1986 Electrical Help Please..
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 46
Likes: 0
1986 Electrical Help Please..
Just bought a 86. At one time the vats acted up, the guy got locked out, busted the drivers window out. I thought even though the vats was engaged, there would still be power to the dash and interior. i have headlights that turn on, and go up and down, tail lights. but no dash lights, nothing in the interior powerwise. Any ideas? Thanks,scott
Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 4,424
Likes: 603
From: Minneapolis Mn
I have an 86, The power locks is controlled by a circuit breaker on the front edge of the fuse panel, same one that controls the power seats. IIRC it's the 3d one from the top but not sure on that.
Vats won't lock the doors, it will prevent the car from starting though if triggered. There is a pair of wires with a connector that comes out of the bottom of the steering column (one is orange IIRC) that goes to the vats system. If you get the correct dongle, unplug that connector and plug in the dongle into the wiring that goes into the dash and you have effectively eliminated the chip on the key from the equation.
One more thing, the dash lights issue depends on whether the dash is actually working or not and whether the turn signal indicator lights and high beam indicator are on or not. Had that with mine, was an internal connector in the instrument cluster. If yours is doing that, check with Bryan at Batee.com, he has a lot of info on his site and does repairs too. Mine had a problem and he was able to fix it for me.
Hope that helps.
Vats won't lock the doors, it will prevent the car from starting though if triggered. There is a pair of wires with a connector that comes out of the bottom of the steering column (one is orange IIRC) that goes to the vats system. If you get the correct dongle, unplug that connector and plug in the dongle into the wiring that goes into the dash and you have effectively eliminated the chip on the key from the equation.
One more thing, the dash lights issue depends on whether the dash is actually working or not and whether the turn signal indicator lights and high beam indicator are on or not. Had that with mine, was an internal connector in the instrument cluster. If yours is doing that, check with Bryan at Batee.com, he has a lot of info on his site and does repairs too. Mine had a problem and he was able to fix it for me.
Hope that helps.
Last edited by hcbph; Jan 13, 2017 at 06:26 AM.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 6,219
Likes: 696
From: Clifton Park, NY ............Clearwater, FL ... 85 Original Owner
Just bought a 86. At one time the vats acted up, the guy got locked out, busted the drivers window out. I thought even though the vats was engaged, there would still be power to the dash and interior. i have headlights that turn on, and go up and down, tail lights. but no dash lights, nothing in the interior powerwise. Any ideas? Thanks,scott
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!
Brett Foote
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know
Joe Kucinski
5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2
Michael S. Palmer
2027 Corvette vs The World: Every C8 vs Its Closest Competitor
Joe Kucinski
10 Most Common Corvette Problems of the Last 20 Years!
Joe Kucinski
5 MOST and 5 LEAST Popular Corvette Model Years in History!
Joe Kucinski