99 Intrigue Passlock Problem

About a year ago my 99 Intrigue 3.5GL (60,000mi) would start and then just shut off after about a second. I got towed alot and had alot of unnecessary expensive repairs done, so I took it to the dealership cuz they would surely know what the problem was. Here's what their scan found: CODES B1339, B0608, U1016 &U1300 SET. PCM LOSING COMMUNICATION, IGNITION SWITCH LOSING VOLTAGE. They replaced the PCM and the Ignition switch. It's been over a year now and the old problems have come back, only worse, like the car won't start AT ALL. If you turn the key to START, the car shuts off completely, no dash lights, no start, total silence. So now I go through a procedure where I disconnect and reconnect the battery, put the key ON for 10 minutes, etc and if I'm lucky it'll start. I also replaced an accessory fuse and I've tried to replace the cigarette lighter fuse but they blow just as soon as I put them in *POW*. It doesn't seem like there should be a connection between the cigarette lighter and the starting problems, but what do I know. Anyway, if anyone has any ideas, I'd be glad to hear them. Thanks, guys.

I got it from a family member and the only repair I know of is the fuel pump which was replaced after the anti-theft system started cutting off the engine, probably a misdiagnosis. The cigarette lighter fuse blew after I stuck a power inverter in there to power my laptop, but the inverter had too low a power rating and that never worked. The key does have a bunch of stuff on it, and I have read alot on the web about different factors causing key cylinder mess-ups. Thanks again!

To update, yesterday I bypassed the key cylinder with a resistor and had to do three 10 minute relearns, but it started up fine. Today, I'm having the same problem. Key to ON everything normal, key to START and dead silence. Either the relearn didn't work or it's not the key cylinder that's the problem. Also looking under the dash for the cause of the short, but everything looks in pretty good shape.

Sounds like replacing the actual ignition switch might not be a bad idea..the key cylinder and the ignition switch are two separate parts. Or at the very least look into the ignition switch being a culprit.

I didnt see you mention a Security light at all, which usually shows up when its a Passlock problem.

Mine went through a phase where it would randomly shut off while driving down the road, which is an absolute riot by the way....I took out the ignition switch, clean up the terminals and connections on the outside and havent had a problem since with the switch....I have had problems with the Passlock since then, but as Ive stated before, I disabled mine long ago....didnt even bother with the resistor approach. That light doesnt bother me a bit as long as the car starts :)

Yeah, it's funny when your engine shuts off going down a hill and you reach for the emergency brake release to stop the car and discover you don't have one! I wasn't gonna to mention that to keep things simple, but come to think of it, the first time I noticed this problem was driving down the highway and the car stuttered momentarily and the security light came on. I don't know how the PCM gets a message from the TDM/IPC to shut off the engine while you're driving, unless maybe theres a short or something. Did you cut the yellow wire to disable your passlock?

Yeah, I snipped the yellow wire, I did it with the engine running though, at the time it was my understanding that it had to be done with the car already running or basically it would turn your car into a 3500 lb paperweight, I didnt bother to test that theory and simply started the car up and snipped the wire, havent had a problem since....hoping my Security bulb will eventually burn out :)

Well if you do ever have a brick on your hands, I would put a resistor in there and your car should start up fine after a few relearns. My car took a few extra relearns, but it's running normal now. As for the fuse problem, it may be I was using too small a fuse (pretty dumb, I admit), or it could be a static charge when I put them in. Now if the car doesn't shut off while I'm driving, I'll be one happy customer. Thanks, everybody!