anti theft system engaged,car will not start..NEED HELP ASAP!

[bobs 91 eldorado]

Went to the store,came out,put key in ignition and instead of car starting,I got an error message stating car disabled,anti theft engaged..it tells me to wait 3 min then 'start car" message appears on the computer..No luck,no matter how many times I try,car will not start..this is not the "added" security feature you can purchase from GM,it is the stock anti theft system.i did all that the manual suggests(cleaning key,putting a gun to my head and dry firing it and calling upon Jesus to help me),none of that worked..

Any suggestions?

 

[Joeychgo]

Try disconnecting the battery for about 5 minutes. See if that clears it.

 

[eots44]

I agree with Joey, try that, I think the Anti Theft System on my 04 CTS is on it's way out. Sometimes it would not start until the next day, and other times it could go a month without any issues. Once when it didn't start for 2 days, I had it towed to the dealership, and I got a call from them the next day questioning me why my car was there because it started fine and nothing was wrong with it. Since then I have stopped locking it, and now we're on about 3 or 4 months without an issue.

 

[bobs 91 eldorado]

This is a reply I found on www.cadillacowners.com . I have an 90 Eldorado that had the same problem. There's two white wires on the ignition switch that get broken over time. The wires are usually in an orange sleeve at the base of the steering column. The problem with the Passkey is that there are 15 different resistance keys on this year. It's called a VATS (vehicle anti theft system). You have to find out the ohms on your key, (radio shack can tell you), then get a resistor that matches that key. What you basically do, is jumper out the white wires @ the base of the column, with the new resistor. The key and the resistor HAVE to match.Or else you can get a new ignition switch, that cost $50.00 for switch, $30.00 for key , plus have someone install it. I've heard Caddy charges around $250.00 for the whole changeover.

 

[bobs 91 eldorado]

http://vats.likeabigdog.com/ has an awesome step by step article for repairs.