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Thanks for posting back to us so we understand a little more about this situation. It's nice to know that there are at least a few dealers who know how to fix these problems.
Dick
Read this thread from beginning to end. The answer is in here. Especially read post 394 of this thread, but if you want to know the answer, you have to read the entire thread. I know that's a lot of reading, but it will save you $400.00. There is one post with pictures showing how to find the yellow wire by removing the radio. make sure you read that one.
Dick
This is a typical problem with ALL cars, and is usually caused by contaminated gasoline, which in turn, can foul plugs, clog up injectors, and cause intermittent starting.
This problem could also be caused by a loose connector on the ignition switch, which would also cause all the symptoms that you described.
If your problem was caused by the Security Passlock System, the Security light would come on, and it would blink and not allow you to start the car.
by the way, i called the dealership again to ask them if they could reprogram the pcm by itself .they said it has to be in the car when they do it. if that is so, how do other people like mp do it and send it to you?
have a nice day.
markjr54
Fundamental troubleshooting 101
For the car to run, you need fuel, ignition, compression, and proper timing. Check to see if you are getting fuel delivered. Check to see if you have spark. Check your compression. If you have all of these, the only other thing left is timing, which is unlikely if you have compression.
By the way, did the relearn turn your Security light off?
Dick
Problems started several months ago . I took the car thru a car wash - the next day , no start . Did the reset and got it going again. Started having to do the reset thing again every few days until i found this forum . I checked the BCM - all looked good . Tried the resistor fix - didn't work . Finally i cut the yellow wire and things were fine (although the security light stayed on) . Several weeks ago I took the car thru a car wash again - next day we lost our daytime running lights (i think at that time the service vehicle light had come on too). Days later the light was off and the running lights were back on . all has been good since then , until today . We've been getting a lot of rain over the last few days . My wife started the car this morning but the clock had reset .She reset the clock went out to eat .When she went to start the car ( raining all day) the clock had rdefaulted back to12:00 again . She went visiting and when she was done tried starting the car , but completely dead . The car is at her friends now . My game plan , for now is to wait until tomorrow - turn on my toggle switch - do the reset and hopefully it'll start . Anyway it's not looking like a Passlock issue now , from what i've read here it should be the BCM . (moisture issue ?) Thoughts anyone ? If you think it's my BCM - what is the best approach ? Is the BCM junk now or is there a way to seal it or something ? Is there a test for this ? Should the dealer do the replacing ? etc etc. Thanks in advance .
I have a 2001 Pont Grand AM SE1 and have done everthing I know to get the lockout off of my radio.. I have tried to unhook the batt for an hour and then pushing buttons 2 and 3 for about 10 sec.. nothing.. then I tried it again pushing buttons 1 and 4 thats what the owners manual says.. Then I just did the same thing but just let the ingnition stay on for an hour.. and did the same thing as I did when I unhooked the Batt. Welp.. I called GM and talked to about three people and all said... in so many words......your problem not ours.......what a great idea GM had running everthing thru the radio wires.......lol
If anyone knows how I can bypass this or another way of fixing it rather than taking it to a dealer and them putting it on a machine to get some codes.. let me know
Email me at RMHCowboy@aol.com
Thank you................
1. if you have any remote keyless entry fobs that aren't programmed to operate your vehicle, bring all of them in with you, and have your pontiac programmed to respond to them all. This may include keyless fobs from your other GM cars.
2. Go to a chevy dealer instead of a Pontiac dealer. They generally charge less to attach and run the diagnostic instrument. My chevy dealer charges $25.00, and my Pontiac dealer charges $40.00. That's a difference of 6 tall latte's at my local coffee shop.
Dick.
You have the PASSLOCK also known as MRD to locksmiths as anti-theft system. The security light is telling you there is a malfunction in the system.
The use of different keys means nothing becuse the security is built into the lock/ housing portion. The ignition key for this vehicle does not have a chip in it and a duplicate key can be made at a hardware store.
The way this system works is the vehicle's computer has to see the rotation of the ignition lock and the computer is not seeing this in your instance.
This system has a magnetic field in the ignition housing as it relates to the lock. If the lock is forced from the housing the field is broken and the engine will not start.
What I have seen to be a common problem over time is that ignition lock lubricatant sprayed on the outside of the lock and into the housing eventually making it so the vehicle's computer can not see you rotating the ignition to ON. The correction would be; have a locksmith remove the ignition lock and clean the body of the lock and inside the housing. Reinstall and that seems to fix the problem in many cases.
If this is not the problem, you will need to take it into the dealer to scan for codes.
Good Luck!
It's funny that in these later posts, there are many instances of the Security light being on SOLID, which indicates that the Security system has malfunctioned, and is being bypassed, and even though the owner goes through the 10 minute relearn cycle, the Security light does not get reset, but the car does run. This seems to indicate that as time goes by, the BCM's are failing, but there is no conclusive evidence that this is what is happening.
Good luck to all.
Dick
You have fallen victim to the most aggrivating thing about GM cars..... DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS!!! While you were resetting your anti-theft system, your headlights were on.
Try charging the battery, or using jumper cables.
By the way, My stick shift Grand Am can be pushed to start when the battery is low. hehehe.
http://www.pontiac.com/showContactUsEmail.do
FYI: I also seen a posting related to the hazard light/turn signal constantly clicking. This is another defect for the grand am but they have issued a recall for this. You can take your car to any Pontiac Dealer and they will replace the switch for you, so I've been told. If anyone knows if they actually honor this, please let me know.
All of the ways of making Pontiac more responsive were discussed early on. I said before and will say again that I think they were under pressure from the insurance companies, which are far better equipped to threaten the company with harassment lawsuits than we are. Given that Pontiac is not long for the world anyway, it is unlikely anything you do will change the company's attitude.
That said, I have to agree with a few others that, for the most part, my Grand Am has been very reliable. It's a '97, has 80,000 miles on it, and aside from a bad water pump it had when I bought it 50,000 miles ago, a major tune-up at 70,000 miles, and this, it has given me no problems. The air conditioner is bad, which in South Florida in the summer can be hellish, but it would cost more than $1,000 to fix, so I've chosen to roll down the windows and sweat. I'm still pulling 35-37 mpgs out of it, and that was heaven a year ago -- hybrids aren't actually getting that. I find a lot of the disaffection here is from people whose real gripe is with a service station or whatever whose mechanic did not know how to fix the problem or what was wrong. Your situation is a case in point -- it must have been expensive to put in three perfectly good fuel pumps and tow the car two or three times, all for nothing. But, it is not Pontiac's fault that some garage mechanic does not know how to fix the car. It apparently is true that some of the garage mechanics work for Pontiac -- we've had a few complaints against dealerships appear here -- and Pontiac should do something about that. The company also would develop more customer loyalty if it did not insist on dealers requiring $600 repairs when a $10 repair works and the attendant risk is minimal. I can understand why the company is hesitant to allow anyone to bypass an anti-theft system, especially if it is being sharked by an even more greedy insurance company. But, in my case, it is absurd to think anyone in South Florida is going to go to very much trouble to steal a twelve-year old Grand Am without air conditioning when, for a little more effort, they can have a much newer Cadillac, Lexus, or BMW and drive away in cool comfort.
It would be nice if we could impress the company with that.
I guess my big thing is nobody knowing about the problem. I took this to 3 seperate garages, one being a Pontiac dealer, and no one had a clue what to do. They said they could just start trouble shooting but that could cost me tons when it was over and done with. Five minutes on the internet and I knew exactly what it was and possibly how to fix it.
Well I guess they suceeded with the Anti-Theft System. There's a 50/50 chance the car won't even start if someone does try to steal it.
My question is this...does anyone know for sure that installing a remote start system with a security bypass module will stop the passlock from being a royal pain....i am soooo tired of replacing parts and setting for 10 min to reset..(its been 2yrs)...pls help....i plan on doing this anyways this summer so if no one answers i will let u know how it goes...
We don't have enough information to tell you what is wrong. So here goes.
1. When the car won't start, is the "SECURITY" light flashing?
2. After you do the 10-12 minute relearn process, does the "SECURITY" light go out?
3. Has your "SECURITY" light ever come on solid and stayed on after the vehicle has been running for at least a minute or so?
You can probably find the solution to your problem in one of the following messages in this thread:
#21-23
#50 (be sure to click on the links and view the pictures)
#209
#213
#394 (follow the link marked "Grand Am Passlock Security Fix")
#504
#506
#560
There are descriptions of many people's problems in many of the other posts, but if you read just these few messages, and read them thoroughly, you will have the answer to all but 0.01% of the Passlock problems.
And then, there is my usual suggestion:
Get a genuine Service Manualfor your particular vehicle
My suggestion is to get an Online Manual from the following source:
ALLDATADIY
You did mention that you sometimes wait 30 minutes and the security light still does not go off. Are you doing the procedure exaxtly as explained in the owner's manual? You must follow the sequence exactly in order to get the system to reset. Here is what it says in my owner's manual:
"If the SECURITY light flashes or stays on, turn the ignition off. Turn the ignition back ON, and wait 10 minutes with the key in ON until the light goes off. Then turn the ignition to OFF before attempting to start the engine again."
See Post #599 for a link to how to bypass the security system.
Yes I have tried several times doing the procedure as mentioned in the manual but I left in on before almost 30 minutes to see if the security light would even go off and it didn't. Also what if I had the ignition replaced would this help?
If the car does not start, and the security light begins FLASHING, and the reset procedure makes the light go out, then bypassing the system with the resistor will definitely solve your problem.
In either case, you don't have to have the car running to perform the resistor bypass. Actually, you should have the battery disconnected while you do the bypass.
If your security light stays on solid, and your car starts, it is unlikely that replacing the ignition switch will solve your problem. It is probably being caused by faulty wiring, or the Body Control Module.
Dick
Anyways, after reading just about all the posts, it seems that cutting theyellow wire while the car is running results in good outcomes although explaining why the sercurity light is always on may scare away potential buyers.
So what would the experienced GM owners suggest: going to a Pontiac dealer with info in hand that this is an inherent problem of this car and insist on them fixing it or chopping the wire and hoping for the best?
And this isn't the only repeat problem we have had with this car but certainly the most irritating....wouldn't buy another Pontiac even if they WERE a viable company right now..... :mad: :mad:
How was the remote start added? As an aftermarket device? Did the no start problem begin at about the same time?
Substituting the resistor into the circuit in place of the ignition switch module is the preferred way to solve the problem, because it guarantees that you will never be troubled with a no-start situation because of a faulty ignition module, A N D.... The Security light will never come on again because of a faulty ignition module. I would not, however, try to do the resistor mod with a remote start system installed. Who knows what kind of hacking was done by the mall shop who installed the remote starter.
All that said, if you aren't comfortable doing wiring, soldering, and the like, Go to Post #599, and then print out all the posts mentioned on that page, including the pictures that show how to remove the Grand Am. radio and find the correct wires. Take them to a LOCAL computer shop, or any shop that does electronic work, and ask the technician to do the mod for you. He should be able to do it for less than $100.00, which is a far cry from the amount most people in this forum have had to pay at a dealer. If he can't do it for you, he will probably know someone who can. If not, shop around. I was able to do it myself, but then, I worked in an electronics testing facility at GM.
Last of all, there is no substitute for a Service Manual, and the ones that GM publishes are the most complete of any car company in the world. They may not make the best vehicles, but they sure can tell you how to fix them. (The mechanics at the dealerships should read them.)
Dick
Dick
If the Security light was not blinking the next day, then there is something else wrong as well, but you will still have to solder the resistor in place, or you will have the same intermittent problem as before, only instead of being caused by a bad hall-effect switch, it will be caused by an intermittent resistor connection.