[owemon]

My wife was going to work this morning and the car wouldn;t start. The theft light was blinking and she placed the ignition to the ON position for 10 minutes until it stopped blinking. The car turned over and she made it to work fine. She was on her way home from work today and she got into the car. The car started fine and she went to drive away and the power steering stopped working and the car died. The theft light is no longer flashing and she tried to reset the theft sytem but had no success. Any ideas? She was using a copied key and I am hoping the original key will reset the theft system.

 

[Starship]

Is the THEFT SYSTEM light on at all? If not, it's not a Passlock problem. It sounds like the sequence would've been the engine dying followed by the loss of steering assist, and not the other way around. If anything, it sounds like an electrical problem like a bad battery or loose battery cables.

 

[owemon]

The theft light is on but not blinking like it normally does when it goes into theft mode. she disconnected the battery and its turning over like it normally would.

 

[Starship]

Let me get this straight. The battery was disconnected and then reconnected after the the car died. Presently the THEFT SYSTEM light is on. When she turns the key (the copied one), the engine turns over but doesn't start. Is that it?

 

[owemon]

yes it is. She has since gone home to get the original key and still not starting

 

[Starship]

Okay, I thought maybe she was out in the middle of nowhere. When the THEFT SYSTEM light is on solid, the Passlock controller integrated into the BCM has declared a fault. There are three wires that go from the BCM to the Passlock sensor in the ignition switch. Maybe you have a wiring problem. Power problem isn't out of the question, either.

You can only do the 10-minute learn procedure when that light is flashing. There's nothing special about the key on the 2003 Malibu other than it should turn the lock cylinder smoothly. I'm afraid that you're probably going to need a tow truck.

 

[owemon]

Its been towed home since... Seriously comtemplated throwing a match in it haha. j.k... What do I need to do to bypass the BCM and how do I do it? Thanks, I appreciate your help

 

[Starship]

The PCM and BCM work in tandem and thus there's no bypassing one or the other. You need a scan tool that can read the BCM to figure out what the problem is. Otherwise, you may end up wasting time and money just guessing.

 

[owemon]

It does have a remote started if that would make a difference... We tried to do the three step relearn process as well... Still nothing new

 

[Starship]

I'm not sure what kind of remote start system you have but it's going to complicate things. Unless you have a copious time and a second car, I think it's best to take it to a reputable shop. It's really not practical for you to troubleshoot based on the advice of some random stranger online. Good luck.

 

[Fueller]

Its been towed home since... Seriously comtemplated throwing a match in it haha. j.k... What do I need to do to bypass the BCM and how do I do it? Thanks, I appreciate your help

Not sure if you have figured this out or not... My son's '02 Malibu had something simuliar happen to him. After checking and reprogramming the Pass Code, swaping keys and such, I found out it was the fuel pump failing. To check it, I banged on the underneath of the tank (20 degree weather and snow) with a 2x4, then it would fire up and run for a bit before dieing. Banged on it again and turned the key to hear the pump briefly, run for a bit and die.

If it is truely a Pass Code problem, the fuel pump won't work at all. Maybe turning the key to the on position and tap on the tank to see if you can hear the pump run at all. If you do hear the pump briefly, then you know. Hopefully this will help you or someone else out.