Steering Column Lock - Solution???

[sci68]

I got the dreaded "Steering Column Lock" message on the DIC yesterday. Steering wheel was locked solid. I set out this morning to the dealership to see if my 02 had the recall fix performed. I did a lot of research on this and other forums about this issue and it appears the fix is to replace the battery (low voltage on a weak battery seems to cause this to flare up). So I decided that before I head out, I would check the voltage reading on DIC. I put the key in the ignition and turned it on and got the "Pull key wait 10 sec" message, which I did, restarted and got the "Steering Column Lock" message on the DIC. Well you can't read the gauges when the "Steering Lock Column" message appears on the DIC. I then pushed the reset button (located on the right side of dashboard, bottom button and, viola!!, the Steering Column Lock message disappeared and I was able to read the voltage (it was at 11.5, seems like I need to replace the battery). And, get this, the steering column now is unlocked!!! I even shut the car down and restarted it 3 more times and no issues.....

As I was driving to the dealership to find out if my 02 ever had the recall fix and to pick up a battery, I thought to myself, could it be that simple to press the reset button, shut off the car and restart and that fixes the Steering Lock Column issue? The service technician wasn't sure. I got the service history on my car and the recall was performed (harness kit). I decided not to buy the battery and instead to write this long post to see if anyone ever used the reset button and whether it fixed the Steering Column Lock. Thanks!

 

[XLR8]

I've never read of anyone here clearing the message and the lock out by pressing reset. I have gotten the "Pull key wait" message before but (knock on wood) not the sc lock.

The dealership I purchased my '98 from said the recall was done on it.

Isn't it possible that low voltage on your battery can let in lots of gremlins? It seems I read in another post recently that someone had a lot of issues occurring and finally diagnosed the root cause of all the problems to be a weak battery.

Jane Ann

 

[sci68]

I agree, that' all I have seen too. I figured to see if other C5 owners may have tried this or if you get the steering column lock on the DIC to press reset, shut down and start up and see if it clears it. I know I will try it again if this happens again. In the end though, I will be buying a battery.

 

[C5SilverBullet]

Well, I am here to tell you that the RESET button did NOTHING for mine...
I'm still having the SCL issue along with the Pull key...blah blah blah. ad
I ordered the CLB from Corvettes of Houston, installed it, reset the fuses as instructed and it STILL has the error.
We even unplugged the negatvie wire waited for a minute or so and STILL has the error.
So the only other thing I know to do is REPLACE my battery, which I will do tomorrow to see if that fixes this ANNOYING problem. I do have it on a charge just to see if that will do anything because I did check the DIC and the battery is at 11.8?? I'm assuming that's low?? I have no idea what it "should" be? Can anyone tell me?
Is there a special battery or can we pick one up from the autoparts store or walmart(my fav place).
Thanks again for all your help!

 

[XLR8]

... I do have it on a charge just to see if that will do anything because I did check the DIC and the battery is at 11.8?? I'm assuming that's low?? I have no idea what it "should" be? Can anyone tell me?
Is there a special battery or can we pick one up from the autoparts store or walmart(my fav place).
Thanks again for all your help!

I'm not certain what the battery should be... last time I looked at mine it was 13.2 or 13.6... somewhere along that.

Nothing special about the battery as far as I recall reading... but it seems a lot of the C5 owners here have gone with the Optima Red Top. I think I've got that right. A search of the C5 Technical and Performance forum using key words such as battery or Optima should give you some info.

As an aside... sorry for the temporary thread hijack... do you wrench on your own cars or are you looking for a reasonable and honest mechanic? If so, let me know and I'll connect you with Kevin in Gulfport. He's very knowledgeable about Corvettes and came highly recommended to me by the man that sold me my first Vette.

Good luck with it!
Jane Ann

 

[zagger]

I ordered the CLB from Corvettes of Houston, installed it, reset the fuses as instructed and it STILL has the error.
We even unplugged the negatvie wire waited for a minute or so and STILL has the error.
So the only other thing I know to do is REPLACE my battery, which I will do tomorrow to see if that fixes this ANNOYING problem. I do have it on a charge just to see if that will do anything because I did check the DIC and the battery is at 11.8?? I'm assuming that's low?? I have no idea what it "should" be? Can anyone tell me?
Is there a special battery or can we pick one up from the autoparts store or walmart(my fav place).

The CLB will NOT fix an existing issue, you must unlock the column before installing the device. Only when unlocked can you install the CLB. Installing the CLB will prevent you from ever having this problem again. The battery should be reading 12.7 volts minimum, anything less can cause the steering lock to malfunction. Charge the battery overnight, put the key in the ignition and start the car. I should have said that before starting you should have the cover off the fuse block in the passenger foot-well as this will make it easer to remove the fuse (fallow the included instructions). Charging the battery should allow the lock to disengage and allow you to install the CLB. If charging battery or shaking the wheal don't work then it might be to late and dealer trip might be necessary. Good luck and best regards, Zig.

PS: If you already installed the CLB and are still getting the message you will have ti plug the locking harness back to the lock mechanism and first unlock it before proceeding.

 

[C5SilverBullet]

No problem! I appreciate the help! I will check the forum for battery suggestions thanks Yes we do our own wrenching... especially when its not warranteed. We do what can anyways... Wil is pretty mechanically inclined and this is stumping him. I told him vets are a different breed, they're like no other!
If you will, please give me his contact information just in case - there are other issues going on as well. A/C stopped getting cold... ABS / Trac messgae is coming on... The gremlins are coming out...ad
Again thank you and I'm so glad to have found you guys!!

I'm not certain what the battery should be... last time I looked at mine it was 13.2 or 13.6... somewhere along that.

Nothing special about the battery as far as I recall reading... but it seems a lot of the C5 owners here have gone with the Optima Red Top. I think I've got that right. A search of the C5 Technical and Performance forum using key words such as battery or Optima should give you some info.

As an aside... sorry for the temporary thread hijack... do you wrench on your own cars or are you looking for a reasonable and honest mechanic? If so, let me know and I'll connect you with Kevin in Gulfport. He's very knowledgeable about Corvettes and came highly recommended to me by the man that sold me my first Vette.

Good luck with it!
Jane Ann

 

[C5SilverBullet]

That's what I don't unerstand my WHEEL NEVER did lock up! The recall was done on it as well so the plate has been removed.
I just checked the battery charge and it's only at 12.5 now! And STILL has the SCL & pull key message!! UGH! I'm on my way to get a new battery...
Now, once installed what if the message is still there? I'm assuming we should just unplug the CLB and start over?
THANK YOU SO MUCH for your HELP!

The CLB will NOT fix an existing issue, you must unlock the column before installing the device. Only when unlocked can you install the CLB. Installing the CLB will prevent you from ever having this problem again. The battery should be reading 12.7 volts minimum, anything less can cause the steering lock to malfunction. Charge the battery overnight, put the key in the ignition and start the car. I should have said that before starting you should have the cover off the fuse block in the passenger foot-well as this will make it easer to remove the fuse (fallow the included instructions). Charging the battery should allow the lock to disengage and allow you to install the CLB. If charging battery or shaking the wheal don't work then it might be to late and dealer trip might be necessary. Good luck and best regards, Zig.

PS: If you already installed the CLB and are still getting the message you will have ti plug the locking harness back to the lock mechanism and first unlock it before proceeding.

 

[zagger]

Now, once installed what if the message is still there? I'm assuming we should just unplug the CLB and start over?

If the massage was there when you installed the CLB it will not work. You are correct about unplugging the CLB and starting all over. At 12.5 you have a good chance the lock will disengage and once that happens you can proceed with the CLB installation.

 

[XLR8]

.........If you will, please give me his contact information just in case.......

You've got mail!

Jane Ann

 

[Vettevrooom]

They tried every workaround GM suggested, installed what they suggested and nothing worked, kept shutting off on highway. They finally took everything off again and removed the column lock part completely to stop it, back in 2005. This took 3 yrs and 4 dealers/GM with all the runarounds.

I now have the problem that started this spring of the message coming up to service it. It overrides every other message. It's supposed to be covered under the original recall but GM & dealer giving the run around about it.

Not only that but dealer claims will take 4 hours or more to diagnose. Vette shop says take few mins to remove from computer but they can't do recall work, would have to charge. This dealer has messed up everything they ever tried to install or repair, I would get there and always something else didn't work like lights. Last time I had to go in and tell them what to do and where to go in to do it. So I'm very uneasy having them do anything to my computer that they haven't done before.

When I ask them to ask the "Corvette guy" if he has ever taken this message out before they don't call back. Finally called Gen Mgr today and was given service again and the "Corvette guy" as they call him. He basically said he would reset it but can't guarantee it won't come up again. He claims it can't be removed. Obviously he hasn't done this before either. I'm told to have any chance of being covered under recall dealer that took part out has to do this. And he wants to do it first and then as GM if covered.

Called GM many times, told they would call dealer and call back, and they haven't. First one I talked to said it should have been done at the same time. They claim he is no longer there. He evidentally shouldn't have told me that.

Has anyone had success having the message removed from the computer once the lock is no longer on the car?

 

[njlouc]

I had the same issue. :W
I got my 2000 coupe in Dec 2008. When i got it, the steering lock message would go on each time I started the car. The person who sold me the car told me it was not a problem and all i had to do was reset at each start. Yes it worked for me. I checked with the chev dealer and found that the call back work was done. It was still very annoying and i searched to see how it could be resolved. No real luck.
HOWEVER when i had some service done on the car, they had to disconnect the battery and the problem went away and hasbeen good since July.
Go figure.

 

[harlyman]

steering column lock-pull key wait 10 sec.

It took me 2 week of hell to finally figure out how to fix this. I read post after post and nothing was working.I bought the CLB ( column lock bypass ) online and the car still wouldn't move. I got the wheel to unlock but the fuel cut off would still kick in when I tried to move the car. I pulled the fuses that the other posts told me and still nothing. ok this is what you do. 1st if you had the recall done at the dealer you have to undo it. They put a wire harness module under the dash. I had to take theirs out before the CLB I bought online would work.I got mine at: ( adaptiveperformance.com) Once you take the dealers module out we are ready to begin. It's all in the order of things.Now under the passenger carpet by the feet is a door pull that off and you'll see a black box on the right, thats the fuse box..... open it. now follow this order. turn the key to the on position but do not start the car. now pull fuses 23 25 & 29 the interior lights will go off... leave the key on.... plug in your CLB you bought online into the connector under the dash..it's next to a big yellow plug and is attached to the dash. After you plug it in, put the fuses back in.... then turn the key off pull the key out wait 10 sec. then put the key in and start the car.....you should be good to go.
If anybody has any questions please e-mail me at harly152@aol.com
I don't want anybody to go crazy like i did.... I will be glad to talk you through it.... good luck everybody.
Steve F

 

[Toms007]

harlyman, first off.....welcome to CAC, I think you'll find this is a great place for information sharing. Which brings me to your post, very informative and descriptive. Thanks for letting know your experience and your solution.

 

[harlyman]

harlyman, first off.....welcome to CAC, I think you'll find this is a great place for information sharing. Which brings me to your post, very informative and descriptive. Thanks for letting know your experience and your solution.

Thanks Toms01

 

[WLS Ruby 93]

Column lock

Steve,

Welcome to the CAC.

Thanks for the great info I have printed it out and stored it in my files "Just in case".

Thanks again for sharing.

Keep 'em rollin' :W
Bill

 

[c4c5specialist]

HI there,

The truth of service column lock is that even if you have 12.5 volts and you do NOT have the cold cranking amps to support the electrical system, IT WILL NEVER WORK RIGHT.

Testing with a voltmeter means NOTHING, if you do NOT have the CCA to support the electrical system when the starter is engaged.

1997-2003 batteries require a terminal torque of 11 ft lbs.
2004 require 87 in lbs.

Allthebest, c4c5

 

[cactuseater]

It took me 2 week of hell to finally figure out how to fix this. I read post after post and nothing was working.I bought the CLB ( column lock bypass ) online and the car still wouldn't move. I got the wheel to unlock but the fuel cut off would still kick in when I tried to move the car. I pulled the fuses that the other posts told me and still nothing. ok this is what you do. 1st if you had the recall done at the dealer you have to undo it. They put a wire harness module under the dash. I had to take theirs out before the CLB I bought online would work.I got mine at: ( adaptiveperformance.com) Once you take the dealers module out we are ready to begin. It's all in the order of things.Now under the passenger carpet by the feet is a door pull that off and you'll see a black box on the right, thats the fuse box..... open it. now follow this order. turn the key to the on position but do not start the car. now pull fuses 23 25 & 29 the interior lights will go off... leave the key on.... plug in your CLB you bought online into the connector under the dash..it's next to a big yellow plug and is attached to the dash. After you plug it in, put the fuses back in.... then turn the key off pull the key out wait 10 sec. then put the key in and start the car.....you should be good to go.
If anybody has any questions please e-mail me at harly152@aol.com
I don't want anybody to go crazy like i did.... I will be glad to talk you through it.... good luck everybody.
Steve F

Steve -- Thanks for the good info. I took delivery of a 2002 Z06 2 weeks ago and this has happened to me three times already. I replaced the battery with a 875 CCA monster thinking it was primary ignition sucking the juice down and throwing the computers a curve. Every time it happens I take the battery and throw it on a charger, remove the neg cable on the battery from the car, wait about 10 minutes, re-start the car and off I go. I just can't deal with this is in the middle of nowhere when it decides to drop below "x" number of volts/amp when starting up and it's NOT in my garage. :W The Chevy dealer checked the keys and they are ok. I didn't think it was them since the car starts no problem.

Anyhow, Adaptive is across the valley from me here in Phoenix so I will check into this tomorrow. This thing happened to me today again and the fix was, remove battery neg cable, wait 10 minutes, re-charge the 3 day old battery I just installed, and no "Pull key, Wait 10 Seconds" message -- never came up and the steering wheel was free. It took about 5 attempts. Go figure. I am afraid that sooner or later it will stop clearing like this and cost me a MINT to get fixed at the Chevy dealer. I have them scratching their heads too. They did tell me the factory recall was performed, and the sticker is on the driver side fender well under the hood indicating it. The VIN shows no history of this at a dealership as well for this car. Matter of fact, there's only oil changes every 5K from new on record at Chevy, besides the recall item.

My mechanic seems to think the 8 year old starter is starting to draw too many amps on crank, thus making the voltage drop and the security go nuts. It is a heavy starter unit and does require some juice. The engine cranks over immediately, but sometimes you're sitting there with a locked steering column even after pulling the key and waiting 10 seconds. Frustrating. Did this module actually stop this crazy stuff?

 

[gmjunkie]

HI there,

The truth of service column lock is that even if you have 12.5 volts and you do NOT have the cold cranking amps to support the electrical system, IT WILL NEVER WORK RIGHT.

Testing with a voltmeter means NOTHING, if you do NOT have the CCA to support the electrical system when the starter is engaged.

1997-2003 batteries require a terminal torque of 11 ft lbs.
2004 require 87 in lbs.

Allthebest, c4c5

 

[cactuseater]

Just grabbed a CLB from Corvettes of Houston. Talked to Jim over there and he said it's a need or I will keep having the problem. I just put an 875 CCA battery in this thing 4 days ago and it seemed to take care of it until yesterday. Scares me to take it anywhere. Hopefully this will do the trick. I'll be sure top post pictures of the install for you guys when I get the part in. My vette has the factory recall, so I need to remove their module and install this one. Crossing my fingers !!