Good for you, but I have to imagine that someone was asleep at the wheel, and didn't realize you had an M6, not an A4.. All's well that ends well I suppose.

 

From what I was told you can pay to have the Harness K installed on 6 speeds and GM will still pay you for it. A dealership just won't install the bypass under warranty on a 6 speed.

 

Dan is correct...no need to remove the lock plate, just retract the locking pin and intall the Harness-K and do not connect up harness to the lock motor
John

 

wow...its nice to finally see this little piece of junk thats caused so many head aches....including several for me...

 

The subject line of my cover letter was 2004 Z06 followed by the VIN# so it would not be too difficult to tell it is a 6 speed, but as you say, all's well.
The phone message urged me to go to my dealer to get the recall cleared so I will not continue to get notices, but I have not decided what I want to do about that yet. I doubt I will change my mind about doing the reprogram, but I will leave my options open for now.

 

I wouldn't do it.

In the case of those with CLB's or the GM harness...if you get the reprogram, and (for whatever reason) the BCM detects any sort of column lock fault, your car will be undrivable. This has already happened to at least one forum member here.

Without the fuel cut programing, you'd still be able to drive the car (assuming of course the column is physically not locked, which it won't be with a CLB). Your only inconvenience then would be the DIC "service column lock" message, which disappears with the reset button..

 

If you have the CLB and the column lock assembly is mounted horizonally is the lock pin so that it cold fall "down" or it positioned so that for it to fall it would have to fall "up".

 

I want to clarify something you said in the above post..

The GM recall / reprogramming offers nothing "new" in the way of logic applied to determine whether or not to shut the car down upon a CL failure.. It simply enhanced / closed a "loop hole" that existed where a CL failure event might "slip through the cracks" if the battery voltage to the PCM was abnormally low. This is detailed in the bulletin from GM.

So to summarize, you are no more (or less) likely to get "zapped" by a defective CL assembly than before the recall / software upgrade procedure.

That said, it's still worthless to M6 owners!

 

[QUOTE=BruceBe]Hi folks,

So - the question is: Will the PCM disable fuel when I try to start it up and/or will there be additional messages on the DIC?




I have the harness K installed by recall.
Still locks up, fuel shut down and DIC says "Remove key wait 10 seconds"
The recall flashed the computer to shut down fuel when the column locks, thats what I'm living with now. MN6.

 

[QUOTE=NLKoerner]I stand by my previous statement, as I know it to be factual; the whole point of the CL assembly being tied into the PCM is so when it fails, the fuel supply is shut off so you can't drive the car with a locked steering column. This was true before the recall, and it's true after the recall.

If I understand you correctly, you are claiming a dealership installed a Harness-K into your M6 car.. This does not compute.. Maybe the dealer said "screw it" and is not concerned w/ the serious liability of doing such a thing. Or maybe he misrepresented (or you misunderstood) what work they really did do.

If you really do have a functioning, correctly installed Harness-K, it should not be possible for the car to lock up.

My guess is they only re-flashed the PCM, did not install a Harness-K (why would they; it's for A4's only), and you have a bad CL assembly.

 

The BCM tells the PCM to cutoff fuel at or above 2 MPH from the factory. The reprogram only addresses a glitch that resets the PCM during engine start up and allows it to skip over the BCM ECL signal. If the lock is disengaged, no problem......if the lock is engaged and some bozo goes full throttle without realizing the wheel is locked....Oh Sh@*!!!

Per GM, 2/11/2004 (1 year ago):
"Q8: What was the cause of the condition that allows movement when the steering column remains locked?
A6: By design, when the ECL during ignition or engine start up, senses a steering column that has mechanically failed to unlock or cannot confirm that the ECL is in an unlocked state, the BCM signals the PCM to inhibit the fuel to avoid the possiblity of moving the vehicle without being able to steer. If the power supply to the PCM is Interrupted or voltage is low, the PCM resets during engine start up and does not have enough time to see the BCM's Inhibit fuel signal. If the PCM does not see the inhibit fuel signal within a specified amount of time, It will allow vehicle motion. The PCM, then, does not act on any new signals from the BCM regarding the column lock/unlock state. If the column has failed to unlock, the driver could move the vehicle."


This allowed a vehicle to accelerate normally with a locked steering wheel. Hmmmm...0 to 60 in 4.6 secs without steering......sounds like a good Fear Factor stunt.

The following pertains to M6's only. A4's don't receive re-programming:

The only thing changed in the programming (M6's only) is the timing of communications between the BCM and the PCM to guarantee no-fault communication for the ECL; that's the only thing that was changed. On the M6's, the service tech is also instructed to conduct some other VERY SUBJECTIVE tests, one of which requires good hearing. If the ECL sounds bad or doesn't pass their Tech II tests, they will modify or replace the locking plate so the ECL pin has more room to slide in and out of the plate. They might also replace the ECL pin/motor assembly based on Tech II results (unsure or this).

NOTE: when the PCM is reprogrammed for the M6's, any custom tuning will be lost.

There have been discussions that the ECL is likely damaged when people use the steering wheel as a handle to climb in and out of the vehicle, placing undue stress on the pin (they went further about the physical attibutes and capabilities of the "wheel benders," but I'll refrain). Looking at the pictures of the ECL here on the forum, I can see how it could definitely add to the problem. Advice: don't torque on the steering wheel when the locking pin is engaged, e.g. don't pull yourself out of the car with the wheel.

Edit:

As for the CLB, I'm on the second aftermarket bypass and the frequency of "Pull Key..." messages is increasing on my '97. First chance I get, I'm pulling the CLB (has to be warm so I don't crack the plastic) and taking mine in for the recall......hovering and watching the entire time....don't think GM will pay for the pullers required to get to the locking plate on the steering column, or I'd do it myself.

Also, FYI, Harness K is GM part no. 88952427 and
Per Fichtner Chevrolet:
"The part we have in stock, it lists for 114.04 and your cost is
85.53 . I have not heard of any problems or issues, but for that price I
would maybe take it to a dealer and have the recall done under warranty." Quote is from last August. Locking plate replacement spacer is an additional part.

Parts Manager
Fichtner Chevrolet
406-628-4618

 

I thought I was told the dummy plate was included in the GM Kit.

 

I installed the kit on my 2004 Z06 and the smaller plate to replace the lockplate comes in the kit. Also, I filed a claim with GM for reimbursement for the cost of the kit and the labor to replace the lockplate, and just received a check for the total amount.