In 1985, GM first introduced VATS on the Chevrolet Corvette, and after proving successful, was later introduced in other models in later years. Operation is fairly simple, The most obvious part is the key. The ignition key has a little "chip" in it. This is a resistor "pellet". There are 15 possible resistances, therefore 15 different types of keys each with a different resistance. This reduces the likelihood of a potential thief from having the correct resistance resistor on hand. Then you have to have a special lock cylinder to "read" the key. Next is the VATS module, It is the "brains" of the system. The module is what actually "MEASURES" the resistance, but has to do it via the contacts in the lock cylinder and the related wiring. Think of the module as a Multimeter, and the wires and contacts the Multimeter Leads. The module reads the resistance and determines if the resistance is the correct value before the vehicle will start. |