'98 Camry Pro-tec Vehicle Protection System

So my car won't start at all. Electricity comes on when something triggers after I try to start it. I'm not sure what triggers it either. It seems to happen after I try to start it for some reason. When I do try to start it in either condition, it doesn't even try and all the electrical power cuts off. I recently had my tail bumped and my tail light turn signal on my driver side won't work. I don't know if some sensor was tripped or something like that. I looked under the hood and there is a wire coming from a panel labeled "Pro-tec Vehicle Protection System" that leads to nothing. The wire is just hanging. Out of this panel comes 3 wires, red, green, and white. The red one is the one that's hanging. These are usually power cords right? Green is ground and white is neutral, right? Is this wire hanging free the cause of my woes? I have a 1998 Camry, I suppose you all will need that bit of info.

This sounds like an aftermarket security system. I would do a Google search for "Pro-tec Vehicle Protection System" and see what you can find. You will probably have to take the car to one of their dealers/installers to get any information about the system.

Mike

Thanks, I will check it out. I did a google search for it and nothing that looked helpful came up. I'm sure that someone can help at a dealership.

I checked out the nearest location and it was over 30 miles away. I decided I would like to try posting some pictures to see if it would help before I drive so far. So here's what it looks like:

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e366/joejif/ATT00027.jpg

That's a close shot of it. That red wire is the one hanging free. It comes out of the white piece on the left side of that panel. Here is another photo that will put things in more perspective:

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e366/joejif/ATT00024.jpg

If you have any idea, I would much appreciate it rather than driving such a distance to get nothing out of it.

Thanks,
Joseph

Pro-Tec isn't an alarm system. It is a powered system to prevent rust and corrosion by using an impressed current and anode. The red wire probably runs from a power source to power the unit. The green wire runs to the body ground and the white to the anode which is bolted somewhere onto the body underside. The red power wire coming out of the connector probably touched metal somewhere and popped a fuse or fusible link. Either tape up the red wire (at the least), repair the connection into the white connector, or remove the thing completely.

So are you saying remove the wire completely? Or the whole anode? Will the whole thing being removed allow the car to start? Why is the red wire just hanging out and not plugged in anywhere? Also, the fuse that may be blown, is that fuse going to be in the fuse box? Which fuse would it be? There are so many of them. How do you know if the big ones are blown? I looked at some of the big ones and couldn't tell if one was bad or not.

So are you saying remove the wire completely?
No. I would just wrap electrical tape around the exposed wires to keep them from touching any metal. The car should start whether that wire is connected or not...I say should, I don't know who put it in there or how it's wired. But yanking wires out is definitely not the way to go.

Or the whole anode?
No. Leave it as is for now.

Will the whole thing being removed allow the car to start?
Doubt it. It should not affect the ability to start the car...in or out. It is an add-on system.

Why is the red wire just hanging out and not plugged in anywhere?
I don't know why...you said it was going to the white connector to the Pro-Tec system. I'd check in the back side of the connector to see if there is a space where the red wire should go. Hard to tell, but is that bare wire that I see on the end of the red wire? And is that a red wire piece hanging out from the white connector?

Also, the fuse that may be blown, is that fuse going to be in the fuse box?
There will be a box of fuses and relays to the far right, next to the air filter box...the red wire looks to go between them. It is labeled "fuses and relays". There is another small fuse box behind the change drawer located under the light dimmer knob on the dash. Remove the little drawer to access it. Check those fuses as well for burned out ones.

Which fuse would it be?
I don't know because I don't know how the system was wired in. But a blown fuse would be fairly obvious...the little metal strip that is visible from the top of the fuse is gone.

If you are not adept at vehicle electrical wiring, I STRONGLY suggest finding a warm body that is. Knowledgable eyes and hands are much better at figuring these problems out than trying to talk someone through it in this forum. Poking around can do more harm than good. BE CAREFUL.

Fuses good? Have you tried jump starting the car using jumper cables and another car. If it starts you'll need to recharge or replace the battery. Lights on the dash coming on when you turn the key is not an indication of a good battery. Make sure the battery connections are clean and tight.

Yeah, I'm going to get another person to look at it. It seemed like the one wire shouldn't have kept my car from starting. All my fuses looked good, as far as I could tell. Thanks for everyone's help.

Ah yes, the battery...*smacks forehead*. That should have been my first suggestion too. But exposed wires in the engine bay aren't good either. Keep up posted.

Yes, well, *Ahem*, it turns out that the positive battery cable was loose and that's all it was. I feel silly now... Luckily I didn't take it to a mechanic or the dealership. Thanks everyone for your help!

Easy thing to overlook. The main thing is YOU found it. Glad to hear it's fixed.