1997 Lumina Security Light

Replying from my last post.. (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=362084). I got in an accident. Now the car wont start but when I put the car from off to on (not to start) the security light stays on. What could be the problem? Its not that its the standard thing when all the lights come on when you start the car because 5 seconds later all the light dissapear except the security, volts, oil, and enginge check (sounds alot worse than it really is). I'm just a lost college student, tryin to fix this damn car. Also, I'm planing to getting the car towed to a mech. very soon, I dont want to go in there without a sense of mind of having an idea of whats wrong. So if anyone can help at all, please do. Any advice, price range estimates, anything will work. Im still learning about cars, I pretty much just started. Thanks for your help everyone.

Sounds like your VATS (vechicle anti-theft system) has been damaged. Normally, the problem is the chip embedded in your key. But the car was in an accident, It could be the computer that actually reads the chip, or the wires between the ignition cyclinder and the computer.

what should i do? and is it costly?

The cost depends on your method of problem resolution. I'll tell you what I did to my Seville with the same VATS. In your ignition wiring harness that runs along your steering column, there will be either two white 22ga wires or one white and one purple wire, covered by a small plastic orange tube. These are the VATS wires that send the signal from the chip in your key to the computer. I've heard of people taking a wire brush and cleaning the pill, but here's my solution.

Use a digital mulimeter, set to ohms. The pill in your key has a set resistance. Measure the resistance. Buy the same ohm resistor from RadioShack. Slit the orange tube on your steering column with the two wires in it open. Cut the wires, solder the resistor between the lower half of the two wires, (wires leading to the computer end, not the ignition switch end). This will fool the VATS computer into thinking that the resistor pill in your key is operating, (if the key is in fact defective), and should start the car.

It only cost me about $.79 cents (cost of the resistor) and some time.

However, this does disable your VATS system, leaving your car vulnerable. (I also added an aftermarket alarm system.)

Don't try and tackle it if you don't think you can...