Is there a way to defeat the passkey II system on a 93 Buick LeSabre?
Key has a black insert with a small metal wedge in it. When you put the key in and turn the ignition to start, you get all the normal dash lights. Turn it to crank it over and it does nothing at all. It will not even attempt to turn the starter, not a single noise of movement of anything. Release the key and all is normal.
Being a 93 I don't care about having it "secured" by this system. Battery is fully charged, fuel level is fine, just no starter action when you turn the key all the way.
This may be a typical system to GM's
check the starter fuse. this is usually the problem on these GMs
those have a pellet on the key it just has a VATS system that needs a resistor inline cut one vats wire insert resistor to the side of the cut wire furthest from switch and other side of resistor to other vats wire that not cut to find the value of resistor jus meter the pellet in key using DMM in ohms setting
If the theft light is on- then you are on the right track- it is a VATS problem- if you wait 4 minutes and clean the key off real good (the resistor contacts) then try it again-- or you can permanently bypass as suggested above. If the theft light is not on-- then you have other problems like the starter fuse etc.....
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Brcidd - Engineer That Does Remote Starter Installs on the side.
If the orange "SECURITY" light is on steady when you're attempting to start the car, then your VATS anti-theft system is OK, and you should look for other mechanical problems with the car.
If, on the other hand, the light is flashing during start attempts, then the system has detected a problem.
www.thirdgen.org is a Camaro/Firebird site, but in their Technical Artibles section, should be all the information about the system you'd need.
Also, it's very easy on that car to get a jack handle or maybe even a small hammer, and bang on both the starter motor, and the starter solenoid, a couple of times each. If the car starts, it's probably time for a new starter.
Thanks for all the info.
The car died while it was being driven and had happened a couple times before but always restarted. This time, not. Don't think it is the starter but a good place to look first.
A Chevy site had a similar topic and there was discussion on the BCM module being lose in a holder and moves around causing bad connections sometimes. I talked to a Buick dealer and they said the security system operation is in the BCM. Beyond that they would only say, "bring it on in (cha-ching)". Will have to try and find the BCM and make sure it is secured and has no lose or corroded connections.
Measured the key and it was 2.99 K ohms, with the wire to the BCM I would guess it is looking for a 3K value. Will try doing the resister at the wire harness if all else fails. Would make a termination plug with the resister so no cutting and can be easily reversed. Don't need "security" on a 93 anyway.
If anyone knows where the BCM is that would help or I can call my helpful (not) Buick dealer again.
if your not concerned about the security it is simple. measure the resistor in the key and then what you do is, you gotta look for 2 very skinny wires normally in a orange shield along with the ignition harness and then cut the two wires in half and toward the ecm side connect one side of the resistor to one white wire and the other side of the resistor to the other white wire. then just leave the two wires towards the ignition loose and tape it up and thats it. any problems just holla back.
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alarm king
do you have an extra key? if you do you need to go to the junk yard and get another ignition assembly,just the part where the key goes in connected to the wires,then under the dashboard you have to find the module that recognizes the key .because basically the module doesnt reconize th ekey so you have to fake it out by puting the key in line with the module and then use the other key to start the car .you can get the ignition assembly from a junk yard for under twenty bucks..i had a 93 lesabre custom with the same exact problem and a oldschool gm tech taught me this trick it works.my car was running again instantly.all you are doing is bypassing the module that recognizes the chip in the key.
jaybizz wrote:
if your not concerned about the security it is simple. measure the resistor in the key and then what you do is, you gotta look for 2 very skinny wires normally in a orange shield along with the ignition harness and then cut the two wires in half and toward the ecm side connect one side of the resistor to one white wire and the other side of the resistor to the other white wire. then just leave the two wires towards the ignition loose and tape it up and thats it. any problems just holla back.
Couldnt one just put the right resister across the 2 wires without cutting them, its no big deal to cut them and by putting a resister in it bypasses the anti-theft but would a resister down stream from the resister in the key have any adverse ffects.
Need to cut wires- if you just splice in the resistor then you have created a parallel resistor circuit (the one in the key and the one you added) and the total resistance is not what you want-- they teach this in electronics school.
You would have to always use a key with no chip in it..or grind yours away disabling it-- it is much easier just to cut the wires and solder in the new resistor..
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Brcidd - Engineer That Does Remote Starter Installs on the side.
I hear you,Thanks.
mikefcs wrote:
Thanks for all the info.
The car died while it was being driven and had happened a couple times before but always restarted. This time, not. Don't think it is the starter but a good place to look first.
A Chevy site had a similar topic and there was discussion on the BCM module being lose in a holder and moves around causing bad connections sometimes. I talked to a Buick dealer and they said the security system operation is in the BCM. Beyond that they would only say, "bring it on in (cha-ching)". Will have to try and find the BCM and make sure it is secured and has no lose or corroded connections.
Measured the key and it was 2.99 K ohms, with the wire to the BCM I would guess it is looking for a 3K value. Will try doing the resister at the wire harness if all else fails. Would make a termination plug with the resister so no cutting and can be easily reversed. Don't need "security" on a 93 anyway.If anyone knows where the BCM is that would help or I can call my helpful (not) Buick dealer again.
Car dies while driving === NOT a Passkey problem.
The system is designed to only inhibit the car from getting up and running.
If any failure occurs after the car is already running, simply turns the SECURITY light on steady, and the car keeps running. The system is in what they call "fail-enable" mode.
You could, for example, start the engine with the key, keep the car running, go under the dash, cut out the VATS wires, and throw them in the garbage.
The SECURITY light would come on steady, but the car would keep running. You could even shut the car back off and start it up again, as many times as you want.
The light would stay on whenever the car is running, until you replace the wires. The car has no more anti-theft protection, but it's still 100% reliable.
They design the system this way on purpose, so that system failure won't leave the customer stranded at the roadside.
So, moving on, the problem isn't the car's VATS, but rather, something else.
At this point, maybe an auto-mechanics forum would be of more help to you than we can be.
But, next time it dies...........well, in short, it's either getting no spark or no fuel.
Next time it dies on you, it would be good to test for fuel and spark.
You can test for spark by connecting one of the spark plug wires to a screwdriver, position the screwdriver close (but not touching) body metal, and crank the starter and see if you see a spark. Probably a Google search will give you better details on how to do this.
For fuel, there are two possible easy ideas:
1. Carry a can of starter fluid or carburetor cleaner with you in the car. When you get stuck, shoot a little fluid into the air intake, and try to start the car. If the car runs for a couple of seconds from the vapors, but then dies again, you can be reasonably sure it's not getting fuel.
2. Buy a fuel pressuer tester, and keep it in the car with you. They're only about $30 for a cheapie one. Next time the car dies on you, use the tester to test for fuel pressure. (Practice using the tester first, while the car runs OK.)
After that, at least you've got it narrowed down..........whether you choose to continue to troubleshoot it yourself or hire a mechanic, at least you know what area to look in.
sounds like there may be corrosion on the positive terminal off the battery. this is a common problem you may need to remove the rubber cover to get to the terminal.