Okay, it's going on 3 months or so of not having my car running, I can't hold a job because i can't get to work, and there so i have no money to pay for my car, does anyone know how to get this light off? People tell me to do the relearn procedure, but my light never flashes in order for me to relearn it, i even bought a OBD2 diagnostic tester to see if it would give me the problem on that and no luck, i took it to the chevy dealership and they couldn't get it to stay off, i'm running out of time and money, and it's getting very irritating, does anyone have any suggestions?

NEW SIG COMING SOON FOR 07'!!!

well assuming by your name you have a 99 (you should really fill out your profile for times like this). in order to get the computer to relearn what did you do? what you have to do is start the car and let it die. leave the key in the on position and just sit there. do not turn the radio on or open the door or anything. just sit there for 10 mins. the light will start to flash. it will flash for about 5 mins and you'll hear the computer "relearning" itself. once that is done wait a minute. turn the key to the off postion (do not take it out) for 15 seconds. then restart the car. since im assuming your car is a 95-99 it should work the first time. i know the newer cavs it may take up to 3 times to work.

had a similar event just occur. i was going down the road, and just lost power, wouldn't start. and the theft light was on. first question, do you have remote start? aftermarket remote start reaks havic on gm cars. i did the relearning procedure and nothing happened turns out it was a bad connector, think it was the crank sensor. i took my to a shop, i worked at it for days and couldn't find it. dealers told me it was an ignition control module. would have costed some 400bones to fix. they were wrong!!!!! cost me eighty bucks. if you electronically inclined take a meter and start tesing your lines. I could have done that but, and i figured it was a sensor. i got tired of monkeying with it so i just paied the guy.

So, what was it? A sensor or what? If it was a sensor then what kind of sensor was it? I already changed my ignition switch for the 2nd time and i changed my instrument panel and still a no-go, Is your theft light always suppossed to flsh whe doing the re-learn procedure? Or does it do it sometimes and not others? I'm lost of ideas, i dont know what to do, i would just sell it but i still owe 6000 on the car, so who would want a 6000 dollar non-starting cavalier?

NEW SIG COMING SOON FOR 07'!!!

Hi Brian

Firstly, have to agree with Mike-please fill out your present car info in your profile so we know what systems you should have in your car as standard.

Next, having read through all your past posts, to try to build up a picture of what happened,I think this car first started "Not starting" after you reconnected the battery?

Can you remember, and list, the exact sequence of events just before and after the failure?

Are all your fusible links OK?

Do you have the ignition recall EXTRA relay fitted in your car?

Off subject I received a Junk e-mail along with yours!

With more info we may be able to solve the problem


Alont

OK Brian
This is the FAQ on the Passlock system

PASSlock
Also referred to as the Vehicle Theft Deterrent (VTD) system, PASSlock is designed to prevent vehicle theft by disabling the fuel injectors unless the lock cylinder is engaged by the correct mechanical key. The theft deterrent system uses four components for theft prevention:

- the lock cylinder
- the ignition switch
- the instrument cluster (IPC, 96-99 models) or body control module (BCM, 00-05 models)
- the powertrain control module (PCM)

When starting the engine, the PCM waits for the fuel password from the IPC/BCM. If the password is not recognized or not present, the PCM disables the fuel injectors. The vehicle will either start and then quickly stall, or fail to start entirely.

{NOTE Start here is the engine running in a short burst-it should ALWAYS "crank"i.e. ROTATE with the starter}

If one of the four components listed above is replaced, then the PASSlock system must be reprogrammed.

[If you CHANGED the dash it MUST be reprogrammed.]

There are several versions of PASSlock; J-cars use PASSlock-1 which uses three wires compared to PASSlock-2 which uses 2.


From the info you have given me, the problem evolved like this:-
Problem first appeared-car taken to "shop"-new ignition switch fitted-problem solved.
What shop was this? Just curious.
After a period of time:-
Returned from work-shut off car which was working fine.
Returned to car and tried to start-car CRANKS i.e. the starter turns the engine-but the engine will not RUN/FIRE UP(Please confirm this is what happened)
Car taken to GM dealer who also changed the ignition switch but they could not fix the problem.
Relearn procedure tried countless times unsucessfully.

Now in one of your other posts you say you have changed the DASH?

When did that occur in the sequence of events?

Please try to think through exactly what happened and when to enable us to see where something may have gone wrong.

Did you try the procedure EXACTLY as BaggedCav98 suggested and if you did how did the light respond-if the light does not flash at the proper time the computer is not completing the relearn procedure.
If you could please read this through carefully and correct anything I have said that did not happen or is in the wrong sequence, we should have an accurate story of this problem


Alont

Hi Brian

below is a link to some great diagrams used by alarm installers.
You can see there are different systems and solutions for each.
Gives good hints on what the Passlock wiring looks like and how the resistance in the ignition switch is read by the Passlock module

http://www.jaycorptech.com/tech/passlock.htm

Alont

Check the ground on the battery tray?

I just copied this here, Brian, because we need all the help we can get

[Hey, I was working on the car today and i did something right but couldn't do it again.....

I decided to take out the ignition switch that the chevy dealer put in and put my old one back in and see what happened, well my uncle helped me pull it out the first time since i didn't know how to do it, so when he pulled it out the first time the instrument panel was all off and when we put it back in the theft light flashed, ( Talking about someone getting excited!!!!) So i wasn't sure whether i was supposed to start the car right then and let it die or let it keep flashing until it stopped and then try cranking it, so i decided to wait until it stopped and then when it stopped i tried to crank it, but i later realized i was supposed to turn the key off for a min or 2 and then crank it, so when i tried cranking it , it wouldn't turn over. So, then i was back at square one, what do i do now? It is in fact something with the ignition switch, but how do i get it to start flashing again?]


Next do as John Lenko says,disconnect the battery and then check the ground on the battery tray. This means disconnecting any wires at that ground point and then making sure the ground point and the cable ends/connectors are both shiny clean so you get a really good ground connection. The reconnect the ground wires and reconnect the battery. This will eliminate the ground from the equation.

Connect everything up and follow the relearn procedure EXACTLY

Then, don't forget the Passlock module is looking for the proper key to be inserted and then reads the resistance of the resistor in the ignition switch. The connections at the ignition switch are VERY important. A bad joint/connection at the ignition switch will mean the resistance is either:-

(a) varying (intermittent connection)
or
(b) correct resistance + bad connection resistance = incorrect resistance read by the Passlock module.
These are the three wires in a ribbon cable WHITE BL:ACK YELLOW or WHITE BLACK BLACK. Check the connector is clean and all the wires are connected correctly at the ignition switch.

It seems like your last connection of the ignition switch almost had it right-Chev dealer should have had this right first time.

Then post back here so more people see the story evolve and are able to help you, if anyone sees any errors please point them out.

Keep at it because it requires methodical inspecting and testing to pin it down.

Alont