98 A4. October 2009 had car towed 50 miles to dealership as got the service column. I was 250 miles from home. After getting car and driving home got the pul key message occasionally. Decided to put in a CLB. Then I started getting a lot of different codes. I then replaced the ignition switch and battery. No change. This summer I had Boos Corvette in Minnesota change the fuel shut off to 254 mph. I decided to remove the CLB. The excess codes went away. I then was getting pull key wait 10 seconds and service column. No codes though. Yesterday I replaced the k harness with the latest version. Working great so far. No messages or codes.

 

Yes it was installed correctly. I am just hoping this will take care of it. I was getting the pull key message everytime I started it.

 

Iam a bit confused...did you remove the CLB and plug in a K Harness? When you said the CLB was installed correctly, qas it piggybacked or added to the K Harness? If that was the case it was NOT installed correctly. The CLB is to be used alone. The K Harness is to be used alone.

What did the dealership do exactly? There are many different formats to attempt to correct this problem. Each dealership seems to have "their way" for a fix. I have not seen one shred of proof still to date though that there is an iron clad procedure to fully remedy the problem. There are only "bubble-gum" solutions that GM offers...one of them is the K-harness. It works for some people, doesn't work for others. The reprogramming of the computer to kill the fuel at 2 mph should the column lock up again is proof that GM is not even 100% confident in their K-harness or the other temporary solutions they currently offer. GM does this not only for your safety...but so that they don't get lawsuits for the work they do should the column lock up and kill someone after their "fix" was instituted. Sorry to offer the bad news. Do a search on here and you will see the horror stories about the column lock up and "pull key wait 10 second posts". I too fell victim to this about 2 years ago. I luckily never had a dealer mess with my car. There were no extra do-dad's or reprogramming to worry about. I simply bought the CLB, installed it, and it has been working great every since. Oh by the way...you still may get an occasional "pull key and wait 10 seconds" message. This may or may not be even related to the column lockup problem. Sometimes if the key is dirty or not placed into the ignition just right...you'll pop this message up all by itself.

 

The dealership installed the k harness after the recall was done prior to my purchasing the car. I totally disconnected the k harness and plugged in the clb. By the way, I also bought a new key along the way. I have started the car many times now since I installed the new k harness and have not gotten any messages. The K harness number I got is the second superceded number.

 

So you have the CLB AND the K-harness??

 

No. I removed the clb and have the newest version of the k harness.

 

Hope your AAA is paid up! Be sure to request a flat bed tow..

 

I still have the fuel cut off at 254 mph.

 

WHY???

 

 

I'm not taking any chances.

 

Pete, if that is the case, do me a favor...throw the CLB into your glovebox, when the K-harness fails you will have a backup. It is really not a question of IF...it is WHEN it fails. You can run a search on K-harness (right up to the current version)...you will see exactly what Iam talking about. They seem to go good for a year or two then your problems return. Even if your CLB has been giving you codes, it won't leave you stranded.

 

I will be keeping the clb. I am wondering if I should replace the key tumblers. Is there anywhere on this forum that shows how to do it?

 

The OP's car is not going to leave him stranded even when the K Harness fails. In the first post he states the car is an automatic and that he has had the fuel shutoff reprogrammed to 254. In post #4 he states that the dealer has performed the recall. For an automatic that means that the lock ring has been replaced by the small diameter ring that prevents the lock pin from intercepting it so the column cannot physically lock. The 254mph fuel shutoff meand that even if the CLB or K harness fails the car is driveable up to the new shutoff speed.

So tell us how is he going to get stranded by the column K Harness failing???????

 

I hear you I do, but the problem is every GM dealer has a different protocol for how they "FIX" this problem. Iam sure you can appreciate that, as I have read quite a few of your posts on the problem. We can only hope GM did remove the lock. I have read posts where they were suppose to...but did not. I would say for the OP to reference the "sticky" at the top part of the C5 Tech. It pretty much goes over everything. For me with a MN6 car...the CLB was my best option/solution. For the auto, the K harness is what appears to be the best option/solution out there right now. I wish you luck and hope your vette is free and clear of column lock problems for a long time.

 

Has anyone had problems with the NEW K-harness? I had not heard of any issues with it, and hoped that GM finally got us a real fix.

 

I think it more depends on the year & model of your car and what has been done to it so far to give the % chance that the problem will return any time soon. 8VETTE7 is very knowledgeable with it all. I have read so many threads on this and in just about every one he has posted up something. I will say this....search is your friend and you will get the vibe really quick of how good that "K-harness" is.