Something odd and would like some input

Yesterday my car wouldnt start agian, like i desribed a few days ago. Instead of banging on my starter i disconnected the negative battery terminal for about 5 minutes. After I reconnected it, the car fired right up. Could it be the vats or could the computer just be screwed up?

Thanks,
Jess

hmmmm, I dunno...Cars broke...

J/K

I'm not sure but it could very well be a problem with either the VATS or the computer. My 1st guess would be a relay though, didn't you say you pulled the relay in the other thread? Just a guess...

what exactly does it do when you try to start it??

Yesterday my car wouldnt start agian, like i desribed a few days ago. Instead of banging on my starter i disconnected the negative battery terminal for about 5 minutes. After I reconnected it, the car fired right up. Could it be the vats or could the computer just be screwed up?

Thanks,
Jess


Honestly, sounds like loose/bad battery connection/cables.

Have you tried pulling codes from its?

When it doesnt start i trurn the key to accessory and the stereo and everything works fine, but when i go to turn it over nothing. the light in the dash al come on the security light stays on for about 3 seconds and thats it. it doesnt click, doesnt crank, nothing. I thiught it might be battery cables before I removed the negative terminal and left it off for 5 minutes. I have always been told it resets the computer. I had i chech engine light on before that too(it coded to be the tps sensorbut when the sensor was removed and replace the light came back on and said the same thing), even turned off. I thought it might be the vats and the computer was just kinda locking up i guess is the best way to describe my thinking. like i said i dont know. I do know that when i sell my mercury cougar im gonna have every hose and wire in that car replaced, but that could be a whileso i need to know whats going on now. Any help is greatly appriaciated.

Thanks,
Jess

This kind of sounds like a starter/grounding issue to me just because:

-If it was the main relay the car should at least crank and the fuel pump wouldn't be priming/working
-You said you checked all of the connections on the battery
-I am pretty sure that car computers don't "lock up"
-No clicking of the starter=bad starter?

I don't know what the VATS is but I will do a search on that.

Good luck man.

I had the same problem in my Nova. I had an aftermarket alarm installed but one of the wires had burnt through and the alarm was grounding out and shutting everything down. Car would only crank after disconnecting and reconnecting the battrey. Something electrical is groudning out somewhere.

ROb

me thinks VATS is the problem...

I'm not sure what it is still. When i sell my mercury cougar in a couple of weeks, in stead of getting paint, im gonna have every wire and hose in my car replaced and im gonna have a new steering column put in. My tilt is loose and my last camaro's column kept getting loose aswell, so im hoping that a newer column wont loosen up as much and as easy.

Upon further investigation I would have to agree with the VATS diagnosis. The fact that you said that the security system light stays on after you turned the key is typically a symptom of a VATS problem. ALso you mentioned that your tilt wheel is loose, that also could be the source of your problem if the column damaged some of the VATS wiring.
Check into it.

I thought the loose column might have something to do with it but when i posted the problem it excaped my mind. I will have to deal with disconnecting the battery for the next month or two though. Thanks for all the help guys. Any other ideas please keep em comin. Jess

sounds like my dad's 86 t/a. he replaced the ignition switch and it happened again. so he just pulled some wires from the column, pulled them to the side, drilled a small hole, and is using a horn button from autozone. he just turns the key to on and pushes the button. ghetto maybe. effective yes. and it can be an anti-theft thing too :smile: ... no problems for the last 3 or 4 years, and the acccessories still all work from the key... just an idea, i would fix it right on my car tho. good luck.

FAGulaLT1?? if that doesnt scream IP ban... nothing does..

IP BAN.... there i screamed it...

ok.. maybe it just screams deleted post.. lol

did i miss something?????