Just because I haven't posted much doesn't mean I've had it easy! lol I dont remember where I last left off in my mess but I will try to run through it. Here is a message I sent to a local mechanic back in October that sums it up:

Feb 5th, bought car , drove home with no problems. Previous owner was 18 year old kid who would rather drive the pick up truck his girlfriend's dad just sold him so he didn't need car. It sat for 3 months prior to selling but he had it for 3 years. Due to sitting so long, we bought new battery day we got it home and it was perfectly fine for first 4 weeks.

Battery was dead one morning without warning. (fine night before). Took to walmart to check it out, had dead cell, they replaced it. Few days passed and same thing happened, Third battery they said was only dead because "alternator wasn't charging". Well to take care of both, we changed both. Took alternator to local rebuilding shop. (this was early March). Guy there told me it was wrong alternator for car and that it was made for a Lumina. It had been shaved off to fit the car. The plug for it was cut off. He basically wouldn't give it back even though it tested fine. Put new Alt in and my husband had to put a new plug on the end of exciter wire in the car. Car wouldn't crank. This went on for 2 weeks maybe. Couldn't figure out why it would work when everything was fine. It would turn over but not crank. This is where craigslist guy number 1 came in (Don)

Don came out late March and he determines battery is too low. We know it wasn't because it was a tad over 12volts. He jumpstarts car and lets run for about 5 minutes and then takes cables off and car immediately shuts off. He's baffled at this. After a few minutes of looking through stuff under hood he finds a yellow wire. This wire was pointed out to me by previous seller and was told that it was for fans but that they worked even without it so he said we didn't need it and just put it to the side. Well he was right for a while, first 4 weeks we had it, we never used it.

Don took that wire and hooked it into the positive terminal on battery. Then he jumped it and it stayed cranked. If you don't use it, it WON'T crank. All I can tell you is that the alternator in it now is using the exciter wire and the one before evidently wasn't. With this alternator, that yellow wire HAS to be touching the battery terminal.

Well even though that bothered me, I could deal with it. However the next few days the battery kept dying. Then one day the keys came out of the ignition while car was still running so I decided I would go ahead and get that changed out. Coincidentally, a new switch was in the trunk of car. I took it to GM place to get a new VATS key cut. Guy in parts dept looked up part and it was an actual GM part and was exactly what we needed.

This is where craigslist guy #2 (Chris) from craigslist came from. A few weeks ago he came out and changed switch for me. He also tried to change window motor but couldn't determine why there's no power going to there (another story). Window did work for me but just quit one morning. Well they used the new VATS key and it cranked car but then next several times it wouldn't even make the car "ding" let along turn the cylinder.

It took 4 more VATS keys from Bobby Wood before we got one that worked real easy. They never could get the cut right on key. So it cranked good for a few days but then it left me stranded at work and the cylinder locked up on me. Well we put a little powdered graphite in it and fixed that. Now the security throws on it all the time and 80% of time you can't even get it to turn over and the security light will blink. Chris says that the wiring is messed up somewhere (may be going from ignition switch to fuse box was his suggestion). The battery dies every 18 to 24 hours if it's left hooked up.

When we last had it cranked on Thursday after about 3 minutes I noticed the RPM'S was fluctuating like it was slightly revving up. Then it got where it would drop 500 to 1500 rpms and I had to keep giving it gas to keep it running. Then I revved it up slightly and held it steady but the rpms was trying to flatline so I just cut it off.

I've probably scared you at this point but I can't give up on this car just yet. I had an 1981 v-8 Z28 as my first car in 1990 and had it for 5 years until I had twins on top of a 2 year old so I had to sell it. It's been my biggest regret to have to let that car go. This one lacks horsepower but it still is a thrill for me to drive it when it will let me. We actually have 2 of the same car if looking at the other helps you figure out what's going on with this one. The fuse box is a mess. Someone had tried to wire it all differently and it looks like spaghetti. Hope this helps you some. (it may not!)

 

Ok so this guy (Kevin) who only lived about 10 mins from me FINALLY on Oct 21st (yeah keep that date in mind) came and towed my car to his shop. He had a shop at his house. He rewired the engine harness. However, he STILL has the car and it's one thing after another. He's ran into an issue with the VATS system and now says he's trying to reprogram the computer. I've really lost my patience with this guy. I told him to bypass the VATS but he says you can't do that. I just want my car back NOW!

 

get your car back and take it to a real mechanic. this guy does not know what he is doing. im sure he can work on a 68 pickup but i dont think the computer age has reached his neighborhood. if you wish to have the vats tuned out talk to solomon here LT1 PCM Tuning - OBDI/OBDII PCM Tuning/Programming Service

 

This morning he emailed and said he might have to take it to GM dealer. I told him to please do. I will pay for it. It's been far too long. He actually moved just before thanksgiving to the next county and took the car with him. Last week (I email him every 5 to 7 days because he lacks in the communication dept) I told him that people can become frustrated doing things and he fires back that he doesn't get frustrated with things he does in everyday life. Really?!

 

I was under the impression that many dealers would NOT program out the Vats and the ones that do are going to need to see a title and ID from the person on the title. Imagine if anyone could just get the Vats Programmed out of any car. It would make the VATS system usless.

Yes I realize it can be done and its not that hard but I can also delete my emission and my air bag which something a dealer can not do either.

 

You're probably right. I had to show my proof to dealer to get new keys cut. We're not looking for a dealer to bypass it but to reprogram the computer. I'm no mechanic but he said it needs adjusted to accept the new wiring harness and ignition switch that was put in. This guy is trying to do that. I was the one suggesting to bypass it. I'm just fed up with the whole ordeal and want the car back in my driveway.

 

Demand it back! If he refuses, either threaten to call the police or actually do call them. He can't keep the car in his possession if you requested it back. Make sure that your demand to have it back is on paper too. Just sounds to me (like craby said) he doesn't have clue what he's doing and probably made it worse.

 

Well I guess you could say I'm a bit "intimidated" by him. After he had the car for about 2 weeks, we were out and about and I wanted to stop by to see it/him. I forgot the house number so I googled his name and was shocked at what I found. Anderson County Sheriff's Office OffenderWatch® sex offender management, mapping and email alert program

Here are some of his short emails of where I feel like he's just dragging his feet. I email him every few days just usually something short like "any news on car?"

11/10/11 "Yes I have started rewiring the engine harness , not as bad as it sounds . It will be a few more weeks if you can let it go for that long?"

11/30/11 "It is going ok,a little slow with the holiday. I'm going to repair the fuel lines,they have been put together with hose clamps(very unsafe) I'll text you toward the end of the week"

12/9/11 "I hope to have it back to you by the end of this week, the door works and I'll fix the window,I'll update you on Monday"

12/29/11 "I'm sorry I haven't contacted you sooner. I had a chance to see my children so I wont be back in town until the 4th"

1/12/21 " I should be finished by the end of next week,I'll contact you so we can make arrangements for me to bring it to you,as far as price it won't be over $350.00,that's fixing the door handle and the other issues ,more like 300.00‏"

1/26/12 "Sorry its taken so long for me to get back to you,I have run into a VATS issue that I'm trying to workout on the car,hopefully not much longer‏"

1/26/12 "I don't get frustrated with things like this,its a part of my everyday routine - just bare with me a little longer and I'll have it back to you(running well)

today: "Unfortunately the vats is designed so you can't bypass it without replacing the ECM and the lock cylinder ,but I am trying to reprogram the system, I may have to take it over to the GM dealer if I can't get it to reprogram. They can cut a new key and reprogram the cats. But its not that inexpensive to do so I'll try my best first‏

"You really can't bypass the system because it is linked to the computer and needs to be done properly so the car will run and continue to run without any issues‏"

 

Oooooops! Did you tell the guy working on the car that too? The graphite can muck up the resistor reader on the ignition switch, which could be the source of your VATS problem. Clean the ignition lock back out with some electrical contact cleaner spray.

 

Yes that's the original info that was given to him. It was suggested by someone on this forum last Fall when I had the new cylinder to lock up. I had never even heard of liquid graphite before then.