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Important! C5 Column Lock debunked

Just watched the video. Great info.

I have a 98, the recall has been done. Car is an auto and the column doesn't lock anymore. I am currently getting Service Column Lock. Car has 90k miles and an Optima Red Top that was installed less than a year ago. The car was just driven on a 5 hour trip last Thursday, then I drove it to and from work Friday. My brother took it on Saturday, washed it, parked it in the Garage. Saturday afternoon he was going to take my son for a ride and this all started. I get the pull key message, then service column lock.

So far we checked the fuses, pulled them, waited, and plugged them back in. I disconnected the battery, waited, and reconnected. Still no dice. I ordered the LCM5 last night but after seeing the video I'm not sure if I should install that or not based on the warnings.

So... what next? I can put the car on a charger tonight and try it to see if it is a voltage issue but seeing as the car was just driven on a trip, recent battery, and has been a daily driver its whole life am I barking up the wrong tree?
 
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I would say, check the status of the battery first and verify that it has enough voltage as Paul talked about in the video. check the torque of the cables on the posts and check grounds. Sounds like battery to me.
 
New problem. Some 3 years ago I found this site because of the standard CL problem. I had installed a Bypass, and after watching the vids, and exchanging some posts with C4C5specialist, removed it and cured the issue......until now. All this time (since removing the CLB) I could hear the "actuator" cycle whenever I turned the key on or off. Now, I no longer hear it...and I get the "Pull key, wait 10 seconds" message. Battery is a new (installed in June) Optima Red Top, and it stays on a Battery Maintainer when I'm not driving the car. I have already located, cleaned and reattached the grounds in the footwells. The car is always okay after I pull the key, and restart. I only get the message once (so far!).

Do I have a bad actuator? I understand there is a microswitch it must make to tell the BCM that the pin has been retracted. Bad switch? Column does not lock (never has), and I removed the relay installed when the recall was done, per C4C5specialist instructions when I had the first problem.

Any ideas? We are planning on going to the Rolex in January, and it's a long way from Tennessee to Daytona...I need to fix this soon. Thanks in advance for any help.
 
I'd test the battery before I do anything else. Optima Red Tops are quite overrated and most SCL problems are battery voltage related.

Find a shop which can do a load test. If the battery passes, then focus on other causes.
 
HI there,

First off, the only way to clear that message is to remove the negative battery cable for 5 mins and then reinstall and torque to 11 ft lbs.

After you do that, reevaluate the condition and as HIB said, TEST your battery. You need at least 12.5 volts and 500 CCA.

Also, what is your voltage on the DIC BEFORE you start the car???

Allthebest, PAUL
 
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Thanks Paul and Hib for stepping in here to help Volzfan. I hope he can rectify his issue.
 
Sorry for the delay in responding.....I'm out of town for the holiday. I will follow these suggestions to the letter when I get back home (and the weather lets me out of the garage!). Thanks for the help, guys. I'm sure we'll get this solved!
:beer
 
I had the recall done on my car as well. I drove it 14hrs to Missouri, drove around my hometown in Missouri then drove back. Got to West Virginia stopped for about an hour at a rest area. Got back in my car got the same message on the dic. So I did the same trouble shooting if fuses and disconnect the battery still no dice. I was about 5hrs from home with no dealership around. So I dropped the knee bolster and and checked the relay (from the recall fix) tapped on it and tried again, still same message. So I just unhooked the the relay and plugged it back in how it was before the steering lock recall. Started right up and drove fine. Been that way ever since. Hopes this helps


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HI there,

First off, the only way to clear that message is to remove the negative battery cable for 5 mins and then reinstall and torque to 11 ft lbs.

After you do that, reevaluate the condition and as HIB said, TEST your battery. You need at least 12.5 volts and 500 CCA.

Also, what is your voltage on the DIC BEFORE you start the car???

Allthebest, PAUL

Okay, finally the weather and my work schedule cooperated. The car was on a "battery maintainer", so I took that off, and disconnected the neg. cable for 5 mins and reconnected. After that, the battery showed 12.7 V on my multimeter. I then started the car (no message) and went to a local Advance Auto (same store where I purchased the Optima battery back in June). They tested the battery and the charging system with their tester and it passed all tests. At that point, it showed only 12.39 Volts, but 854CCA. Load test showed okay he said, but the readout looks to me like the min/max was about 9.5 to 12.3. Although they said the battery was good, their tester did say it needed to be charged.

After that, started the car a couple times, and then started and drove home......all with no messages and no problem. As I said initially, this has been an intermittent problem anyway......so I don't want a false sense of security. Does this info tell you anything at all? And, I still do not hear the "actuator" cycle any more. For 3 years, I heard it every time I turned the key on or off. Does this mean anything?

Thanks again for all help!
 
FOR ANY OF YOU STILL HAVING CL PROBLEMS____GET the LMC5 from COMPLIANCE PARTS--This the only and final fix--THAT WORKS!!!!! You can use any battery you like as long as it meets original c5 specs--keep it charged up--:w
 
AC Delco Battery C5 Service Replacement...years later!

Well, the AC Delco battery for my 00 Corvette failed its battery test and researching its replacement has been less than successful. Even using part numbers listed in this discussion thread has not produced correct service replacement.

I went to O'Reilly's, an AC Delco parts vendor but they do not offer Delco batteries, only offering their Optima Red top with the 120 RC.

So looking for suggestions others may have worked through to pick up a correct service replacement AC Delco for the C5.
 
Well, the AC Delco battery for my 00 Corvette failed its battery test and researching its replacement has been less than successful. Even using part numbers listed in this discussion thread has not produced correct service replacement.

I went to O'Reilly's, an AC Delco parts vendor but they do not offer Delco batteries, only offering their Optima Red top with the 120 RC.

So looking for suggestions others may have worked through to pick up a correct service replacement AC Delco for the C5.

I had three C5s, and used Red Tops in all of them. Never had an issue.
 
At what point does the car tell me to remove the key for 10 seconds and only go 2mph? So far, no issues with how it runs or drives...

Ed

Was this just put in as a result of the fix (which I thought I read somewhere) or was it built in to the programming originally? My 2004 Z06 recently had the service steering column lock message pop up. The lock seems to have failed in the unlocked position. Do I risk having the fuel cut off if i keep driving it? I did replace the 12 year old stock battery this weekend, the message still was there but the battery was under 12 v when I checked on the DIC before starting. I planned to drive it 100 miles tomorrow and each of the next 4 days, which should charge it but I don't want to risk the fuel being cut off.

I've searched but can't find the answer to this.
 
thank you for the info. but i can't access the 2 videos. registered with vettetube, but site gives a message the video isn't supported. do you have any further info, on how to view this? thank you DAN
 
Bought a 2001 Z06 a week ago, and before buying ran the VIN to see what recalls had been done (had the steering lock issue in the back of my mind)..Well, the recall was never done on this car and within a couple days had the steering lock up. Ordered the LMC5 fix and ordered a new battery. In the mean time, went thru the reset procedure (unhook the bat and pull fuses), car started right up afterward. Drove for about 20 minutes, came home and cut the car off. Tried to restart, no dice, locked up again. Remembering something about reserve power for it to unlock when key is turned on(not started), I noticed I had put the A/C on. I turned the AC off and pulled the key, then restarted..no issue, started right up. Ran for a few minutes, turned the A/C back on, then turned the car off..Tried starting again, no go, locked up again. Turn the A/C off, try to restart and it was a go. Did this 4 or 5 times, every time with the AC on, it locked up; A/C off it unlocked every time.

This was all on the old battery and I plan to replace it and install the LMC5 mod next weekend when the parts arrive. I am far from a mechanic and I am not sure if what I found above is legit or just a coincidence, but it might help someone out if they run across the column lock when traveling.
 
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Sounds like electrical issues. Goes back to what C4C5 specialist said, the battery must be up to snuff.

Thanks for posting otter!
 

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