thats the tdm theft deterrent module whacking out on you you can build or buy a bypass! look for vats bypass NOT THE RESISTOR that fix is no REAL fix

 

Hello all its ThaBoosta again:

I have a 2001 Cadillac Eldorado ESC and it recently start showing the "Theft System Problem...Car May Not Restart". It starts and everything! Now let me tell you what its not doing since this happened. The temperature and the gas gauges are not working, the rpm's & mph are. The power seats, horn, cigarette lighter, high beams, radio, heat/ac are not working. When I start it in a few seconds the defroster in the front stays on all the time! Soo What do you think it is? Cause I love my car, She's Beautiful. I NEED HELP PLEASE!!!!!!

Thank You!!

 

911 what was the solution to your problem

 

wicked what was the solution for your problem

 

I have a 96 STS, I came home Friday afternoon to grab some things and have lunch. Went out to leave, pushed the button on the key fob, but the car doors did not unlock, got the other key fob, no luck, opened both key fobs and checked the batteries, just fine.

So I unlocked the door with the key, put it in, turned in on, the car started fine and ran for 3 seconds, then died, and the dashboard flashed "theft system problem - car may not restart"

and

how right it was.

I checked all the fuses, did research on the internet, tried a few of the simple tricks, but no luck. I called the Cadillac help line, and some very helpful, but utterly clueless woman in another country put me on hold several times, only to tell me they had never heard of this problem, and get it towed to a dealer. called the local dealer, said "get it towed in, we might be able to look at it Saturday, if not, Tuesday.

I learned from reading online that people who had their car towed in spent $700- 800 at the dealership. I searched for some other options, one of which is to bypass the "chip" in the key with the proper resistors, as it could be a broken wire on the ignition switch which would be a $170 fix if I can do it, so I went to Radio Shack and bought the stuff I need for the $20 fix . . . I worked all day Saturday, so was planning on at dealing with it today.. . .

Worked from 8:30am - 1:30am, so just left the battery unhooked until this morning, didn't sleep much, so was up before 6, hooked up the battery, the key fob worked to unlock the door, got in, started just fine, left it running, had some coffee, all systems go, so shut it off and .

Ate breakfast, showered, got ready, and went out to the car - again - victory on all fronts...drove to church, played trumpet on a hymn and for the anthem, second service I was also the cantor, but I only had the first part of the service, so I left early, and was about to unlock my car, parked right near the front door, about the same time the sermon started.

I push the button on the key fob. nothing happens. tried the other key fob (which also worked fine 3 hours earlier.) no luck. try numerous times...nothing, I try to unlock the driver's door with the key, but the key will not go in. I went and unlocked the passenger door with the key, reached over, hit the unlock button on the driver's door, it worked, so went around, put the key in the ignition, and the car started fine, kept running,

then after about fie seconds, the horn starts doing it's alarm beep. .. beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep 15' from the front doors, i know everyone could hear it in there.

So I drive out of the parking lot as quickly as I can and head for home. The dash is flashing "theft system problem, car may not restart" and the shift selector lights in the dash are all flashing in unison with the horn . . . which is still beeping. after 7 blocks and one excruciatingly long red light, the horn stops beeping, but the dash keeps flashing.

I pull into the driveway, shut off the engine, take out the key, grab my trumpet case,coat, coffee mug, etc and when I open the door, the damn horn starts honking again.

I pop the hood, sprint inside to grab the first thing that looks like a pliers or wrench, open the hood, unhook the battery, and achieve silence.

So, there she sits. Given that the issue starts before I even put the key in the ignition, I don't think the "resistor bypass" plan will do me any good, andyone have any ideas?

 

If all else fails verify that the 2 wiring harness ground wires are grounded to the front bottom drivers side of the engine block. I've had a similar issue when one of the harness grounds was grounded to the anti-lock brake unit instead of the motor block.

 

My 97 sts had the same problem,it seems to be quite common, after months of trying to solve the problem, I sold the car and explained to the buyer of the problem, he bought it anyway and soon sold it also,I took it to local g.m dealer,of course I got a blank stare as they have never heard of this before,even though it is a common problem, I bought my first non caddy in 16 years, a 2007 dodge magnum hemi, I still have my 92 Eldorado with the 4.9 litre engine, it's a terrific car, with 165,000 miles it still runs great, too bad they stopped making the 4.9.

 

my 97 deville had this problem. i check many possible solutions. grounds , electrical components ignition cylinder no luck. i did have a faulty alternator. finally took it to cadillac. they told me they had to pull all the car modules. i suspected the pzm or body computer because when i switch with a same module i was able to briefly get commucation with the pcm until i tried to crank. short story they billed me $900 to send my ipc in for repairs and told me i also had some corroded wires. my conclusion is they know the problem but give a run around instead of direct problem. hated i had to do it but i got it running now and i am happy.

 

Theres a video on youtube that deals specifically with the error message you got. If you have 2 keys to the vehicle, try touching those white wires to the chip in the spare key and see if it will crank? Put one white wire on each side of the chip in the key and start it with the original key.

 

That's what my 99 cad did. So far, the bypass hasn't worked on it. Still trying to figure it out. It had the dash msg on it "Theft System Problem- Car may not restart" when I bought it almost a year ago The guy I bought it from said it was showing that when he bought it but hes never had a problem cranking it so he didn't mess with it. I never had a problem either so I didn't mess with it until a couple of weeks ago. I drove it to my sons, parked it and went in..All of a sudden the alarm went off on it and it hasn't cranked since. Now everytime you touch the door handle or stick the key in the switch, the alarm goes off. I tried doing the bypass on it but the alarm still goes off and it still wont crank and still has the same message on the dash. About tired of messing with these newer cars. Considering going back to the 60's and 70's models! At least doesn't cost an arm and a leg to fix them. I still have an old 87 pickup. Id about rather drive it than I had these newer ones I have. Ridiculous.