The Security light came on yesterday, stayed on for a while, then went off. Now it likes to come on and go off at random. Car still starts and runs fine. Is my key old? do i need a new one? anyone else have this problem? can i just ignore it, or will i come out one day to start my car and itll just self destruct? it is a 94 formula

hey there well first thing is first it is a security feature in your car that CAN prevent the car from starting usually what it means is the chip in the key has gone bad or the actual starter switch in the column itself... But before you do all that you CAN bypass it safely if you please in my 94 formula when u pull down the wiring under the driver side when you find the correct wires that goes to the security feature in the dash you can bypass it. Simply put a resistor right there in the middle of the wiring. boom fixed my problem if your worried you can try the key and switch first but DONT leave this problem alone eventually it will come to bite you.

There can only be two things wrong. You already know this...the security light is activated by an incorrect resistance within the key pellet itself. So, if the light comes on, then (1) look for a loose or high resistance connection--could even be at the harness connection at the PCM! Next, look for dirty crud inside the key hole itself which is blocking the "sensor" that is supposed to read the key resistance pellet.

#2, and you aren't going to like this--your car is a '94...it could be that the PCM is starting to fail. I've had nothing but bad luck with the 94 PCM (it's an OBDI) and my failing PCM did the exact same thing. IF nothing else works, get an OBDII PCM and have www.pcmforless.com program it to your car's software. End of problem and you get 10 more hp.

If you disconnect and then reconnect the PCM harnesses to get a better connection, don't forget to disconnect the negative battery terminal first or the chances are 100% that you will then have permanent problems with that PCM.

I have a 2002 Formula that just started having this problem. The car turns over fine, but the SECURITY light stays lit. I scanned for codes with my SCANGAUGE but nothing is thrown. Is there an easy fix for this?

If the security light is on and the car still starts it means the VATS system failed while the car was already running and has gone into failure mode. If your battery ever goes dead or you disconnect the battery the car isn't going to start.

Here's some casual reading on the subject.
http://shbox.com/1/pass_key.html
http://shbox.com/1/4th_gen_tech2.html#pass_key
http://shbox.com/1/vats_bypass.jpg

is there a way to fix this without cutting wires/bypassing?

You only have two options, do the bypass or replace the ignition switch. There are two very fine wires that go into the switch for the VATS system. It's likely that one of them have broken. Every time you turn the key those two wires flex and eventually break. Mine even had a groove worn into the column housing where the wires were rubbing over the years. ###### poor design if you ask me, it's sort of like GM just threw it in as an afterthought.

One very remote possibility is that the harness going into the BCM has corroded. I've heard of this happening but it usually shows other symptoms as well.

I did the bypass and never looked back, it's really not as intimidating as it might seem at first. I'm no electrical engineer by any means and it was a snap for me.