In '88 they started phasing out VATS for Passkey, they went from Passkey I, II, and III, you are right about them changing in '98, most changed to Passkey III, but up till 2003 a few still got Passkey II, when he mentioned hearing the clicking from behind the glove box I figured it would be coming from the BCM, which is typically behind the glove box, of course the fuel pump relay should also be in that area, so that may be what he heard clicking.
If he does not have a key with the visible resistor pellet in it then he has Passkey III which is different, it is a transponder instead of a resistor based system, but the newrockies more expensive bypass claims to work with LeSabre'* up to '99.


If the light security light is not on solid, or blinking then you are right, it would not be the issue, sounds like it may just be an ignition wiring problem, which I do not know enough yet to help with, but I do have some links about Passkey I-III, very good read for understanding the system..

http://www.pdqforensics.com/sec310010.html

http://www.pdqforensics.com/sec410010.html

And a good read with diagrams.
http://motorage.search-autoparts.com...09/article.pdf

Of course since it does not sound like a security issue those are not very helpful, they are good reads on the security system though.

Thanks so much gentlemen---I had the car looked at by a company that intalls and services remote starters etc... they said that when the bypassed the "pink" wire, or jumpered, or provided constant power to it, the car started up fine. They also said the remote starter is pooched. I am having them remove it.(quicker and cheaper than trying to fix it
) I will then be digging into the column to find the problem with the pink wire.

I don't know how that wire attaches to the ignition switch. It may be disconnected or the switch may be worn so that it is not making contact anymore. Any thoughts?
I will write back after my exploration tonight into the column.--Thanks again!!

one of two things, either the ign switch is bad not putting power on the pink or when they installed it they cut the wire and rejoined them with the lead from the starter and the pink to the ign switch is no longer connected properly. when i put one in i strip the car wires without cutting them and solder the starter wires to them so you never loose continuity even if the connection should fail. still nothing wrong with the starter, were they trying to sell you a new one or something? unfortunately you have alot of those guys making commission on people who dont know what the problem was.

Thanks JW--It appears, after the boys removed the remote starter, that the installation was done using some sort of clip, that seemed to cut through the insulation but not break the wire, thus enabling them to connect two wires very quickly without soldering. Three of these connections were intermittent and had melted the conectors to various degrees. Anyway, they removed the whole mess, and the car is still in the same condition. No power to the pink wire when the key is turned on, no dash lights, no nothin'. At least now we know for sure the remote stuff wasn't the culprit and wont ever be a factor again.

So I am going after the ignition switch. I am going to buy the Repair book tonight and review it before I start, but I wanted to know if anyone had any clues or tricks to getting the job done quickly and efficiently. Remove the wheel? Remove the column? Drop the column? Any ideas are greatly appreciated. Also, should I buy a genuine GM part?

Thanks in advance--

You might be interested in this:
https://www.gmforum.com/showthread.php?t=302131

At that price I am surprised someone hasn't snapped it up.

those wire taps have no business being on on a car and yet you hear and see it all the time. did you or they make sure the wire was good in there? it leaves just a pinch mark of the out side but most times you cant really see the wire messed up in there.

Agreed, they are something I almost used a while back, till a friend quickly let me know those tap splice connectors are from the devil, lol
It even looks evil, lol

Butt connectors (if soldier cannot be used) and heat-shrink wrap work well.

Gents---I have just wasted a lot of time. I just realized that although taking the wheel off does eventually provide access to the lock cylinder. it does not provide access to the ignition switch. The lock cylinder engages a rod which runs down the column. So, after swearing at myself i decided to dig deeper. I removed lower dash pieces to expose the column hanger brackets and removed them. Now the column hangs and shows me the switch.
I am an idiot.

No worries Dan. We have all done things like that before. Heck, I do it on a daily basis. It'* all about learning.