I picked up a 1989 IROC to swap the drivetrain from my wrecked 1988 into and the guy I bought it off of lost the keys. The '89's column was locked so to make it a bit easier to push around I took the steering column out of my 1988. The thing that confuses me is that the wiring harnesses appear to be identical? Most information on the net tells me that 1989 got VATS but the wiring diagrams in my ol' Haynes book shows 2 diagrams for the starting/charging system... First shows that '85-'89 are the same system and then '90-'92 it shows a "starter enable relay" and a "pass key decoder module" added.

My question is, is it possible my 89 doesn't have VATS and what is the easiest thing to look for that'll tell me if it does or not?

 

Starter Enable Relay would be the easiest way to tell - if it has one, then it's VATS equipped, otherwise it's not. This is of course assuming it hasn't been taken out by a previous owner. But, you should be able to trace the wiring from the ignition switch (not the key cylinder, but the actual switch on top of column under dash) - VATS cars have large yellow wire from ignition switch to the Starter Enable Relay, from the relay the wire changes to large dark green heading out to the neutral safety switch inside center console (if auto) or to clutch switch above clutch pedal (if manual). If there is a large yellow wire leaving the ignition switch harness, then likely a VATS car. The VATS module itself is buried way up in the dash kinda behind the heater controls (between center of dash and driver side of dash). There should be the VATS wires leadung towards it from the area of the column base (the little wires in the sleeve that you would connect with the bypass resistor).

I would assume that an early production 1989 may not have the VATS yet.

 

Thanks for the info... I dropped the column today to give it a look and someone had definitely messed with the wiring.... I don't see any relay but the column does have 2 small yellow wires sleeved together that are cut. under the dash I also found this:



and then the thick yellow wire and thick red wire coming off the ignition switch appear to have been messed with. I couldn't make sense of it:



I guess I'll just leave the '88 column in and see if it'll power the starter when I get around to putting a battery in the car.... The rest of the wiring on both columns is identical aside from the 2 yellow wires that were already cut on the '89's.

 

Here's wiring diags if it helps: http://www.austinthirdgen.org/index.php?pid=19

There's alot there - scroll to bottom for alot of 1992 stuff in addition to the year by year diags.

There's also a starter troubleshoot guide that will help: http://www.austinthirdgen.org/index.php?pid=38

With those two links, you should be able to trace the right wiring to the right locations, and maybe get it all working again, or at least know what to splice/rig to make it work.

Good Luck!