i have a gm safari van. same as astro. the alarm has the van locked out for the most part? the alarm will not do anything, you can open doors and no alarm ,the clicker will not do anything. i did get it started by using the overide button. i put new batteries in both clickers to. i have tried to disconnecting the batt. for a day. and leaving the key to ON for about an hour. but nothing. it has the factory alarm. it still will not start. any help would be great!!!! any GM mechanics out there???
They never had an M-van factory system that did anything but lock and unlock the doors. You have some sort of mickey mouse aftermarket system. You need Cardinal Mahoney....not a GM mechanic.
Are you using the original key? SOmetimes those systems got a little screwy if you use an "unchipped" key. Otherwise when I deal with alarms and the power's been disconnected I disconnect the battery and put the key into the RUN position before I hook it back up. This almost always works. Good luck, Jay
yep i have the original key. and yes it is a factory alarm! if not why would GM go so far as to make a booklet about it? that comes with the owners manual. also the owners manual talks about it too? from what i can gather? i think the alarm is screwed up. it has its own computer that parrallels the vans computer. and you just can't take it off. you have to get a bypass module. to get it to work without the alarm.
Chances are the small white wires in the column broke internally. They go to the cylinder to read the resistor in the key. Disconnect under the column, read with an ohmmeter. Should be open (infinity) with the key out, should read a steady _ ohms with the key in.
Look around near the kick panels and up under the dash, there may be an override button. Press the button, turn the key on, let the button go and then start the car. Sometimes the order in which you do the steps is different. If you do find the button play around with it and see if you can get it to work. Once you get it running have the alarm system removed......................the only thing car alarms are good for is to prevent you from driving your own car.
GM did NOT put the VATS system in an Astro/Safari, the key doesn't have a chip, if that thing has any kind of start interrupt it's an add-on unit, even if it has a book that says it's a GM accessory.
OK, since you didn't mention what year this thing is, here is the schematic for a 2000 M van with "passlock" security. It doesn't read a chip, it just takes a signal from the ignition lock cylinder so if some underhanded crook busts out the lock cylinder, it won't start. There are no paralell circuits, just the harness from the passlock sensor to the BCM, the BCM uses class 2 data to the VCM to inhibit start. If you have the original key that should be ok. This isn't an alarm system.
'My' dealership told me they needed the car and the clickers to reprogram them. Will it run long enough to get it in?
Try locking and unlocking the door with the key. I had a friend with the factory alarm system that did the same thing when we swaped oput the dead battery. By locking and unlocking the door with the key it fix the lockout condition. worth a try. Tim
yea i did find the overide and it works. sorry retrorod it has a gm alarm! and yes the book says its the vats. it is gm stuff and is a alarm and it DID work! it is a 98 if it was armed before you could open the dor or shake the van and the alarm would go off. i have tryed all the trick? and nothing. now the alarm does nothing? i get no beeps. with the clickers. i'm about over it!i'm going to call a few folk tomarrow and if they can't help. i guess i'm going to call a dealer and see about getting it taken off. this will be THE last american car i will ever own! other than my old crap. anyone need a van?
Hell yeah, those vans rock. You can haul all kinds of parts in them and store a flathead or two without them getting rained on. We are on our 3rd one. 150+ k on the first 2, this one's like new, only 75k so far. Piss on the alarm if you've got a working over ride!
The Jalopy Journal
