Security light on solid

[boomchke94]

Hey guys I know there are a million posts about the pass key resistor thing with the keys. I was just wondering since my security light is on constantly if that means that some one has already by-passed the pass key with a resistor or if I have to worry about the car not starting sometime. Thanks

[38fury]

No if your car has the resister it will turn the security light on normally for the first few seconds and then go away.

[Dr Todd]

I bought my car new in 1996. The security light has been on for about the last 3 years. A steady light means the system is in fail enable mode. This means the car can be started but the system is not working making the car vulnerable to thieves. I just use "the club."

Todd

[Die Ford V8]

is it just me or is 2005 the year for the pass key systems to fail on us

[boomchke94]

So does that mean the pass key system is just disabled? Do I have to worry about the car not starting sometime?

[CtFirebird00]

What happened to me was the wire that connects to the ignition had snapped thus causing the security issue. I got into the steering column and it was a mess repairing that skinny little wire. Be careful because if you ever unhook the battery your car will no longer start.

[kahouna23]

my car is having the same exact issue right now. I can eventually get it started if I wiggle the lock cylinder or beat on the column.

I did a search and saw that there is a generic way to bypass the pass key by installing a resistor in the system under the kick panel.

Question is, what value is the resistor used and is it something I can pick up at a local Radio Shak?

[98Camaro3.8]

Originally posted by kahouna23:
Question is, what value is the resistor used and is it something I can pick up at a local Radio Shak?

There's 15 different values, depending on which one your BCM is programmed for. Use a meter to check the resistance of your key and compare it to the list of possible values:

392
523
681
887
1130
1470
1870
2370
3010
3740
4750
6040
7500
9530
11800

[montytrmpt]

Matt's right, you have 15 options, once you find the resistance you should be able to wire in that resistor. I'm pretty sure radio shack carries them in the store. If not they should have them online. This is a thread from camaroz28.com,it's got a better technical description...

http://web.camaross.com/forums/showt...security+light

also, shoebox has the diagram for bypassing the keys resistor. Kahouna23, since you have to beat the column to get it to work this might help you out...

http://shbox.com/1/vats_bypass.jpg

[kahouna23]

Okay...the diagram of where to splice the resistor is pretty much self-explainatory. The question is as far as the value of the resistor used to disable the VATS...does it have to be pretty much exact the resistance of the wires to the column with the key in the cylinder? I ohm'd the key pelet and I got 3.74 Kiliohms!!! That seems like a bit much to me. I haven't taken a reading from the connector to the cylinder yet. In the off chance the wires in the cylinder ARE broken or intermittent, depends on whether or not I even get a resistance measurment. What one of the guys on CamaroZ28 was saying that his car started with the VATS connector disconnected seemed a little strange and very vauge to me. I'm just curious where the "15 different values" came from, and if the resistor has to be an exact match to that value? I really appreciate all of you being patient with me on this one..it's very frustrating not being able to drive the BEAST! :cool:

[98Camaro3.8]

3.74 kΩ is one of the possible values, so that's correct. It doesn't need to be exact, but it needs to be somewhere close. I've read like 10%, but I can't say for sure.

[38fury]

If you're not comfortable doing it yourself most stereo/alarm installation places will do it for 40 - 50 bucks, it's all labor, i'm not sure if this company is in california or not but i had to have mine done at "CarToys"

[pawnkiller99]

My ohm meter from Radio Shack couldn't give me an accurate reading no matter how well I touched the metal portion of the pellets. So one day, I just went to my Chevy dealer, went to the parts department, and the parts guy showed me a special black box they use to measure the resistance. You just stick your pass key in the hole, and the digital readout gave me a number: 5 (this means pellet code # 5, or of you look at the table above, 1130 ohms.)

[38fury]

but some places will try to bs you and tell you they can't do it unless you buy some rediculiously expensive remote starter, which is complete and utter BS. so watch out if you go that route

[kahouna23]

sounds good to me...I'll take my happy little a** to Radio Shack tomorrow and pick one up and throw that puppy in. I used to do stereo install for a part-time job in college so this is pretty much a no brainer... I was just curious about the resistance values and how accurate they have to be for the VATS. Everyone answered my question and then some. Thanks to all who took the time to reply.