Problems with old CODE ALARM in 3rd Gen

[gtafiend]

I have a 1987 GTA with a dealer installed GM Code Alarm. My dad originally tried to remove this and was unsuccessful. A buddy of mine and I have been able to get it removed however the car still will not start.

We have power to the starter and the rest of the car except the ingition. The battery is still holds a charge however I am not sure that it is not going south.

There is still one wire that we could not trace that my dad originally cut.

The wire in question is the yellow one in the photo just above the brake pedal.

I have included a few photos as reference below.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

[98blackbeauty]

Have you tried code alarm website to get wiring diagram of the model of your alarm? Most wires are spiced not cut but it could be if alarm had remote start or ignition kill when alarm goes off.
If you can not get wiring diagram then put meter on each side of wire see what it does. if its starter related it will go to 12v when you hit the start position. or will go to 12 v when you turn igition on. Also a clue could be had if you get childers or hayes wiring diagram for your car the wires are named by color.

[bigjon88]

i got a manual but with out know all the color wires u need .... i would check the ignition wire from the fuse box.... and have u check any fuses yet?

[gtafiend]

I am going through both the Chilton's and Hayne's wiring diagrams and I also purchased a new ignition switch as well.

Will be working on the wiring tomorrow and will post the results.

Thanks again for the advice.

[Mike94ZLT1]

I'm the friend helping Ky with this car. We have traced all the wires we could find from the code alarm and removed everything. From what I could see, no wires were cut, just tapped into. We get power when we turn the key to the on position. The gauges light up and everything. We recently replaced the starter, and the positive battery cable and the other lead with 2 wires on it is connected. The 3rd wire I assume is what triggers the starter. I put a lighted circuit tester on it, one of those ones with the probe that you clamp to a ground. When Ky is in the car and turns the key all the way forward, I am not getting anything out of that 3rd wire, something is interrupting the signal.

[ICEPICK]

sounds like its a cut off switch, find out where it goes, my buddie had a breathalizer in his car if he tried to cut the wire's out it would not start, its a security wire, find it and terminate it. thats all it could be.

[98blackbeauty]

Ok, now that you have manual with wire diagram. start at the starter solenoid and work back towards the ignition switch. I am not familiar with 3rd gens. Usually between the starter solenoid and the ignition switch there is a relay or 2. 1 for theft protection, and another for auto trans neutral or park, or for stick clutch depressed. these could be switches or relays. I don't know if 3rd gen has theft protection module. A lot of cars use a yellow wire from ignition switch for this circuit. you need to trace it out. A meter works better because you can check continuity from point to point but a test light can work.

[02charger]

i think what you are saying is the car will not crank over the yellow wire is the wire that gos to the starter to crank it i think i see a yellow wire behind the yellow wire hanging down in your pic join the 2 yellow wires togher i have instaled code alarms before we cut 2 wires the yellow witch is for the crank and a 2nd was for the ingiton i do not rember what color that wire was

[gtafiend]

I wanted to give you guys an update on where things stand.

First off....THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR THEIR ADVICE. Particularly, my buddy, Mike who has been coming by after work at night to help out. I can't thank him enough!

I have tried numerous things and am still no further than I was before. Yesterday I decided to run over to Code Systems in Troy to see if they could give me some advice. An engineer by the name of Joe was very helpful and was able to give me a photocopy of the original HANDWRITTEN wiring schematic. I definitely know more now than I did before.

Connected the yellow spliced wires last night, nothing. Traced a few other wires and am still at a state of confusion.

Several buddies have tried to find someone to help out with this matter with no luck. We did find two people that could help, but their schedules are really busy right now due to family and work.

I was wondering if there are any shops that have mechanics that would come out for a reasonable rate and fix the electrical problem. Does anyone know of such a shop or an individual who would do the work. I am definitely not looking for a handout. Just need to get this fixed so that the other jobs on the car can be started and finished. Once this is done I can get the car back up and operational. I just need the electrical fixed, the rest we have covered. The biggest problem is that the car is on jack stands in my garage and cannot be driven right now. The car was functional when it was stored. With the books I have gotten and some research on the internet, I have able to isolate the problem to either the ignition module and / or starters interrupt.

I am sure that I could more than likely figure this out with time, but my clock is ticking to get the car up and running. My skills electrically are not strong enough to get this worked out in a timely manner.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Every day that goes by my bird sits and gathers more dust. Again thanks to for all the advice

[98blackbeauty]

I went back to the 1st post, you started out with the code alarm being removed. Did the car start before this was done? or was this why you desided to remove the code alarm?

[gtafiend]

The car did not start. My dad had already started to remove the alarm. He was unable to tell me what he did, so I decideed to just get it out of there.

[98blackbeauty]

did you just buy the car and you never had it started? or was it running and starting then did you just decided to remove the code alarm. I'm tring to understand the sequence of events. Maybe the no start has nothing to do with code alarm. Now that you have code alarm wiring diagram you should be able to trace it out.

[gtafiend]

My mom was the original owner of the car. It was a daily driver for first 10 years and then it was only driven minimally for the next 5 years on weekends. Oil changes and all necessary maintenance was done on the vehicle by my dad.

A recall notice came in with problems regarding Code Alarms. My dad proceeded to remove the Code Alarm. The same week he was doing this he had a several small strokes and one large stroke. He was hospitalized for some time and took several years to recover.

I inherited the car from my folks and was not able to ask my dad what he did since he cannot remember. The car worked fine and he drove it problem free. My problem is that I could not make out what he had done. It was left in state of disarray.

My goal is to get it back and operational, because the car sat for so long the fuilds had to all be drained, hoses changed, filters changed and brakes redone. To the best of my knowledge beside the Car Alarm removal, the car was fully functional. It has just had new brakes, pads, rotors all fluids changed and the muffler replaced.

I just am not familiar with what I am looking at and have tried all suggestions with no luck, hence the reason I am at the junction for asking for help. I have included some pictures of the car. I will have to add some more photos after lunch.

Thanks

- Ky

[98blackbeauty]

thats really a nice car!, definately worth spending 200 to 500 to get it running, unforunately time and distance kinda makes it difficult to offer on site help. Let me check and see if there is someone over on west side of city that I could recomend. You could have it flat bedded to their shop for them to work on it.

[gtafiend]

I have some good news. A good buddy of mine may have found someone who can help out.

I will keep you posted as to the progress and resolution to the problem.

Thanks again for you assistance