VATS SYSTEM ?

WHERE IN THE HELL IS THIS LIL MODULE LOCATED? I AM TWO SECONDS AWAY FROM TEARING MY CAR APART BECAUSE OF THIS LIL PIECE OF CRAP. I TRIED TO BYPASS IT. THAT DIDNT WORK. SO IM GONNA TRY THE OTHER WAY. IM GONNA TAKE IT TO RADIO SHACK GET IT OHM TESTED. I GO TO TURN IT ON IT DOESNT TURN ON. THE DAMN SECURITY LIGHT TURNS ON IN THE DASH. THEN IF I WAIT LIKE 5 MINUTES OR SO IT TURNS ON.


BY THE WAY ITS A 92 RS

did u get the ohms test ?

NOT YET IM AT WORK. BUT WHERE IS THIS DAMN MODULE?

what you need 2 do is clip the 2 wires going 2 the key unit---that is what the key gos into remove the unit and that is what u take to radio shack---there should be 2 little wires going 2 the key unit there is where u soldier the resitorier it goes in between the 2 wires---my ohmns was 1.5 and ihad 2 solider 2 restoriers together--u will need replace the key unit i got one at advance auto parts fo $12.00---good luck--if u have anymore problems my email address--siw234@yahoo.com
good luck
sam

Hey, I was wondering if you ever got your problem solved. I have a '93 Camaro 3.4 and it was running fine, then got in it and would not start. Security light stays on and will not start. I was on here reading to see what might be the problem. If you have any suggestions I would appreciate them. Hope you got yours fixed.

First thing I would check is the neutral safety switch connection. As I've never had a 4th gen, I can't say for sure what the wire looks like, but it would probably be a single wire coming down from the steering collumn and would run towards either the clutch pedal, or the shift selector depending on the transmission you have. On the 3rd gens, it was an orange wire with a black or white connector, deppending on what GM had on hand when the car was made. Check for wires that have come disconnected under the steering collumn, and that failing, come back here for more ideas.

my bad i havent responded sooner. i got the problem fixed. the whole time it was the key that was messed up. somehow it went bad sending wrong readings to the vats system. so i went to the dealer and had me a key made and that got rid of the problem.

Thanks for the replies. Glad to hear you got yours fixed 355Camaros. I still don't know what my problem is. Haven't had time to work on it yet. I do have a friend that says he can help me bypass the VATS, so I am just going to do that. If it dosen't start then I will know that it's something else. At least next time it won't start I'll know it's not the VATS.  Happy Holidays to everyone!

Finally got someone to try to bypass VATS, did not work. Had a new key made, still will not start. Can run a wire from the starter to the battery and it will start and run for about 3 seconds then it dies. Someone said in another forum to take a piece of wire and jump it from the radio fuse to the pcm fuse and the car will start and run without the resistor. Has anybody heard of, or tried this? Will it ruin anthing if I try this? Also I found a VATS Bypass item, but for it to work I have to find and bypass the crank disable relay by rewiring the relay ( "add a jumper across it" ). This info is on bakerelectronix.com where the VATS Bypass item is, but it does not tell where to find the crank disable relay. Does anyone know where the crank disable relay is? Does anyone know where I can get a VATS wiring diagram for a 1993 Camaro 3.4? I have a feeling I am going to need it. Or like 355Camaros, the thought did cross my mind to just burn it. Been tore up for 2 months now. I live in a very small town and nobody knows how to fix it, and I can't afford to give the Chevy dealer $300 - $600 to fix it.
If anybody has any suggestions or can help with any of the questions that I have asked above I would be a very happy lady. I would greatly appreciate any help you can give me. Thanks in advance for any replies.

dud you have the ohm's tested

Yes, the guy tested the ohm's before he put the resistor in. He said it is the correct one, but I am beginning to wonder if he knows what he is doing. He said that he would come back and try something else, but I haven't heard from him. Got to try to fix it myself now. If you have any ideas I would appreciate it.

take the old key switch to a radio shack and have them test the ohm's--also was the resistor soldier to each of the wire ends that the old switch was connect to if so you my want to look at the resistor and see what amount of ohm's it is putting out---they are 32 different ohm's settings for the vats system

Do you know what number key you have? There is 15 different keys for the pass key in the third gens.
1-402ohms
2-523
3-681
4-887
5-1130
6-1470
7-1870
8-2370
9-3010
10-3740
11-4750
12-6040
13-7500
14-9530
15-11800

Littlem129,
Have you tried a new key?
The PCM will not fire the injectors without a signal from the VATS. You can do the bypass mod, which does not really bypass the VATS, but bypasses the resistor on the key. You still need to know what the resistor value is so that you can directly wire it to the key leads going to the VATS. If the bypass is properly done and the car still won't run, you need a new VATS module, or reprogram the PCM do delete the VATS.
Thse links shows how to troubleshoot the VATS and how to permanently wire in a resisitor to bypass the one on the key.
http://shbox.com/1/pass_key.html
http://shbox.com/1/4th_gen_tech2.html#pass_key
http://shbox.com/1/vats_bypass.jpg
 

madmike:
do not now which key it was---it produce 3 ohm's if that will help and it was for a 89 camaro after i replaced everything it started better and seems to run better than ever before
sam

z28Pete,
    I have tried a new key. Got a key blank off eBay, wasn't the right 1 though. The Chevy dealer took my old key and checked it and gave me a new cut key that matched the old key. Still won't start. I am going to read through all the links you provided. How do you reprogram the PCM?  I'm not sure I will ever get it fixed, me or my husband don't know anything about it, we had somebody else put the resistor in, so I don't know if he done it right or not. He said he knew what he was doing, said he had done it before and it always worked. Not this time though.
siw234,
      Where do I find the old key switch you are talking about. I know I sound stupid, but as I said above I don't know anything about it. I am trying to learn though.
MadMikeZ28,
       I don't know what number key I have. Tested the ohm's in the old key and it read 585. I ordered the 523 blank off eBay and it was wrong, but it was the closest to what I have. As I said above the Chevy dealer swapped and gave me another key that matches my old 1, but I didn't think to ask what ohm's it is. They even cut it and didn't charge me anything. Guess I just wanted to get out of there before they changed there mind.
       Thanks to everyone that has replied, I really appreciate the help!!!

Do you think that possibly when the guy installed the resistor he installed one (or more) for 585 ohms? Did the dealer find what key you needed by the vin? Measure the resistance of it. Maybe the resistor that are installed are the wrong value.

The dealer took my old key and matched the new one to it. I'm not sure what the ohm's for the resistor that is installed is. I looked at the links that z28pete listed and there was a picture showing where the resistor goes. Maybe with that picture I can check what the guy that put the resistor in has done. I couldn't see what he was doing when he was working on it. I have a son that's pretty smart and he works on cars maybe I can get him to help me with it. He lives in Georgia and I live in TN and he's coming in this weekend. Maybe he can help figure it out. Thanks for the reply. You guys are great!!!

key switch is where you put the key in to start the car---in order to remove the switch you need to pull steering wheel--did you do that when you install the resistor

No, We have not replaced the key switch just had a new key cut. The only thing the guy that worked on it did was put in the resistor, as illustrated in the diagram in this picture.
http://shbox.com/1/air_bag_disc_2.jpg. All he done was dropped the steering column. Is the key switch supposed to be replaced after the resistor is put in? I know I sounded stupid asking where the key switch was, but I have always called it an ignition switch. I know nothing about the VATS system, but I do know how to work on the engine. Haven't been able to check out anything this weekend. It snowed and it's parked in the yard. I really appreciate all you guys for trying to help me. I need all the help I can get. You probably know that by now. Anyway, Thank You ! 

I've read through the posts on here, and forgive me if someone pointed it out already, but, if a resistor was installed on the VATS line permamnently, and the VATS key is still being used, wouldn't that mean that the VATS module is seeing half the voltage that it ought to be seeing? I would say that if you have a blank key, no resistor, that you ought to try that, unless the VATS line was removed completely from the key switch, and spliced together, in which case the key should have no bearing whatsoever on the system. I would also like to point out that if at any given time, if the VATS has a constant reference due to the wire being spliced, and there was some spike or drop in reference voltage, such as the job being done with the battery connected, and the wires being soldered, the system will wait 2 to 5 minutes (depending on the incarnation of the VATS module used in this car) before allowing another atempt at startup from the time the reference signal went and stayed dead. You might want to try disconnecting the battery for 30 minutes and try again, if you haven't already.