Help my husband

[mt81321]

94 pontiac ta. bought w/o a key remote. would start when i would mess with the locks and now nothing. husband is under trying to check if it is the starter. would the starter make any noise or something if it was going out??? Anyone please help so he will quit being so grumpy cause i have to use his truck LOL.

[jason-1995fbody]

probably not the starter try disconnecting the battery for about a minute and try it again

also is there a security light, is it on all the time?

[mt81321]

i am sorry. its a 96'. nope the battery thing didnt work. yes there is a security light but it has never been on since we bought it 2 yrs. ago. they have narrowed it down to electrical. any ideas??? he is really cranky lol

[jason-1995fbody]

if the starter is good and it wont crank it is probably the vats system (little "chip" in the key) usually the wires going from the ignition switch to the system break there are several ways to fix this one is replace the switch the other requires a bit of electrical knowledge ok here goes nothin ill try to explain it best i can first you need a digital volt ohm meeter if you dont have one you can pick one up for 10 to 20 bucks now check the resistance (ohms) of that "chip" in the key (side to side) ok now you got the number you need go to radio shack and buy a rersistor that maches or comes very close (probly wont get exact) now go home remove the lower driver side dash panle and look for a black wire with a small plug on it (i think its white) anyway it should have two yellow wires inside the black wire if you can see them now unplug that connector and find out witch end goes up the colum now put each leg of the ressistor in each side of the plug that dose not go up the colum it should be the "female" end

now fire it up if everything was done properly it should start tape the resistor and the wire up so it wont fall out put it back together

this is a common problem with that sysrem good luck and make sure you check the fuses befor you do this

[mt81321]

ok. the starter had a short in it so we got a new starter. in order to get it out my husband had to cut the exhaust pipe. we then had to bypass the anti-theft system relay. now we got the car to start but now it will only run for about 10 sec. he had welded the exhaust back on and still nothing.

[Genopsyde]

hook up a fuel pressure gauge, start the car and monitor the gauge. then post the results here.

[mt81321]

k. we are getting it to redline and still do fine. but still dies. we changed out the fuel filter and still not better. fuel pump is working. u can hear it kick on. we checked to make sure there is still fuel in it. my husband dosnt know that i am saying this but now it really smells like gas when i goes and smokes from the exhaust. sometimes it starts no prob and other time it really fights to get going. it take a few tries. we dont have a fuel pressure gauge and dont have the money to go buy one.

[Genopsyde]

a fuel pressure reading is a key element is pinpointing your car's problem, without it, it's just taking a stab in the dark.