So a few weeks back, while I was driving, my security light came on. I didn't think anything about it since the car was on, but I switched keys and it seemed to fix it. Last night, I was coming home from work, and about 3 minutes into my drive the security light came back on and didn't turn off my entire drive home. This morning when I went to get my tires put on, the light was off, and I was using the same key as last night. I know the wires in the column can break and cause the light to stay on, but has anyone ever had the light be intermittent and come and go like this?

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Joseph

Current: 2013 Infiniti G37 Journey
1999 Infiniti G20T - Sold
1999 Buick Lesabre - Race Couch - gone but not forgotten

Very interesting... sounds as if you are having some issues, iirc the PCM turns the " SECURITY " light on and off depending on what it sees... That is strange tho...

Could be the VATS Module, could be the wiring or even the ignition cylinder...

Mine comes and goes with the wind it seems. But supposedly that is very common for a 00+. But my keys are also worn pretty good.

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Will
88 Cutlass Ciera Brougham International | 120k mi | White w/ Dk Claret Int. | Roller to be S2 L67/4T65E-HD | 1 of ~5100 3.8 FE3 Int'l series
91 Riviera | S2 L67 Swap/4T60E | 127K mi | Antelope Met. w/ Tan Int. | Saved From Death By Crusher
92 Bonneville SSE | L67/4T60E | 77K mi | Med Slate Grey w/ Two-Tone Grey Int. | Low Miles Time Capsule
92 Lumina Z34 | LQ1/4T60E | 177k mi | Torch Red w/Grey Int. | Rusty In Odd Spots
99 Tahoe LT | L31/4L65E | 276k mi | Spiral Grey Metallic w/Grey Int. | Truck for Truck Things and Portable Concert Hall
03 Park Avenue Ultra | 212K mi | White Diamond Met. w/ Shale Int. | Southern Time Capsule
05 Acura RL | 155K mi | Carbon Grey Pearl w/Ebony Int. | The Super-Hooptie Daily

mine does it in hot and humid weather (mostly in Summer) and it often locks me out at times, with the car not turning over and disabling the starter for a good 10 minutes before it works again. i think my key is worn (my car has over 260K) sometimes i use a small can of WD-40 to revive it during Summer. works fine all winter though.

According to my car's manual, if the SECURITY light comes on while driving and the key is not removed, it should start back up after it is turned off. if it comes on and flashes with they key turned ON (but not START) it won't turn over. if you attempt to, it will go into lockout mode and the starter won't work and the SECURITY will remain lit for 3-5 minutes each attempt, even if you remove the key.

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1992 Pontiac Bonneville SSE (3800 Series I, 277K miles and counting! with a horrific knock sadly)

That's the strange thing, it's NEVER given me starting problems or problems turning over (although I do have a long crank some times, but that's unrelated). I'm kind of wondering if it is the VATS module acting up. Seeing as I have an intense pcm, can't they tune VATS out?

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Joseph

Current: 2013 Infiniti G37 Journey
1999 Infiniti G20T - Sold
1999 Buick Lesabre - Race Couch - gone but not forgotten

It can be tuned out for the most part... Sort of cheating really...

Yeah, I know it's not really finding the root of the problem, but to be honest I don't feel that I necessarily need vats. It's a great feature to have, but I don't think anyone is out on the market looking to steal my Lesabre hahaha. Also with it being so weird and intermittent, it kind of makes me believe that it's the VATS module going bad. If it was potentially the wiring in the column, wouldn't it stay on all the time and not just some times? Same for the ignition cylinder?

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Joseph

Current: 2013 Infiniti G37 Journey
1999 Infiniti G20T - Sold
1999 Buick Lesabre - Race Couch - gone but not forgotten

Thats what I would think... If there was an issue it would stay on.. Could be a pissy ground, could be a funky VATS module..

I think you simply turn off the VATS codes, maybe disable the VTD( Vehicle Theft Deterrent ) in the PCM then sneak into the background and set the Fuel Injector Disable Time to " 0 "

I'd have to look and see how intertwined the BCM is in regards to the Pass Key system...

IIRC There is a way around the starter enable too..

My 98 leSabre would turn the light on and off while driving. Occasionally when I turned the key quickly to crank after inserting it I would get a misread. I learned to slow down, stopping at ON for a second to let it read the key before going to crank. But eventually the light would rarely come back on. I found out later that was because the foil contact in the information center spread across the dash below the windshield was burned....

But the Theft Deterrent Module has 4 modes of error when it reads the key resistance, and one of those is to ignore the bad reading apparently thinking it's the TDM that has failed. Some people recommended cutting the wires while the car was running to induce this reading.

After 4 or so years of on and off bulb and then no bulb, I tried to start my car at the local quick market with a hot flavored coffee in my hand and nothing. 3 days later I had troubleshot everything and did the VATS line cut under the dash and soldered in the 880 ohms of resistors from Radio Shack to match my key readings and everything is fine.

I'd do the VATS replacement just to be sure. The orange wire with the two little white wires comes in a bundle from on top of the steering column and goes to a multiconnector on the firewall/floor sort of toward the emergency brake pedal. The orange wire you want is on the corner closest to the left front wheel corner of the connector, the hardest to see because of all the wires going to it. The two white wires split out and go to the two adjacent contacts. Cut the wire as close to the steering column as you can. Then take strip down the plastic covering a ways and carefully, carefully try to get the white plastic off the two fragile fine wire strands. Then solder in the resistor length. I used shrink tubing to protect the connections and the whole thing.

Yeah, next time it warms up a little I'll probably go ahead and just do the VATS bypass to be safe. Otherwise, I'll contact John at Intense and just see what they'll charge to tune it out of my PCM

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Joseph

Current: 2013 Infiniti G37 Journey
1999 Infiniti G20T - Sold
1999 Buick Lesabre - Race Couch - gone but not forgotten