1997 Buick Lesabre Limited

[TruthSayer]

Hi all,
I'm new to the forum here, but I have been thoroughly beaten down by my own Buick LeSabre. Hoping someone with more experience can lead me in the right direction to get this thing on the road again.

Problem: Car has been intermittently not starting from time to time. By not starting I mean, you can turn the key to the on position, you hear the whirl of the fuel pump, then some relays click, but the car never starts.

I have checked the following: Battery terminals and cables are clean, and battery is fully charged, Starter works fine when removed from vehicle and jump started with jumper cables, there is no 12 vdc to the starter solenoid when the key is turned to the on position. I have checked, and do have 12 vdc to the neutral/safety switch, I changed the neutral/safety switch as a precaution and the vehicle still will not start. I understand that the issue may be a VATS issue or key cylinder problem...

How can I test the security module and/or lock cylinder? Is there a way to bypass these components without spending big bucks on a replacement module?

Thanks for any help,

TruthSayer

 

[TruthSayer]

And one more thing...

I failed to mention that you can start the car by applying 12vdc directly to the starter solenoid. The car will run for about 1 second and die again.

 

[TruthSayer]

Well after doing alot of research on my own I finally found the cause and fix for the no start issue.

The problem was in the cable lead that runs from the ignition cylinder to the junction box under the drivers side dash. There are two orange colored wires that come from the steering column...The smaller orange wire actually has 2 smaller wires inside of it that transmit the resistance of the ignition key chip to the brain of the car. Apparently that cable is broken somewhere in the steering column. To fix it, you have to measure the resistance of the key chip with a multimeter, then go purchase a resistor that matches that resistance at radio shack. Cut the orange wire about 5 inches from the junction box, strip the 2 wires coming from the block and solder/attach the resistor in between the 2 wires. The car should now start!!

From what I hear there are about 11 different resistance combinations used on the GM vehicles with a VATS system. You need to get the resistance as close as possible to what you measured on the key chip.

Good Luck!