Factory alarm removal

I have a 95 ETC with a malfunctioning factory alarm which keeps me from starting my car sometimes.I've had one in another cadillac and I read the manual , so I know it isn't working right.I really dread taking it to the dealer, so I am wondering where I can find a wiring diagram or website that may help me out.

Is it an alarm or your PASS Key II system? the PAss Key system has a module and resistirs in the keys. If thsat's the problem, it might be as simple as getting a bad key replaced.

You don't have PK2, you VATS. PK2 didn't come out until the '98 GM model years. You do have the pellet in the key though. Sometimes, you can just get a new key cut with the right resistance and work OK. I've heard people cleaning the cyl. lock but I think that is tempory.

All the ones that I have seen come in the shop is due to the little ribbon wires breaking. Look at the link. http://www.fieros.de/en/articles/vats.html

Permenat fix you can find the resistance you have in the key with a voltmeter and then go to radioshack for the correct resistance. Then, cut the wires and the ones that go away from the column, you put the resistors inline. If you can not get the exact resistance, try to be as close as you can and make it a little higher than a little lower.

Tempory fix would be to go though all the trouble changing out the cyl. lock like they do in the link above.

For the record, VATS stands for Vehicle Anti Theft System, which is GM's internal trade name for Personal Automitove Security System or PASS key, same thing. All 1995 Cadillacs have PASS Key II, as per my owner's manual, brochure and service manual. GM may even still internally call it VATS. Bottom line is a resistor pellet in the ignition key.

You don't have to go to a Cadillac dealer to get this checked out. Many Buick, Chevy, Olds, and Pontiacs had the same system and the same steering wheel ignition lock. Hopefully it's the key only, but even the lock cylinder is not too highly priced. Cutting wires and splicing in resistors will defeat the purpose of the system, and if that's what you want, go for it, but you'll be sorry if your car gets stolen afterwards. :eek: You should replace the failed component.

For the record, VATS stands for Vehicle Anti Theft System, which is GM's internal trade name for Personal Automitove Security System or PASS key, same thing. All 1995 Cadillacs have PASS Key II, as per my owner's manual, brochure and service manual. GM may even still internally call it VATS. Bottom line is a resistor pellet in the ignition key.

You don't have to go to a Cadillac dealer to get this checked out. Many Buick, Chevy, Olds, and Pontiacs had the same system and the same steering wheel ignition lock. Hopefully it's the key only, but even the lock cylinder is not too highly priced. Cutting wires and splicing in resistors will defeat the purpose of the system, and if that's what you want, go for it, but you'll be sorry if your car gets stolen afterwards. :eek: You should replace the failed component.

Yeah, GM did that for the Caddy to fool people into thinking they got a better antitheft system. Inside GM, it was still called VATS. The true Passkey system never came about until the '95 Cavalier/Sunfire platform. It was called the Passkey1 then later followed up with the Passkey2 system on many GM trucks then again with Passkey3 with big-bodied Gm cars and now there's the Passkey3+. The reason for all these updates in such a short time...THEY SUCK. VATS was a joke when it came out in the mid 80's and was used on some GM cars all the way up to 2003. It is so simple to be bypassed by a theif. So, don't think if you perminately bypass it that you'll be missing a HUGE theft deterrant. Heck, the most stolen car is the Caddy's Escalade with the PK2 system. What does that tell ya?

Here's some pages that show what some Caddy's have for alarms....

http://bulldogsecurity.com/New%20Wires/New%20Wires/Wires/cadeldorado96-02.htm
http://bulldogsecurity.com/New%20Wires/New%20Wires/Wires/caddeville00-04.htm
http://bulldogsecurity.com/New%20Wires/New%20Wires/Wires/cadescaladeext03.htm

Thieves have found ways around it, namely getting all 15 key blanks and having some patience, but when it first came out, on corvettes, camaros & firebirds, those cars' theft rates dropped by 67%.