Datsunfan Posted February 23, 2009 Report Share Posted February 23, 2009 96 cutlass supreme 3.1 auto only 37k miles Several days ago, car would not start. Key turns, no click, no starter, no nothing. About 15 minutes later starts up fine, drove 3 more days then back to no start. Tried moving shifter in and out of park, nuetral, no help. With key on and in reverse, back up lights come on. With key in on position, jump accross starter teminals and car starts immediately, runs great for 5 seconds then shuts off. Any ideas? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jake91 Posted February 23, 2009 Report Share Posted February 23, 2009 vats? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datsunfan Posted February 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2009 Is "vats" something to do with the ignition key or security system? I tried both sets of keys. Is there any way to start the car or will I have to have it towed to the dealer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted February 23, 2009 Report Share Posted February 23, 2009 Yes to both. Is your security light on? You may be able to bypass it, if you are comfortable doing a bit of wiring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datsunfan Posted February 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2009 With key in on position, the security lite is on, solid not flashing. I found a page on the 'net that talks about making a resistor to bypass the system, don't think I'm smart enough to try that though. Will start saving pennies for a tow. Thanks for the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Masterchief362 Posted February 23, 2009 Report Share Posted February 23, 2009 My cutty does that once every month or so. Has been for years. I can handle the 5-15 minute wait for those occasional occurences, but it has never gotten to that point of never starting. Yes it will have to be towed then, and expect it to not be cheap sadly. But if you want to save money, try a mechanic other than a dealer. I dont know what it is like where you live but a dealer for me will cost double or triple than my regular mechanic who does great work. Or like slick said, if you are comfy wiring you can try the VATS bypass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datsunfan Posted February 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2009 Thanks for the advice. Sounds like I need to save up more than a few pennies. I usually don't buy GM cars, but this was my Mother-in-laws and she sold it to me cheap. Won't be cheap anymore! Hopefully I can get it running and sell it for enough to cover my losses and buy something that won't break so often. This car has only 37,000 miles on it, and has been nothing but problems. If this is the best GM can do, then they don't deserve the bailout! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Masterchief362 Posted February 23, 2009 Report Share Posted February 23, 2009 No automaker deserves a bailout. Let them all go bankrupt and start over. Stop using our tax money for bull like that I say. And, if you don't like GM ok cool, but don't criticize it by a 13 year old cutlass. Any car that age requires maintenance. My 95 has been nothing but reliable for the past year I have had it, and all it takes is some know-how and basic upkeep. Odds are with only 37k everything is original, and at this age even with low miles it will need the basic maintenance and maybe some more than that. Parts die with age, not just miles my friend. Hell, want an example of troublesome American car... my buddy just bought a brand new Ford Fusion V6 AWD, and it has a faulty fuel system and has already had the driveshaft replaced. Also has a weird engine noise no one can diagnose. Talk about a melon, hasnt even reached 8000 miles yet. YAY FORD! not... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3pt1lumina Posted February 23, 2009 Report Share Posted February 23, 2009 Leave the key in the run position for 15 mins. Then turn it off, and try to start the car. It will reset the ignition... and will start...but no telling how long it will take until it goes again. So be aware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cubsfan24 Posted February 23, 2009 Report Share Posted February 23, 2009 Same thing happened to my 96 Lumina. When it didn't start it would take exactly 3 min for it to start again. I cleaned the key and ignition with some electrical circuit cleaner and that fixed it for a while then it kept doing it even after cleaning it. I ended up 'fixing' it by bypassing the resistor in the key by putting my own resistor in the circuit. I would recommend trying to clean the ignition out first and then if it keeps doing it just bypass it and fix it for good. Here is a link to the guide I used. http://vats.likeabigdog.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AL Posted February 24, 2009 Report Share Posted February 24, 2009 Maybe have the battery connections cleaned and have the starter connections cleaned Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datsunfan Posted February 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2009 Thanks everyone for the advice. Checked battery and connections. Battery is new 6 months ago. Tried jump-starting just in case. Tried cleaning the key, tried other key, tried leaving key in run position, nothing works. On another forum there is a procedure listed where you leave the key in run position for 11 minutes 3 times with it off 30 seconds in between, tried that also but did'nt work. For now I am pushing car to side of my driveway, will drive one of my Nissans. Everyone has been very helpful, this forum is great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted February 24, 2009 Report Share Posted February 24, 2009 You should be able to take a DMM and read the resistance on the two sides of the chip in the key. Confirm your readings against the resistance values posted in the link above. Generally, the vats reader expects it to be very close (I've heard as close as 5%). If in fact, the closest value you get to the list above is pretty off, it's the keys. If they are very close, it is the reader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88red4cyl Posted February 24, 2009 Report Share Posted February 24, 2009 Bang on the starter pretty hard with a hammer... Then it will probably try to crank.. This is exactly the problem I had with my 95... I had intermittent no starts over the course of the year... When it wouldn't start, sometimes it would crank up 10 minutes later, and sometimes it wouldn't crank until the next day... Ended up being the starter (or the solenoid) going bad... What you are describing sounds like my problem though since the security light isn't flashing and you aren't getting a click from the starter or anything... Just something that takes 10 seconds to do that might be worth trying... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Ficho Posted February 24, 2009 Report Share Posted February 24, 2009 Bang on the starter pretty hard with a hammer... Then it will probably try to crank.. This is exactly the problem I had with my 95... I had intermittent no starts over the course of the year... When it wouldn't start, sometimes it would crank up 10 minutes later, and sometimes it wouldn't crank until the next day... Ended up being the starter (or the solenoid) going bad... What you are describing sounds like my problem though since the security light isn't flashing and you aren't getting a click from the starter or anything... Just something that takes 10 seconds to do that might be worth trying... Exact same thing happened to me, I recommend you give what Will said a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datsunfan Posted February 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 Wasn't the starter. I could put key in and turn to "run", then short accross starter terminals and it starts right up. But then the VATS system kills the injector pulse, so it will only run about 3 seconds or so. I tried cleaning the key cylinder and key. The Security light is on, sometimes flashing. Several times I tried leaving the key in for a while until the light went off, but still no start. I disconnected the negative battery cable for a while, hooked it back up and after about 4 tries it started. Then I drove it to my friend's shop about 2 miles away. The security light stayed on solid the whole time, and the turn signals did not work. He said he has the scan tool to work on the VATS. I will post again if we get it sorted out. This car also has overheating problem, see my previous post "cooling fans won't come on", so we have plenty of work to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88red4cyl Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 My security light used to stay on all the time when driving as well... I ended up figuring out that the weight of my other keys was pulling the key just enough that it wasn't making good enough contact inside the reader... I took the ignition key off and put it on a separate key ring, and the light hasn't come on since (about 4 months now)... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 So odd that it has that many problems with that low of miles. Then again, you are talking about a 13+ year old vehicle. What can you expect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88red4cyl Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 So odd that it has that many problems with that low of miles. Then again, you are talking about a 13+ year old vehicle. What can you expect. x2... I sincerely hope you don't let this bad experience sour you on all GM cars... Since it is 13 years old, I honestly think that is why it is having all these problems, especially since it wasn't driven very much over the course of 13 years and now it is being driven more and the old parts aren't holding up... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datsunfan Posted March 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 My mechanic (excuse me, Technician) replaced the ignition cylinder and had 2 new keys made. Starts fine now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lumineer Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 Glad to hear you got your car fixed But yeah, as mentioned, your car is getting a bit old, even with low miles. But, as someone ELSE mentioned, don't assume that all GMs are bad. Hell, I'm driving an even older '91 Bonneville with 221,000 miles!! And is still runs GREAT! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.