replaced that little sensor underneath yet -- but when i reconnected the battery -- the car cranked right up -- but my fan wouldnt come on -- so does anyone have any suggestions on anything? I did notice that my top radiator hose is swelling where it goes into the waterpump - would the thermostat have anything to do with the fan not coming on?

 

A few things:

-Ignition tumbler wires for VATS may have loose connection or be chafed.

-Fan relay may be toast or the fan motor itself may be dead. It has dual fans, so try turning on the A/C and see if the fan comes on. Try rigging a manual switch to the auxilary fan. The thermostat has nothing to do with the fans, but the coolant temp sensor in the block does. Make sure that is plugged in because these rarely fail.

-The swelling hose needs to be replaced and might as well change the thermostat also. Pretty easy job.

 

how and where do you do the disable for VATS?

 

You need to have a PROM chip for the computer burned with VATS removed. The wires in the tumbler get chafed or snap from the tilt feature in the steering column. You may just need to fix a loose connection or replace the key if the pellet is worn too far.

 

brand new key -- so thats not it -- isnt there just a way to get rid of that damn crap -- just by pass it?

 

Unless you burn a PROM chip with out VATS, you can't. It is programmed to read the resistance on the key and if it is not correct, the starter will not engage and the injectors will not fire.

Pull the tumbler out and check the wiring. It may be that simple.

 

If you don't mind spending about $40, you can go to www.moates.net and buy the VATS bypass module instead of having a new prom burned. Just thought I'd throw out another option for ya. I sorta bypassed mine the really cheap, backyard way. My wires kept breaking on the VATS cylinder, so I finally pulled it out of the steering column, repaired the wires again, stuck the key back in the cylinder, plugged it back in, and just shoved it up under the dash. I replaced the VATS cylinder in the column with a standard, non-VATS key cylinder, which only cost $12 from the parts store instead of over $50 for a new VATS one. I got stranded in a truck stop parking lot in the middle of the night thanks to those wires breaking again, so I had to go home to get tools and a flashlight to tear my steering column apart. If you remove it from the column, the wires will never break again, and the key will never wear out since you just leave it in the cylinder up under the dash. If you ever want to actually use the VATS feature after doing this, all you have to do is reach up under the dash and pull the key out. I'm going to get a custom prom burned for my car eventually, after I do some more mods, and I'll have them remove VATS at that point. But until then, it's given me zero problems since I took it out of the column.

 

^^^ Clever idea.