1996 Grand Am with a serious theft system problem...

[thephantom1492]

Originally Posted by oldGMguy

I have the fix for the 96 grand am theft system problem. First i am a G.M. tech and have been one for 33 years. I just bought a 96 grand am for 250 dollors. Yep thats right the owner just got sick of it not starting from time to time and the theft system light coming on. So i have had time to play with it and try things that may work to bypass this system. I want go into all that junk her it is. Tell you dealer the just unplug the harness at the base of the column coming from the lock cylinder. Then hook up the tech 2 go to the special functions opions section under I P then run the 10 min. relearn. After its done leave the harness unpluged start the car and this will program the system leaving the lock cylinder out of the picture. Dont plug it back in. The only downfall is the theft system is no longer there. The light want even come on again but after all who would still a 96 grandam.

That is a bad way to do it. First, if your battery ever run flat (or you replace it) then the car will not start back again. Second, it will light up the security light.

Better way to do it is to cut the wires and solder a resistor, then do the 10 mins relearn procedure. That way it will always work. That work for passlock 1 and 2, not for passlock 3 (which use RFID instead of resistance)

[Tech II]

I don't think there is any such thing as PassLock 3...there is PassKey III....

But I agree....the resistor method is better...eliminates the toggle switch, and you don't have to worry about loss of power due to a bad battery or loss of battery power due to a disconnect....

[xeroinfinity]

Ya oldGMguy was a little late,Ive removed his post as it was not useful!

It just seems wrong to hack the harness, when a new lock cylinder fixes the problem 99% of the time, for me any way.

A lot has to do with the way people abuse the lock cylinders. They are cheap plastic inside, not metal like the old ones.

Welcome to AF 500TPmech !
Yes you do have to go to the stealership, but they wont lend it or prob do what oldGmguy suggested. You might find a used one for a $1000, maybe.

I would NOT follow the advice on cutting the harness. :grinnno:

What exactly is your issue with your passlock ??

And please note the post dates before posting in such an old thread.

[delmer1948@gmail.]

I got the same pro. Now the mic.said i need cluster.

[JGAB79]

thephantom1492, could you be more specific with how to fix it with resistors, I have the same car with the same problem.

[seejayforpresident]

Please help me. I have tried the re-learn about 1000 times and it does not work. I just replaced the entire ignition lock cylinder today with a brand spankin new one and for the first time after trying to start it the THEFT light actually blinked and wasn't on just solid red. I conveniently messed up the re-learn this time for whatever reason, so now once again the light does not blink, indicating it's ready to relearn, it just is on solid. This was the issue before the new cylinder, was that the light did not blink it was just on completely solid red. I don't know how to get it to blink to do the re-learn or what could be causing it to just stay on solid red without blinking. I don't care about the security system at all. I followed the wires down from the new cylinder to the harness it connects to and clipped the yellow wire from that harness. I thought that would kill the pass lock system entirely but no, the light is still shining bright like a big red middle finger in my face. this is a '96 pontiac grand am. Please help if you know a secret for making the light actually blink for the relearn or for just deactivating it as a whole.

[xeroinfinity]

Originally Posted by seejayforpresident

Please help me. I have tried the re-learn about 1000 times and it does not work. I just replaced the entire ignition lock cylinder today with a brand spankin new one and for the first time after trying to start it the THEFT light actually blinked and wasn't on just solid red. I conveniently messed up the re-learn this time for whatever reason, so now once again the light does not blink, indicating it's ready to relearn, it just is on solid. This was the issue before the new cylinder, was that the light did not blink it was just on completely solid red. I don't know how to get it to blink to do the re-learn or what could be causing it to just stay on solid red without blinking. I don't care about the security system at all. I followed the wires down from the new cylinder to the harness it connects to and clipped the yellow wire from that harness. I thought that would kill the pass lock system entirely but no, the light is still shining bright like a big red middle finger in my face. this is a '96 pontiac grand am. Please help if you know a secret for making the light actually blink for the relearn or for just deactivating it as a whole.

Welcome to AF seejayforpresident !

on the relearn procedure you need to attempt to start it , then leave the key in the run position for at least 12 mins or until the security light stops flashing. then off for at least 30 seconds. But reconnect the yellow wire you cut and tape it up so it doesnt short out before you do the relearn!

If the security light was on solid and not flashing, before you replaced the lock cylinder , that might not have been your problem(s).

You might be able to add a 2200 Ohm resistor into the yellow and black terminals on the lock cylinder and cover the leads with tape or something.

Also sometimes the security light does not flash or blink when theirs security issues, just stays lit solid. You can try to do the relearn either way, flashing or on solid. Just keep repeating the relearn until it stops flashing and stays on and it starts.

but once you cut the yellow wire its told the pcm somethings not right so you might have to do the relearn repeatedly until it starts.

If you search the Grand Am forum you'll find many threads that discuss the lock cyl replacement, and the relearn procedure and how to by pass the passlock system properly. Im not a big fan on hacking it because it can still cause problems down the road with it not wanting to start. So Im not responsible if you screw it up. lol

Hope that helps.