2001 Monte SS with factory (?) installed security system. I'm the second owner, bought in 2012.

My key fobs don't work any longer so I have not armed the system in over a year. However, I know from prior experience that I must unlock the doors before opening the trunk. My husband who NEVER drives this car forgot/didn't remember this. On Sunday he opened the truck and the alarm sounds. I can't disarm it. There are a couple of switches under the dash but not knowing what I was doing, flipping them didn't help. I'm not sure what position they should be in now. My dad just died so I was extremely stressed and simply couldn't deal with it. Husband eventually disconnected the horn/sound so it only flashes lights now. Fortunately we own 4 vehicles so at least I can drive another.

After the funeral stuff, I tried the reset process my mechanic told me.
On key 10 min.
Off 10 seconds.
On key 10 min
Off 10 sec
On key 10 min
Off 1 min.
On key/"bump" it. Do not start. Did the light stop?
Off key 20 sec. Try to start.
We kept it on a battery charger during this time.

Tried this multiple times. We had previously disconnected the battery but we disconnected it again for a few hours. Still nothing. Hubby tried the procedure at least a couple of times.

Other info that might be helpful.
A few weeks ago I went over some rough railroad tracks a bit faster than I should have. The big yellow Security light came on. I was afraid the car wouldn't start if I turned it off, so I drove home. It started again just fine.

10 days before hubby set off the alarm, I again went over some rough railroad tracks. Not too fast, but they were rough. No light came on. Within 30 seconds of crossing them, I shut off the car. 6 hours later, the car wouldn't start. My mechanic walked me through the key relearn process (key on 10 min) and it worked.

I've briefly read about some ignition issues associated with the security system. Wondering if these problems are related. I do NOT have a lot of keys on my keyring, and I've done that recall where they filled in the area on the head of the key.


Any other suggestions before I turn it over to my mechanic? Hubby is pretty handy and does a lot of things himself. Fortunately my mechanic is a very good friend. He & his wife even came to the funeral home. He's going to loan us his car hauler trailer with a winch so I don't have to have it towed. And it's made for race cars so my low-sitting Ms Monte should get loaded ok. Thank God for good friends. But I'm hoping you all can give me the magic formula to get her running again. Only 84k mikes so she has a lot of life left in her.

 

I need to know a few things,since I am not 6th gen savvy,but to a degree I can help.

First,what ignition key is it,the square with the VATS chip in it,or the newer double cut key?"

Second,does the dashboard have the Driver Information Center? That's the digital display that tells you things like oil life %,tire pressure,trip A,tripB mileage,etc?

In either case,the fobs need to be reprogrammed,depending on what you have you can do it yourself or go to a locksmith.

Reply back with what you have and we can go from there.

 

Are you sure markus, an emergency locksmith can program these fobs and what are the essential things they require to program it ?

 

They can,but they'll charge a fee,when you can do it yourself and save $30.

There's a purple wire in the trunk,on the right side inside the plastic wire protector. IIRC,you take that purple wire which has a terminal on the end,and using a second piece of wire,ground that purple wire.That puts the car in programming mode.Take a fob and press both lock/unlock at the same time and hold the buttons in until you hear the door locks cycle,then do the same for the other fob. When all fobs (limit of 4) are programmed,unground the purple wire. Done. You can Google it just to double check.

 

My 2001SS does not have any switches under the dash, so if you have some its not factory. The security is in the ignition cylinder, not the key. It sounds like the previous owner had a Passlock system bypass installed, no experience with that. I believe there are a couple of threads here about that or on the Impala forum.

 

Yes,the Impala forum has a thread on that and a how to bypass the VATS. There's only 15 possible combinations and a voltmeter will help choose the right one.

 

Thanks all for your replies, i was about to have locksmith service for that issue but now i will easily resolve it on my own.

 

Thanks all for your replies, i was about to have locksmith service for that issue but now i will easily resolve it on my own.

 

Doing it on your own can help you in getting the keys at cheap than spending bucks on the locksmith or the dealer.

 

Okay bot