Please bear with me as I'm coming off an 86' Olds Cutlass and I'm not "up" on today's cars. So I bought my 02' Grand Prix GT Coupe a couple of days ago. When I bought it, the seller told me that the alarm wasn't working and that the stock radio had been stolen from it. The only key he had for the car was a regular key that looks like a spare. It's an all metal key, no black cover on the head, and no Fob for opening the doors or arming an alarm.
The car starts fine with this key and when I push the interior "lock" button, the car chimes 3 times and the doors lock automatically after I close the door. When the car is running the "security" sign flashes non stop. When I enter the car the red light on top of the dash begins to flash on and off, yet when I leave the car and the doors lock, it does NOT flash anymore. Only if I enter the car and don't start it.
I had no owner's manual with the car so I downloaded it from a website and upon reading it last night I found out that the car came with a "PassKey" that is "Chipped" which I think has something to do with the alarm. I already found two fobs on Ebay which I found out here how to program which is a good start. I called a locksmith today to find out about this "PassKey" thing and he told me that the car SHOULD NOT start with just that regular key. He said that maybe the previous owner had an "auto start" installed and that they often hide the PassKey under the dash somewhere so the car will start remotely.
Now please excuse my ignorance, but could someone give me some insight into the Passkey thing and the alarm system in general. I am totally lost when it comes to this kind of stuff but am electronically inclined so can understand the basics. I am looking at a stock radio unit on Ebay because I'd like to keep it stock but I'm not sure if the radio being disconnected has something to do with the alarm system or not.
Thanks so much for any help you can give me.
