Ok I can't figure it out... on my 1998 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP above the park brake foot pedal, there is a toggle switch mounted on the bottom of the dash on the far left drivers side. When you flick it on it blinks the headlights twice and I can hear a relay "click". The switch is simply labelled "on" or "off". It appears to be factory mounted and is hidden from obvious view. I heard it might be a valet alarm... but what does that mean it does? Any help is appreciated. :)

if switched to on you wont be able to open truck with the trunk button????

Ignition kill switch??

Sounds like a valet button, but they've usually got those mounted in the glovebox.

Next time we get a Grand Prix in at work, I'll take a look and see if it's got that same switch. Sounds like yours was not factory installed.

i would figure to be a kill switch but not hidden very well.. alarm on and off? maybe

Ok...next question...what IS a Valet Alarm!?

gran prix's never had a switch like that ! ive owned a couple gran prix and i installed a switch there for my aftermarket alarm. So its either 1 of a couple things
aftermarket alarm, aftermarket electical component like fog lights strobe lights amplifier on/off switch or something along those lines.

a valet switch is usually a way so a valet can drive your car but not open up your trunk and glove box and other crap so they cant steal your stuff

A valet switch is almost always located in the glovebox or some other lockable area, as the valet key is only capable of unlocking the doors and starting the ignition... it will not unlock the trunk or the glovebox... hence the point of having the switch in such a place.

Is it an aftermarket switch?

Maybe it's for the flux-capacitor...

Thanks for the help everybody. Mystery still not solved though. I tried opening the trunk with the button in the glove box with the switch turned on and off, it worked just fine. The alarm also seems to work just fine as my neighbors found out with the switch on or off, it is a factory alarm. Also it doesn't seem to be a kill switch since the car starts fine with the switch in any position. I've taken a couple of pictures:3933139332

A valet switch is almost always located in the glovebox or some other lockable area, as the valet key is only capable of unlocking the doors and starting the ignition... it will not unlock the trunk or the glovebox... hence the point of having the switch in such a place.

Is it an aftermarket switch?

Maybe it's for the flux-capacitor...

Come on, it's a Pontiac... Turbo Boost.

http://www.markscustomkits.com/turbo.jpg

that isnt stock....

F

Yeah, definitely not stock. Not even GM in their darkest days would make something look so cheap and out of place.

Dealer installed maybe?

It doesnt look terrible to me. The K40 stealth Radar detector control that came with my 02 S500 isnt a whole lot better than that, just a round multifunction knob instead of a switch.

Have you got any race/acceleration vids of that GTP yett???

No but I am more than willing to make some if you want...

I'll wait for a good dry day though, right now it's a rain/snow mix out there, and I already have barely any traction when it's dry with FWD. It's always a struggle with that car between the supercharger and the front wheels.

Yeah, a 0-60 video or 0-100 video would be awesome....just aim the camera at the instrument panel and punch the gas. :thumbsup:

I know just the stretch to do it on, nice long straight section where the speed limit is high. I've ordered a new camera which should arrive in a few days too, hopefully it will dry out by then. (Where I live it actually will rain for 40 days and 40 nights, and then some)

Whatever it was for - it's definately aftermarket. Look how unprofessional and ragged they cut the lower plastic panel under the dash! GM does not do work like that. From the looks ot it I would say it was for some type of alarm, ignition kill switch....not fog lights.

Why dontcha trace where the wires go and tell us that?

I've put electric in-line fuel pump switches there before when the in-tank pumps quit working...

Looks like a valet switch to me.

Most alarm systems come with a way to temporarily disable the alarm system in case you leave it with someone else and there is a special way to disarm the alarm when getting in. I always appreciate it when people put their aftermarket stuff in valet mode when they drop it off for service... of course it has actually never happened but.. :D
Otherwise the alarm goes off while you are working on it or while the valet is getting in and out of the car when you take it someplace.
Usually they are installed someplace accessible by the driver but inconspicuous. That almost looks like neither of those.

Since you said it flicks the lights when you activate it I am also along the line of thought of Fogs. Have you checked for any mounting holes on the front?

An ignition kill switch and valet switch arent any good if they are right in plain view with a big red toggle.

No it isn't fog lights, I have fog lights but they have a proper switch way higher up on the dash.

Was the car juiced?

I doubt it, the last owner was a woman with a newborn. Then again maybe she needed a quick jaunt down the highway at 100 mph to wake herself up in the morning. ;)

My old GP had a switch in it too, looked nothing like that and was well hidden tho. Had to do with an after-market alarm... Trace the wires!@

Figured it out! It is a switch to turn off ABS, not really sure why you'd want to turn it off but meh... at least it isn't going to bug me anymore.

kill the abs to get it to launch properly and or defeat the traction controll

Heh, interesting. My 96 Blazer had one, it was used for turning the stereo amp on.

kill the abs to get it to launch properly and or defeat the traction controll

Interesting, could you elaborate? I understand trying to kill the traction control for launches, but why ABS?

Glad you figured out what it was for... I was almost ready to ask if it might have been for the original trunk monkey?
:D

isnt abs and traction control link together?

Don't think so, I also have a traction switch, and a light that tells me if it's off, and when I turn off ABS the TRAC light doesn't say TRAC is off. I could be wrong though.

i have been told my abs light is on cause of my traction control is messedup..

ABS and traction control are usually the same system.

I think the Grand Prix in question may not even have traction control, so I am not sure what disabling the ABS would accomplish.
What does the brake master cylinder look like on this car? Not sure if this is a Teves VI or a DBC 7 system.
The DBC 7 will likely have traction control so that would make more sense.

i like my abs so i dont no why anyone in the world would want to disable it

On occasion, I have felt that I could stop under certain conditions the same without ABS. Example: dirt/course gravel road I travel frequently in the summer to a lake house. ABS kicks in all the time regardless of vehicle I am driving - gets a bit annoying. That is the only example I can think of for wanting to shut off ABS.

ABS and traction control are usually the same system.

I think the Grand Prix in question may not even have traction control, so I am not sure what disabling the ABS would accomplish.
What does the brake master cylinder look like on this car? Not sure if this is a Teves VI or a DBC 7 system.
The DBC 7 will likely have traction control so that would make more sense.

I thought traction control just retarded the timing when you are giving it too much gas?

Anyways I'm not sure which system I have, but I think they started using DBC 7 in 1999, so I probably don't have it on my '98, I could be wrong though.

I do have both traction control and ABS however.

Maybe I have the Bosch system?: http://www.aa1car.com/library/abs98.htm

Well it has been a while since I worked on a W car but I'll try to say what I know.

The Bosch is a popular unit but I really don't recall it being used in a W car. I thought they went straight from ABS VI to DBC 7, maybe I don't remember properly.
At any rate, I think Traction was standard with DBC 7, and with traction comes a traction off switch so I can't understand why they would install a switch to defeat a feature that can already be disabled by another switch.
Based on what I see in the manual the '98 uses the same as the '99 so I am pretty sure it is a DBC 7, which looks very simlar in appearance to the Bosch 5 family of ABS units including the 5.3.

Traction control does have the ability to reduce engine torque, on some systems like ABS VI, that is the only way traction control can work and they don't call it traction control, they give it some other name... it escapes me right at the moment.
I think it was something like "ETS" or enhanced traction system.

Most active traction systems also use this feature to request torque output reduction from the ECM (all GM systems I know of).
In addition they can apply brakes to help eliminate wheel slip... or more properly stated to "control" it.

I still can't figure out why they would want a switch to disable ABS, unless they were just goofing around.

Hmm, thank you for the information.

I've heard of people pulling the traction control fuse for going to the track because supposedly when you turn it off using the stock GM mounted switch it doesn't fully disable. I'm not sure how true that is, but maybe it can explain my mystery ABS kill switch.