Cadillac Repair: ignition, denatured alcohol, cadillac deville

Question
starter will not engage when key is turned.  All accessory lights come on. Security light comes on.  Power to fuse box but not to solenoid  Is some sort of reset necessary or possible.  Vehicle is 91 cadillac deville 4.9 litre.

Answer
Hi Dale, Sounds like the PASS KEY system isn't allowing the starter to engage. It might be as simple as cleaning the key pellet with denatured alcohol. Did you try the other key and see if it allows the engine to start? If not the most common thing to go bad is the ignition lock cylinder. It has 2 very small wires, 20 gage, that flex and go open after starting the car a number of times and requires the ignition lock cylinder and keys to be replaced. If you haven't ever replaced it yet then that is probably whats wrong. The other thing you could do if this is the case is cut the wires where they come out at the mid point of the steering column and measure the resistance of the key pellet and then go to Radio Shack and wire in the resistor to the wires. The only problem is you won't need a special key to start the engine but the upside is you wil save at least $150 depending on who does the work. There is also a starter relay that can go bad but it doesn't usually turn on the light. The other thing you need to do is to make sure that the starter is getting battery voltage to the solinoid on the purple wire when the key is turned. If that is happening then you will need to replace the starter but if that were the case the security light would not turn on. I'd put my money on the wire being open comming from the ignition lock cylinder. Hope that helps. Bill