QuestionQUESTION: Hi Tom. My fiance' has an absolutely pristine 1990 Seville that's been in storage for about a year. I went over, charged the bat. and tried to start it. It did start, but all the instrumentation was off, indicating that the system needed to be reprogrammed. (I have the original manual) After going thru the 20 min procedure, it started again. I set all the things on the main panel and let it run for a while. Later, (about 2 weeks later) when she tried to start it again, it indicated that the security system requires a 3 min. wait period. When it times down, and says to start the engine, it goes into the 3 min. warning again. I suspect that the bat. is not holding a charge. I'm going over there tomorrow to look at it and have the bat. tested. My prob. is that I don't know if the bat. could be causing this prob. or the reprogramming just isn't taking. Any ideas?
Thanks,
Mudd
ANSWER: Are you using the SAME key each time. If you have duplicate keys, One can be faulty.
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QUESTION: Hi...I am the owner of the 1990 Cadillac Seville. I only have ONE key for this car so I HAVE to use the SAME key each time so a DUPLICATE key CANNOT be the PROBLEM. Do you possibly have any other suggestions regarding the problem my fiance' has asked you? Specifically, do you suppose the condition of the battery MAY be part of the problem? Also, could a faulty emergency brake be part of the problem?
Thanks
ANSWER: The emergency brake has no influence on your problem.
Try a fully charged battery and make sure that it does not go dead before you try and start it again. The whole computer system shuts down when voltage gets below 7 volts.
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QUESTION: Hi Tom...and thanks for sticking with me on this issue. Yesterday, I tried to start the Caddy after it had sat for a week with a fully charged bat. All the systems came up, but it still went into the "wait 3 min." mode. After the 3 min. it started fine. I let it sit for 20 min. and it started fine again with no wait mode. Then after an hour of sitting, it reverted to the "Wait" mode again. Something must be timing out? Or should we be looking at the key? Could it intermittantly be causing a glitch in the security system due to wear? It looks fine, but who knows. I'm an electrical engineer...but know nuthing much about these security systems. I haven't tried reprogramming the computer since we've replaced the battery. Should I?
Thanks again for your help.
Mudd
AnswerMost likely the chip on the key and or the 2 contacts within the ignition lock cylinder are causing an intermittent contact. Try cleaning the key or put some graphite on the key and work it into the ignition lock.
if this does not work, your stuck with having the dealer look at it as they have a special test box to test all the components.
