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99 bird with security problem please help


chevy_29
08-16-2011, 11:40 AM
I have a 99 firebird with a 3.8 L i can not find out for the life of me whats wrong. When you get in the car and turn the key to start it sometimes it will not kick the starter in turn over or nothing. The security light will come on and you have to wait about 2 minutes for the light to go off and then try it again. sometimes it will start up and sometimes it will be the same thing. My wife bought the car new before we got togather and said it started this a little while after she bought it and the dealership jacked around with it until warrenty was out. just a while ago i noticed that going down the road the radio will automaticlly go off and the doors will not unlock. It seems to be worse when its humid outside or when its rainy and damp out. I was told it was a ground wire around the pcm loose and i have checked every ground wire i can find. I have mitchell on demand on the work computer and i checked every ground wire that it has shown. I am out of ideas and my wife is gettin madder ever ytime she drives it. If anyone has any ideas or inputs on this please please help me out. It will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

Tech II
08-21-2011, 03:12 PM
Your wife bought this car new in 1999? And it's been doing this for 12 years? Or did she recently buy it?

Anyway, if the SECURITY light stays on and it won't crank, you need an ohm meter......Read the resistance of the resistor on the key(touch leads to the contacts on both sides of the black pellet on the key......

Now remove the hush panel on the driver's side of the I/P..... now look at the steering column.....you will see an orange sheathed wire harness coming down the column going to a black connector....this will have two white wires into the connector and two white wires out.....disconnect it.....now attach the ohm meter to the harness connector going up the column.....should read "OL" or infinite......now insert the key into the lock cylinder(don't turn)......should read the same resistance of the key.....now watch the meter as you turn the key from off to start back to off.....do this several times(don't worry, the car won't start because the connector is disconnected)......the meter should show the resistance reading contantly.....should never change....if it goes "OL" for an instant, that means there is a break in the wire from the lock cylinder.....two options......replace the lock cylinder(you will have to get a new resistor key, with the same resistance as your old one, and it will have to be cut as same as the "blank" that comes with the new lock cylinder....

Or, you go to Radio Shack and by a resistor with the same resistance as your key, and you attach it to the "other" half of the connector that you disconnected.....

chevy_29
08-23-2011, 10:21 AM
Your wife bought this car new in 1999? And it's been doing this for 12 years? Or did she recently buy it?

Anyway, if the SECURITY light stays on and it won't crank, you need an ohm meter......Read the resistance of the resistor on the key(touch leads to the contacts on both sides of the black pellet on the key......

Now remove the hush panel on the driver's side of the I/P..... now look at the steering column.....you will see an orange sheathed wire harness coming down the column going to a black connector....this will have two white wires into the connector and two white wires out.....disconnect it.....now attach the ohm meter to the harness connector going up the column.....should read "OL" or infinite......now insert the key into the lock cylinder(don't turn)......should read the same resistance of the key.....now watch the meter as you turn the key from off to start back to off.....do this several times(don't worry, the car won't start because the connector is disconnected)......the meter should show the resistance reading contantly.....should never change....if it goes "OL" for an instant, that means there is a break in the wire from the lock cylinder.....two options......replace the lock cylinder(you will have to get a new resistor key, with the same resistance as your old one, and it will have to be cut as same as the "blank" that comes with the new lock cylinder....

Or, you go to Radio Shack and by a resistor with the same resistance as your key, and you attach it to the "other" half of the connector that you disconnected.....
I have already replaced the lock cylinder twice. I replaced it first time and nothing was different so i thought it might be bad or somthing so i replaced it again with another new one and still the same thing. I dont know of course what it is but im pretty sure its nothing with any of that. When its really hot and humid outside it does it and when its raining or damp out. Thanks for the info. I know how to fix it with a resistor from radio shack but i do not really want to go that route. I like to fix things the right way so i know its right.

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