What do you do when you can't start your 1996 Pontiac Grand AM SE because of anti theft system?

Answer 1

Theres two things that could be wrong with your grand am. Either its your ignition going bad or your control panel is going bad. Either way its going to cost a arm and a leg like the gas prices now a days. I replaced both my ignition and my contol panel. The mechanic who did the work ran the analyzer on it and told me that my ignition was bad so he changed that and I still had the same problem so my control panel was changed and now I have no problems! Even though my miles show that I have 30,000 more than whats on my engine in the first place. An ignition is going to run about $230.00 for a new one and they should be able to map the new ignition to match your key that your using now. If that doesn't solve your problem then good luck finding a control panel for your grand am. Only a 96 grand am CP will work and the numbers must match up to what was pulled out of your car. I wish you much luck my friend! Sorry I cannot assist you. However I want to comfort you that the OFFICIAL SUPPORT of GM (Cadillac Motor Division) is PATHETIC !! I live near Alexandria, VA and thus very close to Washington DC. Let me give you an example : I have a Cadillac Deville Elegance. I bought the car used in the USA, and overal it is in good/excellent condition. The car is in Italy though. I bought the car used in the USA, have it stand-by for my vacation needs at the Italian Riviera -- 10 miles from Monte Carlo, Monaco. Recently the digital instrument cluster went out. My mechanic in Italy replace the entire panel with a new one that I bought in the USA and that I sent him in Italy. All fuses were checked prior to installation and all were undamaged. The repacement cluster was installed, and the instruments all work. But what happened? The car would start, but line showed up stating that the car would be shut off after 3 minutes due to theft deterrent system ! How to solve this problem ? Italian mechanic did not know. I contacted Al Moore Dealership in Alexandria, VA. Got a nice smile and was told that had to buy new keys and new ignition switch (they are known for going bad was the comment). Also I bought 2 guides on repair and read the owners manual in PDF format (the original is in Italy). Did not buy into the dealers advice and tried to "unlock" the theft deterrent system by pressing buttons on keyholder remote control as susggested in the owners manual (the othe manual - Hines etc -- did not contain instructions ! When all of this did not work I called the Cadillac HQ. They told me that something had to be reactivated, that I needed the official code that could be obtained only from the dealer that sold the car new, and that I needed to reprogram something with a special tool that was available at every Cadillac dealer. I called the Cadillac dealer that first sold the car in Florida (found its address in the papers that I got from the previous owner). That dealer promised to send me the code after I had sent him copy of the title. Now one month later I still wait, and wait and wait !!!!! As far as the special tool and the Cadillac organization in the USA: the nearest Cadillac dealer is 400 miles away and does not have an answer to the problem --- Devilles were never imported ! But Sevilles were, is my reply and they have the same engine annnd electronic hardware ! Sorry, we cannot do anything for you sir was the answer !!!! So what to do, or better what we did : We took some old "cards" from the old cluster and exchanged them with the identical cards in the new cluster. Then we reinstalled the new instrument cluster with the old cards. Started the engine, and ........ Lord Allmighty, the problem was solved !!!! The car starts and keeps running. Now I can again enjoy my Cadillac on my next vacation (November) driving down the Italian roads and filling up at US$ 6.50 per gallon !!!! Thanks Cadillac for your advice ....... It was worthless !!!!!!!! I was not worth zero/zilch !!!! And, oh yeah, next time I will not buy a Cadillac, but a Flagship from some Japanese car manufacturer, just as I did for my transportation needs here in Virginia 22039 !!!! Lesson Learned: USE YOUR OWN BRAIN AND DO NOT RELY ON THE SALARIRIED WHITE COLLAR WORKERS OF GENERAL MOTORS !!!! Dott. Ing. Lorenzo Marchesini Fairfax Station, VA (703-690-0111)