Sobek
New Member
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2014
- Messages
- 10
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 0
- Age
- 37
- Location
- Sunshine Coast, Queensland
- Members Ride
- VT V6 Auto 1998
Hey guys,
This is my first post here obviously... I don't really have anything to do with Holdens, I'm more of a BMW guy, but my mum's partner has a 1998 VT which has an odd and sudden no-start issue. I've asked about this on another forum I use, but it's not a Holden or Automotive-specific forum so I wanted to come here where all the proper knowledgeable folk reside. I'll copy what I posted elsewhere below, and perhaps you can offer some insight... Excuse the long post, I just want to be thorough about what we've checked out so far;
Turning the key on to start the car turns off the red security light (immobiliser seems to be shutting off right?). When you turn the key to start the car, the only noise is a click from the blower relay which is normal – absolutely no other noises, no action from the starter, nothing. We checked the starter with a light-up power tester and power isn't being sent to it, so we moved up to the starter relay and checked that instead. The starter relay itself is working fine, and with the tester we can see that power is available to the relay. We tried swapping the relay and it made no difference, but we were able to engage the starter and get the engine cranking just fine by removing the starter relay and jumping the pins. The engine wouldn't start though as I imagine without the key turned over the immobiliser is stopping it from injecting fuel?
All other fuses and relays are in fine shape, we checked absolutely all of them for the hell of it. Tried turning the key to the run position and leaving it for over an hour to see if we could bypass the immobiliser but that did nothing at all. I tried shorting pins 5 and 6 on the diagnostic plug and turning the key as per online guides, but it never flashes any codes. Car has plenty of fuel, battery is good (we have spare good batteries and nothing makes a difference). All interior lights and controls work, including trip computer. Both keys remotely lock and unlock the car, and the slip rings make perfect contact so they're not the issue. We've removed the battery and turned the key for an hour or so to completely drain and 'reset' everything, but that made no difference, and we tried running it through the gears to ensure the neutral safety lockout wasn't active, but no go.
What do you guys think? Could it be the ignition switch or bad computer module? Not sure if just removing and re-seating the ECU might help if there's a bad connection or something. I can see that VT auto V6 ECU's are cheap as chips on eBay, but am I right in believing I would need to have the module linked with the BCM by someone with a Tech2 tool?
Appreciate any help you guys can offer, cheers!
This is my first post here obviously... I don't really have anything to do with Holdens, I'm more of a BMW guy, but my mum's partner has a 1998 VT which has an odd and sudden no-start issue. I've asked about this on another forum I use, but it's not a Holden or Automotive-specific forum so I wanted to come here where all the proper knowledgeable folk reside. I'll copy what I posted elsewhere below, and perhaps you can offer some insight... Excuse the long post, I just want to be thorough about what we've checked out so far;
Turning the key on to start the car turns off the red security light (immobiliser seems to be shutting off right?). When you turn the key to start the car, the only noise is a click from the blower relay which is normal – absolutely no other noises, no action from the starter, nothing. We checked the starter with a light-up power tester and power isn't being sent to it, so we moved up to the starter relay and checked that instead. The starter relay itself is working fine, and with the tester we can see that power is available to the relay. We tried swapping the relay and it made no difference, but we were able to engage the starter and get the engine cranking just fine by removing the starter relay and jumping the pins. The engine wouldn't start though as I imagine without the key turned over the immobiliser is stopping it from injecting fuel?
All other fuses and relays are in fine shape, we checked absolutely all of them for the hell of it. Tried turning the key to the run position and leaving it for over an hour to see if we could bypass the immobiliser but that did nothing at all. I tried shorting pins 5 and 6 on the diagnostic plug and turning the key as per online guides, but it never flashes any codes. Car has plenty of fuel, battery is good (we have spare good batteries and nothing makes a difference). All interior lights and controls work, including trip computer. Both keys remotely lock and unlock the car, and the slip rings make perfect contact so they're not the issue. We've removed the battery and turned the key for an hour or so to completely drain and 'reset' everything, but that made no difference, and we tried running it through the gears to ensure the neutral safety lockout wasn't active, but no go.
What do you guys think? Could it be the ignition switch or bad computer module? Not sure if just removing and re-seating the ECU might help if there's a bad connection or something. I can see that VT auto V6 ECU's are cheap as chips on eBay, but am I right in believing I would need to have the module linked with the BCM by someone with a Tech2 tool?
Appreciate any help you guys can offer, cheers!