96 grand am hard to start

:shakeheadmy son bought this car about a year ago and it has done this even after motor has been replaced.i have tried the relearn process but it didnt fix the problem.here is what it does when you hit the key it immediately starts but then dies,but if you continue to hold key in start position even when it starts and dies the starter speeds up for about 2 or 3 seconds then goes back to normal,well if you still never let off the key in approx 10 to 20 seconds of cranking it will start up and purr like a kitten.i do notice theft light stays on all the time on dash never blinks or shuts off,what gets me is once motor starts it runs great until you kill it and try to start it again,please help thanks

disable pass lock connector when you star the engine do this while the engine is running. then shut off engine and within 30 sec turn on and off engine again do this 3 times and it should be ok.


to disable the connector you will have to remove the plastic covers around the steering column and then you will notice small connector by the ignition key cylinder it has black and yellow wire disconnect that when the engine is running and leave it disconnected. New cylinder is expensive about 250 dollars.

the wire i found on ignition has black,white and yellow is that the one?

so it connects to the ignition key cylinder if yes then disconnect that one while engine is running. Do the steps that I mentioned in the previous post. Light will be on constantly but you will be able to start it every time. Please post back the results. I believe that the white wire is unused even though it has 3 pins white is unused. Yellow and black wires connect to the internal resistor which gives the certain ohm resistance to ipc when key is turned on. To turn off the light you can do the same thing while engine is running plug in resistor with one of these 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 ohms into the pins for black and yellow wire, (check radio shack) so do this while the engine is running turn off the engine start it again 3 times in 30 sec. This way you will relearn it to your new resistor value.

ok i will try this again and let you know how it goes thanks very much for the information!

i tried the pass loc procedure and that didnt change anything still the same way it was

it is important to do it right you have to disconnect it while engine is running, and leave it disconnected. If you did this and it is still doing the same thing then the the problem could be something else maybe ignition switch is melting internally. There was a big recall for ignition switches for this cars. Open the hood and see if you have a relay installed where the locking mechanism is for the hood (right above the radiator) If you can not find the relay then recall was never completed on this vehicle and ignition switch was not protected.

i promise i did it correctly and it did not fix,i will check for the relay by hood latch if its not there then does that mean we have to buy new ignition,or get one from salvage?thanks for your input.

ignition switch is plastic black box it is only a switch and you can see it on the left side of the steering column. I would first check for signs of melting. XI should have continuity test procedure for the switch, I remember he had one for 1999 and newer models, maybe he has one for your model. Junk yards usually give them for free if not then 5$ the most.

ok i will check switch for melting and continuity,thanks again !

do you have dvom (digital volt, ohm meter?) and do you know how to use it completely?

if you do and you know, then cut the yellow wire in half, and just strip the black wire somewhere in the middle do not cut it, turn the ignition key to on position and measure the resistance between yellow wire (key side) and the black wire. There should be resistance if you see open then that is the problem if you see some resistance write it down correctly go to radio shack and get the resistor of that value, then cut black wire and connect resistor to black and yellow wires (the other side not key side) this is the correct way to bypass pass lock

sounds like a fuel pump issue to me. The fuel pumps gm used dont just quit all of a sudden like most others. I would leave a fuel pressure gauge hooked up for a while. also try the pressure regulator. If you can hear the starter speeding up then your getting spark and not enough fuel.

yes i have digital meter t5-600 so i will check thanks !

ok the wires i was talking about came directly from key switch on right side of steering column so i will check to see if i can find square box on left side of steering column with yellow and black wires thanks you really seem very sharp!

if i am on correct wires there is no continuity between wires.the wires i am testing come off where you stick the key in they are like a ribbon cable 2black1 white they go down and plug into a plug that has the yellow black and white wires these are the only yellow black and white wires that i find that are by themselves but like i said they are on the right side of column right behind where you stick key in.

yes you are testing the right wires, so did you do it as I mentioned in the previous post (cut yellow wire and strip black wire in the middle (do not cut the black) then ignition key in "ON" position and measure resistance between the yellow wire on the key side of the cut yellow wire and striped black wire there should be some resistance. Is this where you got no resistance reading?

yes meter read nothing beween yellow on key side and wherei striped black wire also i need to have wires snapped back together like they were originally correct?

yes you can crimp back the yellow wire and put some electrical tape on the black. so when you turn the key to on position the switch inside of the key cylinder is not closing so IPC can not read the resistance and is acting like someone is trying to hot wire your car and therefore is disabling your ignition. .

so what is the cure a new ignition?does the ignition with internal sensor need replaced the one that connects to the black and yellow wires?can this be accomplished by a handy person or a dealer?do you have to do the relearn procedure after replacing ignition system?

as I said before that little thing is very expensive I would hate to see you spend unnecessary money until we fully diagnose other problems (239 - 250$) and pita because you will have to have another key for ignition and old keys for the door. What you can test is if the black wire has continuity with ground so when you disconnect connector see if black wire has continuity with ground. Also GM has 5 different resistance for your model, I remember once I was playing with mine bypass and if I can remember mine was 5.5ohms so if you can find 3 , 4 or 5 ohm resistor plug it in and to the black and yellow wire on the other side of the connector not to the key side, and if it does not start do the 10minute relearn procedure with the new resistor installed.

so try this before you do anything else. (install 2, 3, 4 or 5 ohm resistor)

yes if you replace that part you will have to do relearn procedure (10minute you can find it somewhere on this forum)

when replacing the key cylinder it requires some drilling

well get this today he went out and it fired right up and has the last 5 times does that tell you anything the theft light went out and everything.im lost at what to do next!

loose connection maybe in the connector

which connector would it be?

the one for black yellow and white wire,

well it went back to what it was doing i checked connector all is fine,i am not having much luck with resistors radio shack had 10 ohm 1/2 watt and 1 ohm 10watt i dont know if the wattage matters,anyways so far i have tried 1 2 3 4 5 and still no change any suggestions?

you have to do relearn procedure after you install resistors. Procedure where you leave the key in run position for 10min etc.....

you have passlock 1 read this it is with more details. They are using relay but you don't have to use it. they know the resistance value but we don't since you have open in the ignition cylinder.

http://www.designtech-intl.com/pdf/notes/note113.pdf

ok i went and bought a bypass kit xpresskit model pljx and now i am not sure if i have to connect the wires up to starter,ignition and bulb test wires and if so then how does one know what color they are and if you splice in line or cut the wire?can you help?i know i have to cut yellow,black and white for sure and connect it to 12 volt and ground it but thats all i am sure of.by the way the kit came from ultimate electronics and the diagram i have to hook it up by can be found at www.xpresskit.com (http://www.xpresskit.com) look for pljx.

when you find the installation manual for your system copy and paste the address that you see at that moment. I could not find the diagram. The address that you posted is home page.

Instead of using tape on the wires use heat shrink tubing. Electrical tape and most if not all tape will start to come undone it durring the summer from the heat.

ok i tried to copy and paste and couldn't so i'll go this way,www.xpresskit.com look on right side of about us click on arrow on drop down box click PLJX click go,scroll down to produt description click on manual downloads,then below red quote box click PLJX then click PLJZ 1.00 S00.DOO and then open and see what you think,my deal is if you have to connect to starter and ignition what color wires and where thats my delima,please help!

here is the solution

http://64.85.6.118/diagrams/diagrams.asp
select pontiac grand am 1996-1998

scroll down and you will see everything that you need


so blue goes to yellow passlock wire
violet/white goes to the black wire of the ignition switch black connector
violet goes to yellow wire of the ignition switch white connector
pink goes to pink wire of the ignition switch white connector
red to any red wire of the ignition switch black connector
black to black wire of the passlock


other connectors in my opinion are unused

so ,here again do i strip back a small section solider module wires to it and then tape up and leave,then plug wires back into plugs where they were originally?i want to be sure exactly what to do befor attempting.

yes just strip small section, I did not see any cutting of wires. Also you don't have to solder right away you can make connections to test it first.

allright i appreciate everything you've done and will let you how it goes!!!!

well that did not fix the car is doing the same thing and i know that the code is correct now but it seems that is not it,any other suggestions?

from what I understood the learning module that you bought is supposed to learn the resistance of the resistor inside of the key cylinder. But how is it going to learn when you have open (no resistance)


http://tubesound.com/2009/04/27/malibu-will-not-start-disable-passlock-ii/

try this sounds simple to do

i see what you mean i am still back to square one ,still no fix i havn't a clue what to do now!anyone have a suggestion?i just wonder if i should take to a dealer,my luck it would be pricey!

he ended up taking to a dealer to find out they said it was ignition lock cylinder,and instament cluster but my question is they got it running at least for a while but what did they do?i was told they flashed the brain does anyone know what that means?

I have a 94 grand am that will not start. I get battery power and radio works. We tested the starter and that is fine. We can not figure out how to remove the ignition switch and at one point it had a security system on it. The system is no longer there, would we still have the passlock anti theft system on the car.

I have a 94 grand am that will not start. I get battery power and radio works. We tested the starter and that is fine. We can not figure out how to remove the ignition switch and at one point it had a security system on it. The system is no longer there, would we still have the passlock anti theft system on the car.

I have a 94 grand am that will not start. I get battery power and radio works. We tested the starter and that is fine. We can not figure out how to remove the ignition switch and at one point it had a security system on it. The system is no longer there, would we still have the passlock anti theft system on the car.

he ended up taking to a dealer to find out they said it was ignition lock cylinder,and instrument cluster but my question is they got it running at least for a while but what did they do?i was told they flashed the brain does anyone know what that means?
The PCM=power control module, the car computer was reprogrammed(flashed). Might have had an issue with the program or maybe was corrupted. So the dealer re-flashed the PCM to fix the problem.