Hi.
I got a 1994 Blazer s10 Tahoe 4.3L with manual transmission, 4x4wd. Recently I had to change the starter. Everything worked just fine. A little later my father in law helped me change some u-joints on the drive shaft. The car has the key-less entry system with anti-theft system installed. He forgot about this so he didn't use the remote control to gain access to the car, he just opened the door with the key and then tried to start it. The anti theft system kicked in so the car didn't start. He then had to disengage it with the remote. The car started just fine and he could finish the repair of the drive shaft.

But after this episode the anti theft system has started to misbehave. Every now and then when trying to start it nothing happens. The instrument cluster lights up as it should. The automatic day headlights comes on. But when turning the key to ignite the starter nothing happens. I only hear a click. I can do this for several times before the start motor engages and the car start. Then it will run normal. Sometimes I have to use the remote to lock/unlock the system before it will start. The doors will then lock and unlock, the led at dashboard will switch off and the turn signals will be lit for 15 seconds or so.

Does anybody know what kind of VATS this model is equipped with? How can I solve this problem? (living on a small island, I must frequently use a ferry, and start problems when I reach the destination is quite irritating as you might imagine.)

Any ideas and suggestions are most welcome.

Jostein

 

VATS will not have anything to do with your not being able to start the car without using the factory remote. I would lean more towards the ignition switch being the culprit.

 

Thanks for taking your time to answer me.

As for the ignition switch - when I turn it I can hear a click coming from the engine compartment, maybe from the starter. But the starter don't kick in. Would that be from the switch, perhaps some loose wires or something?
The reason I was suspecting the VATS is that as I understand it will not allow the starter to engage an start the engine if it believes the car is being stolen? Please correct me if I'm wrong. So if it falsely think so, would that be because of the switch? My key don't have this little resistor chip in it like some of the other system have so I assume its inside the column.
But I don't know what kind of VATS my car has, and I can't seem to find any info on it neither. Tried both Google and Yahoo with no luck.

Jostein

 

well, i just realized that your truck is a 92. it has not vats on it. no instance of factory security. must have been a dealer or aftermarket add-on. look up under the dash and see if you can see an add on module that is tied into the ignition harness.

 

hillbillyinOhio wrote " well, i just realized that your truck is a 92. it has not vats on it. no instance of factory security"

Its a 1994 s10 4.3L 165HP, but it was sold new in may 1995 here in Norway. The owners manual claims it has anti-theft system. When looking under the dash there is nothing next to the connection for hook up diagnosis. But I got two push buttons sitting there, witch I assume are somehow connected to the VATS. In the manual there is a warning about leaving the keys in the switch when disconnecting the battery because this action will activate the VATS, resulting in the doors automatically engage the locks leaving me with a closed car and no keys to unlock it.
Are you sure this model was not equipped with Vats? The make is Blazer s10 Tahoe 1994 model 4wd with manual transmission. A beautiful car.

Really appreciate you taking your time to answer my question. The Chevy community is a good place with people like you around.

jostein [sm=americanasmiley.gif]

 

yea, i meant 94. I had a 92, so that is the reason for my typo. only thing that there should be push button things under the dash would be for programming of an aftermarket slarm (only thing i can think of) try following the wires up and see if they are connected to anything. If you do not have the ship in the key, you do not have VATS!!

 

only thing that there should be push button things under the dash would be for programming of an aftermarket slarm (only thing i can think of) try following the wires up and see if they are connected to anything. If you do not have the ship in the key, you do not have VATS!!

Thanks hillbillyinOhio. No doubt you know what you're talking about. The keyless entry system was an option, but no VATS. I believe you could get anti-theft for the radio, so the previous owner might have confused this with VATS. The owners manual mention some security measures against theft but VATS is probably not it. So I guess they have installed an aftermarket caralarm.

This morning my wife couldn't get it to start. When turning the key nothing happens, no click and no dimming of the headlights. This used to be earlier. When it used to refuse to start it would be a click an the lights would dim, three or four times. Then the car would start.

So its probably the switch like you mention or its the starter itself. Have some searching to do...(just need to wait for some daylight - morning on the west-coast of Norway is dark, cold and rainy. [:'(]. )

I'll keep you informed on the progress.
Cheers - Jostein.

 

One other thing you can try if its an aftermarket alarm is disconnect the battery for about 30 seconds which can reset the alarm and all systems. My buddies alarm was doing the same thing and when we did that he hasn't had a problem ever since.

 

I would not suggest doing this. On about 90 percent of aftermarket alarm systems, if you disconnect the battery, when you reconnect it, the alarm goes off.

 

Yea the alarm goes off, then when you disarm it using the key pad it acts like a reset on the alarm brain box. I did it to my buddies who was having the same symptoms and problems on his chevy, and after we disconnected the battery then hooked it back up, alarm went off, he disarmed it with the keypad, and voila its been operating perfectly ever since. Just my experience with the same situation.