96 Monte won't start

We have a 96 Monte Carlo that ran just fine when we parked it for about a year (long story...) Anyway, we decided to drive it again, so we got it started (without trouble...put in a charged battery) and drove it out of where it had been parked. It then sat for another month. When we tried to start it again, it would not start. Couldn't hear the fuel pump running so assumed it had died. Replaced it, still didn't start. Figured out the pump was not getting power for some reason, checked all the fuzes, everything was good. Talked to a garage they said it must be electrical, brought it in and paid them $150 for them to tell us they couldn't find the prblem. Took it to the Chevy dealer, they charged us $550 to replace the PCM. The day I picked it up I could tell in the first 15 minutes that it still wasn't right and was afraid to shut it off because the one time I did, it almost didn't restart.That day the SES light would come on and flash and then stay on steady. Took it back to the dealer, they charged us $100 to change ONE spark plug!!!We took it home and changed ALL the plugs and the oil. Drove it for ONE DAY and it died! We seem to be back at square one, it won't start and sounds just like it did before.... turns over rapidly but doesn't fire, must not be getting gas because, once again, we can't hear the fuel pump!!The SES light is not on (it wasn't the other time either) but the"anti-lock" light is and the "security" light comes on for awhile and then goes out. I don't remember it doing that before, but maybe I just didn't notice. Feeling a little ripped off right now as we have $800 into this and nothing has changed!

I spent several hours last night reading other posts.... Read about the passlock issue and key problems. Ran across the tip on spraying your key/key cylinder with WD40.... Went out to the car at mightnight to try it. Would you believe it FIRED RIGHT UP????? Can you guess how PISSED OFF I am right now????If I felt ripped off before, it's NOTHING compared to what I'm feeling now!!! The first garage was probubly just ignorant of the problem (as I was). I find it a little hard to imagine that the dealer is!!!!That manager is going to get an EARFUL on Monday!I don't have any delusions that they will refund us our money for the PCM, but I will feel better if I get to SCREAM at someone!:evillol:

From reading all this over the last two days, this is what I think happened. Can anyone out they give me some input as to wether I am really following this correctly???The car was parked and had a dead battery, we put in a new battery and it started but there was also problem with passkey/ignition cylinder so it lost the info while it was running and entered fail-enabled mode. But then we took that battery out, so the PCM went to no-start mode, so even when we put the battery back in the fuel system was locked out.The dealer replaced the PCM saying that was the problem, but really the key/cylinder is the problem, so the car ended up not starting again.Does this make sense? I just want to be sure I know whats going on when I go scream at them:wink:

The dealership service technicians probably should have recognized the problem, especially if you related the entire history to them. However, in any larger dealership it's likely that you spoke with a service representative, and not the technician. These people are frequently not technicians, but glorified "service salespersons". If the entire history which you may have related to the service rep was ever mentioned to the actual tech working on the vehicle, I'd frankly be a little surprised. If you spoke to the service tech, they should have suspected a problem.

FWIW, liquid lubricants should never be used on a lock cylinder, and especially on a PASSKey lock cylinder. Cleaning with alcohol and swabs, then lubrication with dry graphite is the recommended method. That applies to all lock cylinders - Doors, trunk, everything.

They probably could have had the PCM re-learn the PASSKey resistance and solved the entire problem.

Whatever you do at the dealership, DO NOT give them the originals of your estimates, quotes, or receipts for service. Make copies to take with you or you may never see them again - Especially if a service manager or service advisor gets involved. Just saying....

Small claims, anyone? Incompetence comes to mind as initial grounds. They'd be smarter to just eat the PCM replacement, charge you for the spark plug, and apologize. Then again, if they don't want your future business, they may resist.