lothos Posted September 30, 2008 Report Share Posted September 30, 2008 I got this message this morning: Starting Disabled Due To Theft System Wait 3 Minutes ... Wait 2 Minutes ... Wait 1 Minute ... Start Car The car has started fine since then, and it's the first time I've seen a message like that. There are no new codes showing up. I have a 1995, should I try the WD40 on the key trick? Anyone have a probable explanation of what happened? If the key pellet was going bad I would get a code for no key or key not present or whatever, right? Thanks guys! WARNING: I'm a total car newbie, don't be surprised if I ask a stupid question! Just trying to learn. Cheers! 5% discount code at RockAuto.com - click here for your discount! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Nunnally Posted September 30, 2008 Report Share Posted September 30, 2008 Yes, start with WD40 on the key in an attempt to clean the inside of the ignition cylinder contacts. If the ignition cylinder or the key contacts are getting worn, this is the symptom you would see. Bruce 2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing Follow me on: Twitter Instagram Youtube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted September 30, 2008 Report Share Posted September 30, 2008 My bet is the wires to the ignition lock have fatigued to the point where the contact is intermittent and the ECM is not "Seeing" the key. It will become more prevalent until the point that the car doesn't start. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adallak Posted September 30, 2008 Report Share Posted September 30, 2008 In the worst case scenario the tiny wires inside of lock cylinder are going south... I would pull the cylinder out (easy to say) and check it out. The saddest thing in life is wasted talent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadillac Jim Posted September 30, 2008 Report Share Posted September 30, 2008 This has happened to me three times. The first time, the dealer replaced the lock cylinder in the steering column for $$$. The second and third times I got a new key. The contacts on the resistor on the key tend to wear faster than those on the cylinder. A lot of stuff on your key chain that moves the key around while you drive isn't good for a long key life. The WD-40 may be a good idea because a piece of lint can get in a resistor contact and cause this problem. If you have a second key that isn't used much, look at the resistor contacts and compare them to your key. If you can see a big difference, then maybe all you need is a new key. You might also run your OBD codes and see exactly what happened. Here's how: http://www.caddyinfo.com/readingcodes.html If you see B2780 Wrong Resistor Before Good then you have a scratchy contact, which is quite possibly just a piece of lint or a worn key. -- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data -- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lothos Posted September 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2008 Thanks for the replies guys. I checked my codes and nothing popped up. I read every new thread on here, even if it doesn't pertain to me or even if I don't understand it all, just to learn. And I've seen reference to codes similar to "key not present" and the one you posted Jims_97_ETC. I didn't get anything like that. I don't have $$$ to just throw in a new lock cylinder, and the car only came with one set of keys (the gold keys ) and two remotes. The second remote has been dead since I got it. The remote/fob I use every day is starting to get low on battery power. I'm going to try replacing the batteries and see if that was the problem. When I get home tonight I'm going to search the wd40 procedure and try that as well. So worst case scenario, about how much does a key cost, and about how much does the lock cylinder replacement run? WARNING: I'm a total car newbie, don't be surprised if I ask a stupid question! Just trying to learn. Cheers! 5% discount code at RockAuto.com - click here for your discount! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted September 30, 2008 Report Share Posted September 30, 2008 Thanks for the replies guys. I checked my codes and nothing popped up. I read every new thread on here, even if it doesn't pertain to me or even if I don't understand it all, just to learn. And I've seen reference to codes similar to "key not present" and the one you posted Jims_97_ETC. I didn't get anything like that. I don't have $$$ to just throw in a new lock cylinder, and the car only came with one set of keys (the gold keys ) and two remotes. The second remote has been dead since I got it. The remote/fob I use every day is starting to get low on battery power. I'm going to try replacing the batteries and see if that was the problem. When I get home tonight I'm going to search the wd40 procedure and try that as well. So worst case scenario, about how much does a key cost, and about how much does the lock cylinder replacement run? If it is the worst case (broken wires in the lock cylinder), just unplug the jack that leads to the key lock switch and install a resistor from Radio Shack that is equal to the resistance of the key pellet on the vehicle side of the harness. That is the cheapest solution. Even if it turns out to be the contacts on the key, a new key is $30 and that is for the black key - the gold keys have long since been discontinued. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adallak Posted September 30, 2008 Report Share Posted September 30, 2008 The batteries do not have anything to do with the problem. I would follow KHE's advice. Cheap, easy, safe. That's what I did when it happened to my ignition lock. The saddest thing in life is wasted talent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lothos Posted September 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2008 $30 bucks isn't bad for a key, I was expecting more like $130. I'll try the WD40 trick then, and if the problem persists or gets worse I'll try getting a set of keys made. Will the dealer be able to tell me the resistance if I bring them my key? WARNING: I'm a total car newbie, don't be surprised if I ask a stupid question! Just trying to learn. Cheers! 5% discount code at RockAuto.com - click here for your discount! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadillac Jim Posted September 30, 2008 Report Share Posted September 30, 2008 Yes, the dealer can get the resistance from the key. Bring the registration too because they can get it from the VIN and they will likely want to check that too. Also, a lot of locksmiths are duplicating car keys with chips and resistors; I see a sign at one of our local hardware stores. -- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data -- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimD Posted September 30, 2008 Report Share Posted September 30, 2008 ....Will the dealer be able to tell me the resistance if I bring them my key? Yes. Or you could buy an Ohmmeter and read the resistance yourself and get to Radio Shack for the closest value resistor. Jim Drive your car. Use your cell phone. CHOOSE ONE ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterset Posted September 30, 2008 Report Share Posted September 30, 2008 The other day, I was reading thru my settings on my DIC. I believe I stumbled across a menu that let me change the resistance setting for my key. Now that I was reading thru this thread, I was thinking if there's a parameter to set the resistance to 0. - in other words, no pellet. this will solve the problem of having to install a bypass. If someone with the shop manuals, or knowledge can help on this question, it'll probably be helpful with those of us with aging keys, cylinders, and pellets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted October 1, 2008 Report Share Posted October 1, 2008 The other day, I was reading thru my settings on my DIC. I believe I stumbled across a menu that let me change the resistance setting for my key. Now that I was reading thru this thread, I was thinking if there's a parameter to set the resistance to 0. - in other words, no pellet. this will solve the problem of having to install a bypass. If someone with the shop manuals, or knowledge can help on this question, it'll probably be helpful with those of us with aging keys, cylinders, and pellets. If you were able to set the resistance that the ECM expects to see to "0" (which I doubt), you would need to jumper across the vehicle side of the harness. No key pellet would be infinite ohms, not 0. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adallak Posted October 1, 2008 Report Share Posted October 1, 2008 The other day, I was reading thru my settings on my DIC. I believe I stumbled across a menu that let me change the resistance setting for my key. Now that I was reading thru this thread, I was thinking if there's a parameter to set the resistance to 0. - in other words, no pellet. this will solve the problem of having to install a bypass. If someone with the shop manuals, or knowledge can help on this question, it'll probably be helpful with those of us with aging keys, cylinders, and pellets. That would be cool. I think you can chage the resistance within the range of existing resistances. I seriously doubt that would be infinit (no pellet). The saddest thing in life is wasted talent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RalPh Posted October 1, 2008 Report Share Posted October 1, 2008 Another thing that fixed mine a couple of times is to take a pencil eraser and "scrub" both sides of the pellet in the key to clean the contacts (usually worked for 6-8 months and it'd need it again) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lothos Posted October 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2008 The other day, I was reading thru my settings on my DIC. I believe I stumbled across a menu that let me change the resistance setting for my key. Now that I was reading thru this thread, I was thinking if there's a parameter to set the resistance to 0. - in other words, no pellet. this will solve the problem of having to install a bypass. If someone with the shop manuals, or knowledge can help on this question, it'll probably be helpful with those of us with aging keys, cylinders, and pellets. I have the FSM, if you can point me where to look I'd be happy to check it out. WARNING: I'm a total car newbie, don't be surprised if I ask a stupid question! Just trying to learn. Cheers! 5% discount code at RockAuto.com - click here for your discount! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lothos Posted July 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 Hi Guys, It's been 3 years almost since I got the STARTING DISABLED message. I haven't had any other problems with the theft system until last night. I got the STARTING DISABLED message again last night. Waited 3 minutes, same message. Tried a total of four times and had to leave the car. EDIT: Here are the current symptoms from last night: Stick key in ignition, turn key, nothing. Starter does not engage. No cranking sounds. Car displays "STARTING DISABLED etc etc WAIT 3 MINUTES". The SECURITY light on the dash blinks. There are no DTC codes regarding this issue. I have my usual P076 trouble code, and that's all. Been reading more and more threads on here regarding this issue and it sounds like it might just be the pellet on the key. WARNING: I'm a total car newbie, don't be surprised if I ask a stupid question! Just trying to learn. Cheers! 5% discount code at RockAuto.com - click here for your discount! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lothos Posted July 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 I got a new key made at Ace Hardware. Total cost $22. Old key measured 2.326k ohms. New key measures 2.370k ohms. I noticed that the contacts on the new key stick out a lot further than the pellet on the old key. Here's hoping that it's jut the key Also just found out that the guy who's house my car broke down at, used to be an electronics assembler in addition to a car mechanic. Perfect place for the car to break down haha! I also found detailed instructions with pictures, on how to disable the VATs system on the car: http://vats.likeabigdog.com/ Will keep everyone updated, we will be working on the car in about 2 hours here. WARNING: I'm a total car newbie, don't be surprised if I ask a stupid question! Just trying to learn. Cheers! 5% discount code at RockAuto.com - click here for your discount! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lothos Posted July 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 the key didn't work. we built the bypass with parts from Radio Shack, getting ready to test it out and install. WARNING: I'm a total car newbie, don't be surprised if I ask a stupid question! Just trying to learn. Cheers! 5% discount code at RockAuto.com - click here for your discount! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lothos Posted July 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 SUCCESS! We used the bypass system from http://vats.likeabigdog.com/ and it worked WARNING: I'm a total car newbie, don't be surprised if I ask a stupid question! Just trying to learn. Cheers! 5% discount code at RockAuto.com - click here for your discount! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Jim Posted July 18, 2011 Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 Glad you got it fixed.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adallak Posted July 18, 2011 Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 SUCCESS! We used the bypass system from http://vats.likeabigdog.com/ and it worked So, the new key was waste of money. You should have followed the advice given to you three years ago and fix it at no cost. Glad you have done it, and you will never get stranded because of the broken wires inside the lock cylinder (they are finally gone, trust me). The saddest thing in life is wasted talent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lothos Posted July 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2011 So, the new key was waste of money. You should have followed the advice given to you three years ago and fix it at no cost. Glad you have done it, and you will never get stranded because of the broken wires inside the lock cylinder (they are finally gone, trust me). Well, I wouldn't exactly call it a waste of money, since I only had 1 set of keys. Now I have a spare set WARNING: I'm a total car newbie, don't be surprised if I ask a stupid question! Just trying to learn. Cheers! 5% discount code at RockAuto.com - click here for your discount! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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