Alero Problems...Passlock?

Hello All.

I know I am new to this forum, but am in dire need of help with my car.

Also, I realize that there are many posts to this problem, but I wanted to see if mine was the same, as it has a few differences to it.

Almost 2 years ago, I purchased a 2003 Oldsmobile Alero GL1 with 16,000 miles on it. Now, it has 54,00 miles on it. I have always "babied" my car, and all maintenance has been routine and thorough. It has been a great car, up until recently.

About 5 months ago, I would start my car, and it would instantly die. Usually, I would let it sit, and it would start back up. I thought that I might have accidentally turned the key off, so I didn't think too much of it. That was, until my next problem occured.

I was driving along, and my security light came on. Believing that I was in no danger, I continued driving my car. (I was driving in the mountains.) I climbed over a great hill. On the way down, my car died, with no warning. It just died--the engine, the radio, lights, everything. I ending up locking up the rear wheels with the emergency brake, and ended up in a ditch, myself and the car unharmed. I used the same precedure of letting the car sit, and it eventually started it up. The next day, I immediately drove it to the dealer, and told them of my problems. They looked at it, and couldn't pull any codes off of it. There best "guess" was that it was the passlock sensor, and said it would be about $600 to fix it. I told them not to fix it, and I took it back to the dealer I bought it from. They inspected the car, and told me that the negative ground cable wasn't attached correctly, and that's what caused my problem. I believed them, until 2 days ago.

Now, it happened again. Except, in a different manner. I went to start my car, and the only light that came on was the Check Engine Light. No radio, windows, lights, nothing. Just the check engine light. I proceeded to start the engine; it cranked, and finally turned over. About thirty seconds later, the car "came alive"---the gauges calibrated, and everything worked, so I drove it thinking it was a wierd "quirk". It drove fine...and then everything quit--except the engine. No dash lights, no outside lights, no windows, radio or anything. The engine continued to run. But I was scared, so I pulled over. (This all happened in about a 15 second interval.) As soon as I put the vehicle in park, the car instantly cut off, and the instrument cluster came on as if I were just starting the car (lights do self test). So, I was scared, and drove straight home.

Ever since then when I go to start the car, the check engine light is the only thing to illuminate--I wait until the instrument cluster "initializes" and then I can start the car.

I thought it might be a problem with a relay, but it also fits the problem of Passlock problems. What should I do??? I am a full time college student and have a part time job--I can't go out and buy a new vehicle (as frustrated as I am with it), and don't want to spend $xxxx fixing things that don't solve the problem. Is there a systematic approach to trying to figure out what's wrong with this car?

Thanks in advance for any help!

Welcome to AF.

It doesn't sound like a Passlock VATS problem but more like of a loss of 12 volts for the ignition circuits, accessories and lighting to include IP. Some 2002 - 2003 Aleros had problem with wiring at the engine compartment fuse box. Another possibility is a bad ignition switch.

Welcome to AF.

It doesn't sound like a Passlock VATS problem but more like of a loss of 12 volts for the ignition circuits, accessories and lighting to include IP. Some 2002 - 2003 Aleros had problem with wiring at the engine compartment fuse box. Another possibility is a bad ignition switch.

How do I go about checking these??? Should I bring it in to a mechanic, or is there something I can do to check this? When I took my Alero in the first time, they checked out all the wiring, and that's how they came up with the bad ground cable connection. Is it more likely the switch??? And if so, how much am I looking at?

Thanks again, in advance.

If you have access to a multimeter then you can make voltage measurements at the fuse sockets and relays before the ignition switch and after feeding out to the various circuits. But you will probably need the GM wiring diagrams too.

Also, check the terminals at the battery negative and positive cable connections. AC Delco batteries, if still installed, have a problem where the terminals at the battery are flaky.

If you have access to a multimeter then you can make voltage measurements at the fuse sockets and relays before the ignition switch and after feeding out to the various circuits. But you will probably need the GM wiring diagrams too.

Also, check the terminals at the battery negative and positive cable connections. AC Delco batteries, if still installed, have a problem where the terminals at the battery are flaky.

Thanks for your help. I took the car to the dealer today, because it would not start at all. They said the ignition switch was bad. They are in the process of repairing it. I have an uncle who is a "muckety-muck" at GM, and I've teamed up with him to try to get GM to reimburse me for the repairs, seeing as how my life was IN DANGER!

I'll post back on here to let you guys know whether the problem was resolved or not.

Again, thanks.

You're welcome. Better to play it safe than sorry. Too much of a safety risk. Good luck and let us know how it works out.

You're welcome. Better to play it safe than sorry. Too much of a safety risk. Good luck and let us know how it works out.

Well, I don't know when I am going to update when the car is fixed. I figured my car would be ready yesterday...it wasn't. They ended up keeping it overnight, and didn't really tell me why. So today, I called them and asked them when it would be ready, and they said it may be ready by 5:30. This sounds a bit shady, as they said it would be ready either late yesterday or first thing this morning... So now I'm wondering if the ignition switch wasn't the only problem...possibly the BCM??? But I guess it's best to not go out on limbs...

I'll post something when I learn what's going on...I hope it's just the switch.

Had a dealership tell me that once about 12 years ago. Turns out the car stalled when the mechanic was on a test drive and it "fell off" the back of the tow truck when they were bringing it back to the shop. They didn't want to tell me what the delay was when I called. I showed up and finally got the real story when I asked where my car was.

But, I got my repairs for free, and a paint job on the front half of the car at the same time.... :)

Had a dealership tell me that once about 12 years ago. Turns out the car stalled when the mechanic was on a test drive and it "fell off" the back of the tow truck when they were bringing it back to the shop. They didn't want to tell me what the delay was when I called. I showed up and finally got the real story when I asked where my car was.

But, I got my repairs for free, and a paint job on the front half of the car at the same time.... :)

Well, thank goodness they called and said my car was ready. Turns out the delay was that someone forgot to do the key relearn with the new switch installed. So, it was delayed a bit. (Or at least, that's their story.) I drove the car, and everything appears to be working great. No more problems when I first turn on the vehicle, and it drove fine all the way home. I'm glad that it was fixed. The price was a bit hefty though.... $400. But, I'm glad that it's working right now. Just hope that GM accepts my claim...because if they don't, I won't buy another one of their vehicles, because they won't stand behind them.

We have had security light issues on our 2002 3.4V6 Alero. Last week, the light would start flashing and then disappear. Then it failed to start. After the tow truck took the car to our repair shop, it started for no reason! Then this morning, car would not turn over. The tow guy noticed the 'security' sign was flashing, he said leave the ignition on until it stops flashing (about 7 mins), then turn off ignition and the car will start as it resets itself. He was right, so that may help someone reading this message.
The tow guy suggested we get it checked out as the passlock area needed checking. Sadly, it is a well known GM problem that they appear to do little about (like intake manifold gaskets and turn signal units), and we had to pay for a new ignition switch as a cost of $306; would have proably been more at a GM dealership.
Over the last 9 months, we have spent over $1000 on turn signal units, intake manifold gaskets and now this. The car is well maintained and has done only 56,000 miles. We will now be selling it and will replace it with a non GM car that's for sure.
This Alero was trouble free until it hit 50,000 miles, then all the problems above arose. That's a shame, because it could and should have been a good car.
Goodbye GM...and down you go!

Further to my mail of November 9th. The security light came on again and the car would not start. I did as my tow-guy suggested. I left it flashing for about 7 minutes until it stopped and went out. Then turned off the ignition, tried again and she started.
Took it back to the repair shop. This time, they changed the ignition key and tumbler, and hey presto! It's been fine for a week now. Therefore, the problem was NOT the ignition switch, just the key and tumbler part, which is a lot cheaper than having the whole thing replaced. This means we have a new ignition key now, but a small price to pay for knowing the thing will start!

Hope this helps anyone for the future.