Vats?
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 818
Likes: 1
From: Portland OR
Vats?
Drove to a friend's house. 20 minutes later I went to leave , turned the key and nothing happened. The dash lit up, but not a sound from the engine. Moved the auto gear lever through the gears and tried again - still nothing. Locked and unlocked the doors- nothing. Repeated the whole routine - still nothing. Tried locking and unlocking two more times and then she started up like nothing was wrong. Does this sound like the VATS? Could it be anything else? If it is the VATS, what should I do to prevent a reoccurrence.
TIA
TIA
Team Owner
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 53,600
Likes: 5,590
From: Plantation Florida USAF(Retired) 1966-1990
U.S. Air Force
St. Jude Donor '05 thru '26
NCM Sinkhole Donor
I'll tell you what happen to me a long time ago, cause it sounds like my problem.
It didn't happen all the time, I also had the same problem, and two club members had the same thing. Me, and the other two was the starter get's hot, and seized up, and in about 20 minutes it would cool down, and start. I used to drive mechanic crazy looking for the problem thinking it was the VAT, but you might try the next time this happens, open the hood to cool down the engine, and see in 20 minutes if would start.
Good Luck
It didn't happen all the time, I also had the same problem, and two club members had the same thing. Me, and the other two was the starter get's hot, and seized up, and in about 20 minutes it would cool down, and start. I used to drive mechanic crazy looking for the problem thinking it was the VAT, but you might try the next time this happens, open the hood to cool down the engine, and see in 20 minutes if would start.
Good Luck
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 13,421
Likes: 8
From: Lake Mary Florida
It sounds like a misread of the resister pellet. It can happen its very rare, I've experienced it twice. Just remove the key, wait five minutes and it should start right up.
Oh its UTD (universal theft deterrent)
Oh its UTD (universal theft deterrent)
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 54,124
Likes: 30
From: Cincinnati, Oh USA
It could be VATS, next time it won't crank, try your spare ignition key as its pellet isn't as worn as your everyday key. Also, after several tries and VATS doesn't see the correct pellet resistance, it won't allow a start until 6 minutes has passed. Next, try jumping the gear selector switch and trying a crank. You can prove the starter is ok by jumping 12v to the wire on the gear selector switch that goes to the starter solenoid (purple on my 87). This will cause the starter to crank. Last, remove the hush panel above the drivers feet and find the two wires from behind the steering column and that go to a 2 pin connector. Unplug the connector, insert your key in the ignition and measure the resistance across the wires from the steering column. It should measure the same resistance as your pellet. If over 13k ohms, you need a new ignition tumbler which has new contacts that make connection to the pellet. You can temporarily bypass VATS by clipping a fixed resistor, 1/4 watt or higher power, 5%, same value as your pellet. A resistor from Radio Shack will do it. Don't permanently bypass VATS because 99% of thefts are done by bashing the column and jumping the ignition.
