**HELP** Car starts, runs for 1 second, then dies! - Maintenance and Repair Forum

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**HELP** Car starts, runs for 1 second, then dies!
Wednesday, March 08, 2006 10:08 PM
So this problem started the other day. The car turns over and starts up. It runs for approx. 1 second, then dies.
When it first started happening, the second time i started it up, it would keep running.
Then it moved to taking a few times to try.
Then this morning I couldn't get it to start. I managed to get it at lunch and it worked great all afternoon.

I was told it might be a clogged fuel filter so I had it replaced today and it seemed to work fine.

I just went outside to try it and it stalls again. Also, after trying a few times, the Theft Lock light comes on (this happened this morning also).

Please help, I need it for work in the morning!!!

Car is a 1996 Cavalier Z24

Shane

*Mods* Move to maintenance if required.

Re: **HELP** Car starts, runs for 1 second, then d
Wednesday, March 08, 2006 10:58 PM
are you using the original key, if not, theres your problem.



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- Sold my beloved J in April 2010 -
Re: **HELP** Car starts, runs for 1 second, then d
Wednesday, March 08, 2006 11:02 PM
Look in the interior FAQ on how to reprogram theftlock.





4cyltuner.com - Information Source For 4 Cylinder Tuners
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Re: **HELP** Car starts, runs for 1 second, then d
Wednesday, March 08, 2006 11:46 PM
Viper98912 wrote:are you using the original key, if not, theres your problem.

doesnt matter if your using ur original key or not. take off the plastic around your steering column plastic and inspect the 3 skinny ribbon type passlock wires.. and the clip ect..but try to reprogram it first




Re: **HELP** Car starts, runs for 1 second, then d
Thursday, March 09, 2006 6:22 AM
^^^ excuse me?

i would think i have a little bit more cavy wiring experience when it comes to alarm related things than you do.

its a VERY simple quesion that you dont have to do ANYTHING about, its a "yes or no" question rather than a "let me dig out the tools and start taking the car apart".

AND YES, IF YOU USE A PLAIN JANE WALMART KEY, THEFTLOCK WILL MOST LIKELY ACTIVATE, ITS BEEN PROVEN BEFORE.

seriously, people need to stfu if they're going to give overly complicated advice before getting through the basics.



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- Sold my beloved J in April 2010 -
Re: **HELP** Car starts, runs for 1 second, then d
Thursday, March 09, 2006 10:33 AM
maybe on your 00+ but not 95-99 dip@!#$ i use spare keys on both of my cars.. theftlock simply reads that there is a key in the ignition its not like it has a chip ur right about your last sentence thats about it.




Re: **HELP** Car starts, runs for 1 second, then d
Thursday, March 09, 2006 10:42 AM
Brandon Schmidt wrote:maybe on your 00+ but not 95-99


LMAO.

Brandon Schmidt wrote:theftlock simply reads that there is a key in the ignition


LMAO.

thanks for proving yourself.



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- Sold my beloved J in April 2010 -
Re: **HELP** Car starts, runs for 1 second, then d
Thursday, March 09, 2006 11:10 AM
i dunno wuts so funny besdies u telling him a spare key wouldnt work




Re: **HELP** Car starts, runs for 1 second, then d
Thursday, March 09, 2006 1:19 PM
Glad that you guys are able to get along and help me out.

So I tried a new key last night and after two tries it started. THen this morning that same key started it up right away.

At lunch today it took two times then worked. After picking up lunch it started right away.
At the end of lunch I tried it one more time, this time it didn't start up.
I know after a few times the Passlock starts up, so all I got was 4 times, then the Passlock started, so now I need to wait a while to try again.

Please help..I'm going to need to get home after work!
Re: **HELP** Car starts, runs for 1 second, then d
Thursday, March 09, 2006 1:36 PM
Try this:

1. Attempt to start the vehicle, then leave the ignition ON. The THEFT SYSTEM light telltale will flash for 10 minutes.

2. When the THEFT SYSTEM telltale stops flashing, start the vehicle. Once the vehicle is running, the password is learned.





Re: **HELP** Car starts, runs for 1 second, then d
Thursday, March 09, 2006 1:38 PM
Viper98912 wrote:^^^ excuse me?

i would think i have a little bit more cavy wiring experience when it comes to alarm related things than you do.

its a VERY simple quesion that you dont have to do ANYTHING about, its a "yes or no" question rather than a "let me dig out the tools and start taking the car apart".

AND YES, IF YOU USE A PLAIN JANE WALMART KEY, THEFTLOCK WILL MOST LIKELY ACTIVATE, ITS BEEN PROVEN BEFORE.

seriously, people need to stfu if they're going to give overly complicated advice before getting through the basics.


here this one is for u also.. since you know so much.. i highly doubt a key will disable the radio so i hope u were laughing at that dip@!#$


PASSlock vs THEFTLOCK
PASSlock and THEFTLOCK are two distinctly different security measures installed on third-gen J-cars.

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


THEFTLOCK
THEFTLOCK is a radio feature, which prevents a stolen radio from working in another vehicle. There are two versions of THEFTLOCK. The 95-99 version must be activated by the vehicle owner and has a three or four digit code that is chosen by the person activating the THEFTLOCK® feature. In the 00-05 version, the radio and body control module (BCM) communicate with each other to ensure that the radio is installed in the correct vehicle. If the radio display reads LOC, then the THEFTLOCK system has been activated.







Re: **HELP** Car starts, runs for 1 second, then d
Thursday, March 09, 2006 1:49 PM
well well, i will see that someone has caught a mistake. Yes, i meant passlock, not theft lock. I was thinking passlock, but i wrote down theftlock because i was looking at the original post where the word theftlock was used when i was writing.

ANYWAY.

Jcars - to be specific, All 96+ Jbodies use Passlock II. Its not the "95-99" or "00-05" thing you're ASSUMING. As you seem to assume you know alot. At the same time, what it does is measure the resistance of the key, aka the friggin metal. So if you're not using an original GM key, the very metal that the key is made out of could be whats throwing off the computer. if you're lucky, it might be similar. And this could be one of the reasons why sometimes it starts, and sometimes it doesnt. Thats why new keys are always supposed to be made by a GM dealer, not Kmart or Home Depot.

At the same time, this is only one of the many reasons this could be occuring. Hell, your lock cylinder could be the problem. But before tearing the car apart, use the simple approach and start with a GM original key first.

Its funny too, because you've been flamed in a lot of posts lately brandon, so I would definitely not even think about taking your advice.



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- Sold my beloved J in April 2010 -
Re: **HELP** Car starts, runs for 1 second, then d
Thursday, March 09, 2006 2:03 PM
lol ive used tons of spare keys it should work unless the guy cutting ur keys is a moron

whats even funnier is there alot of things i havent been flamed for..
msot of which i have have really nothing to do with cars




Re: **HELP** Car starts, runs for 1 second, then d
Friday, March 10, 2006 8:42 AM
So after work it started fine. My local car-club noted that it could be a problem with the ground.
Sure enough I went home and took it off and found out it was completely rusted. I sanded it down a bit, but almost broke the connector on the wire from the batterys negative terminal.
Anyways, I cleaned them up a bit and put them back on it and seems fine now.
I picked up some new cable connectors and will install them this weekend, and I hope all is well!

Thanks for the help guys,
Shane
Re: **HELP** Car starts, runs for 1 second, then d
Friday, March 10, 2006 9:46 AM
now, why was your passlock activating, is weird.

but that is definitely a common problem, and a good solution. cool beans.



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- Sold my beloved J in April 2010 -
Re: **HELP** Car starts, runs for 1 second, then d
Friday, March 10, 2006 8:34 PM
Im wondering if its something to do with the cylinder itself. I have been having the same problem lately. Original GM key.

Here is the kicker of the problem and the reason that I think the above post and mine are both the same:

When you let it sit for 10 mins (without the key in the ignition - hence not doing the Passlock II relearn it still starts up fine.

The reason might be confirmed by something I noticed the second time it happened to me -- >> the damn theft light was flashing constantly even after I took the key out of the cylinder, and kept doing so for 10 mins. Im wondering if this could mean that something is wrong with the cylinder. Perhaps thinking that the key is still in there and turned to the run position ?

Any advice ? Alont seems to know a lot about these things, with some rather good advice in the related posts I searched. Has anyone had experience with this ?
Re: **HELP** Car starts, runs for 1 second, then d
Saturday, March 11, 2006 5:52 AM
OK Vinay

maybe this article may help clear things up.

1. "PASS KEY" The KEY had a coded resistor pellet embedded in it.

2. "PASS LOCK" The coding device(s) are in the LOCK
[ Quote from the article below----PASSlock doesn't require a coded resistor pellet in the key.]

The wires that connect the LOCK to the MODULE MUST be within the resistance limits in the article otherwise the system will go into theft/tamper mode.
So yours could be a bad connection giving a high resistance on these wires or a failure of Hall effect switch/resistor/diode contained in the lock --i.e. New Lock needed
-------------------
Anti-Theft Systems

PASS-key theft-deterrent system
To reduce the risk of car theft, many GM vehicles feature the patented PASS-key theft-deterrent system. Each ignition key has a black, coded resistor pellet embedded in the key. When you put the key in the ignition and turn it, the system reads the resistor. If the system doesn't get the correct code, the car won't start.

PASSlock theft-deterrent system
Similar to PASS-key is the PASSlock theft-deterrent system. With PASSlock, when you turn the ignition lock, a sensor in the lock sends a resistance code to the on-board computer. If the code isn't correct, the computer shuts off the fuel to the vehicle's engine. PASSlock doesn't require a coded resistor pellet in the key.

Both systems have been incredibly successful in limiting theft of GM vehicles. In fact in 1984, before this system was developed, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that 13 of the top 20 stolen cars were GM models. By 1995, no GM vehicles were on the top 20 list.



http://www.gm.com/company/gmability/safety/security/theft_deterrence/ PASSLOCK DEFININTION FROM GM


Dear Roy:
The vehicle is a �99, Chevy K2500 4x4, VIN 1GCGK23R9XFO69260, with a 5.7L engine and four-speed automatic transmission. It has 68,000 miles.

About two years ago, I installed a remote starter. Everything was fine for the first few months, and then I started to have trouble starting the truck. The security (Passlock) light would flash but would not let the truck start. I would have to wait with the ignition on for 20 minutes before it would start again.

I decided to take it to a Chevy dealer. The dealer told me that remote starters would not work on this truck, and they advised me to remove it, which I had them do. Things were OK again for few couple months, and then it started to happen again. This time they said that they believed that the Passlock system was the trouble.

They cut me new keys. They said that the aftermarket key that I was using was not exactly cut like the GM key. They also told me that the ignition switch has the (Passlock) system in it and did not like the aftermarket key. My keys do not have the chip in them; it�s in the switch.

Things were OK again � until it would not start again. This time they said that the fuel pump was bad and because the dash gauges were acting weird, that the sensor also could be bad. So after replacing the pump and sensor and about $700 later, it seemed to be working. HA!

Now while I�m driving, this happens about twice a week. I�ll be driving and the security light will flash twice, it will �beep beep beep� and the engine shuts off. At 60 mph in heavy traffic, it gets a little hairy. I have to shift to Neutral, wait for the rpms to drop, and then restart the engine. It doesn�t start the first time, but does on the second try. Then I shift back into Drive and keep going.

It also does not want to start in the morning. It can take as many as six attempts before starting. It doesn�t happen every morning, but occurs about three times a week.

I�ve been back to the dealer. They hooked the handheld computer to it and came up with a code for the Passlock. Now they think that it is the ignition switch. They said that they have never heard of the Passlock shutting off the engine after it was running.

It feels just like I�m running out of gas. Could the Passlock be telling the pump to shut off? I�m sorry for the length of this, but I needed to give as much detail as I could. Please help if you can.

Dennis Huffman, Supervisor
Huffman�s Garage, Westminster, MD

Dear Mr. Huffman,
When the security lamp flashes, the system has detected a problem. Did the dealer state what code they retrieved with the scan tool?

Nevertheless, here�s how this system works: The Passlock sensor contains two Hall-effect sensors, a resistor and a diode. When the key is inserted into the magnet and the lock cylinder is rotated, an analog voltage code is sent to the Passlock module. This is compared to the last learned voltage code. If the codes match, the Passlock module sends a Class 2 message to the PCM to enable the injectors.

The two wires that connect the Passlock sensor to the Passlock module are critical in that a 7-ohm variation on the ground wire (orange/ black) or a 100-ohm variation on the signal wire (yellow) will prevent the engine from starting.

Your problem appears to be an intermittent connection somewhere in the Passlock system. I would check for poor connections such as poor solder joints, crimps, corroded connectors and rubbed through insulation at the module and steering column as well.

When you installed the remote starter, did you tap into any of these wires? If you did, I would head there first.



Hope this helps


Alont
Re: **HELP** Car starts, runs for 1 second, then d
Saturday, March 11, 2006 6:00 AM

Forgot to add this link to the FAQ's, PASSLOCK relearn procedure is there as well

http://www.j-body.org/faq//97/

Alont
Re: **HELP** Car starts, runs for 1 second, then d
Saturday, March 11, 2006 10:24 AM
^^ already posted.. if you read.. also if you read he found a solution it was nothing to do with either




Re: **HELP** Car starts, runs for 1 second, then d
Saturday, March 11, 2006 10:28 AM
Alont,

what could cause the theft light to flash with the key removed from the ignition ? short somewhere in the system ?

It must think that the key is still in and turned to the on position ?
Re: **HELP** Car starts, runs for 1 second, then d
Saturday, March 11, 2006 6:46 PM
Agree Vinay

it may also be an "Open", If there is a bad connection and the overall resistance of the ground wire increases or decreases by only 7 ohms or the yellow signal wire by 100 ohms the module will see it as the wrong code(Resistance)

I think you would have the same indication as someone trying to steal it, in that the module would see what appears to be the wrong code sent from the lock.

Also if there is a failure of a component in the lock you may get the same result.


Alont

Re: **HELP** Car starts, runs for 1 second, then d
Saturday, March 11, 2006 9:37 PM
Z24Z2Fast wrote:So after work it started fine. My local car-club noted that it could be a problem with the ground.
Sure enough I went home and took it off and found out it was completely rusted. I sanded it down a bit, but almost broke the connector on the wire from the batterys negative terminal.
Anyways, I cleaned them up a bit and put them back on it and seems fine now.
I picked up some new cable connectors and will install them this weekend, and I hope all is well!

Thanks for the help guys,
Shane

Thats what I was gonna say, bad ground. Same thing happened to me and I got the junk off the connectors and it started right up.

-Seth



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