Either a break in the ribbon cable that is not allowing power to get to the motor, the motor is burnt out, or the gears too bound up.






At this point, steering column has to come apart so you can pull the lock apart to retract the rod by hand to get it into the unlock position, before you can install the eliminator.


https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ck-2005-a.html

 

After spending about 2 months at the dealer (with loaner car), my car was finally fixed. The bypass quit working after a year. A new one didn't work either. They even tried to clean the connector pins. GM had to special order the steering wheel module. That did not work. They finally traced it to the actual locking mechanism. When they gave me the old parts back, there it was....a rip in the ribbon. After nine years of suffering, multiple trips to the dealer (they usually blamed it on the battery), my agony is finally over.

 

Hi Dano .. just reading up on this "SCL" issue. I want to buy the bypass eliminator but have a question first. This is the 2nd time this problem has happened to me on this car. I bought my manual Z51 new in 2005. I had the dealer repair it the first time but it's really too expensive to go that way again. I am an engineer so if I find the time I can do these types of repairs. The car was sitting in the garage in Los Angeles area for a month and I had a phone charger plugged in that had a little light drawing little current but my battery is probably around 3 years old. I am reading 12 volts on it with a meter and had it on a trickle charger overnight. Voltage is at 12 volts still. The car struggles to crank up but I can still start it on its own without a jump. In ACC mode the lock disengages and engages but seems slow. Will the eliminator help me or should I start with a battery replacement?
Thanks for help. It seems like the steering lock should either work or not work.
Ray

 

Finally got some time to finish my dilemma yesterday and after about almost 4 months I got to drive her again. Thanks to everyone here I was able to save about $300 by just dismantling the steering lock and back up the gear to the unlock position and install the bypass!!!

 

Doc,
Did you get an answer to your question? I recently bought a 2005 with 11.000 miles on it. Started getting the Steering Column Lock message about a month ago. After being stranded I purchased the bypass module and found there was already one installed after I removed everything to get to it. I went ahead and replaced the bypass module anyway AND bought a new battery. Still getting the message but so far it hasn't stranded me. I am thinking now it is the control module and want to replace it BUT I can not find anywhere if it has to be programmed. Thanks for any help you can provide as this is beginning to become frustrating!

 

Randy, the GM Tech II is required to program the new control module so you will have to go to the dealer unless you can find an independent tuner with one.

 

Thanks, I was afraid that would be the answer. I found the module online and no mention of programming. The online chat person couldn't answer any questions. What does the programming do to the control module and would it work as a replacement (without programming it in the car) if I keep the bypass module plugged in instead of the locking mechanism? Thanks!

 

PM sent...

 

All the claims on computer requires "reflash" after SCL Module replacement....

News flash!!!!

No need...claiming required "reflash" are total hogwash...all from those never done it!

I suppose if I have a side business to repair printed circuit board...since I have a dog in the race...I'll say that too to blow smoke for those inexperienced C6 owners!!

This 5 page Post proves that we can't believe everything we read!

Try for yourself and for sure, you will see for yourself!

No mystery really!

 

I have the exact same problem. I did the test procedure on the eliminator as Dan0523 described. Here's my question. I got 466 ohm instead of 487 when locked and 301 instead of 295 when unlocked. Is that within the tolerance? Do I have a bad eliminator?

Also my SCL module board look different than the one further up the thread. The pic is below. If it's not the eliminator, then what do I try to replace? Is it the black rectangles with "TD TAIKO" "HTBI-160" "12VDC" on it?

Thank you.

 

Ohm readings are in range.

Did you probe and fire the Relays on the board (yes, the black 12v boxes) to make sure that they are working correctly. Also, did you check the board for any cold solder joints that could be causing problem instead?

Lastly, did you make sure that you check the main connector and cleaned it that plugs into the board, as well as check the charging system to make sure it was around 14.3 (not lower) volts as well.

P.S, give me a photo of the other side of the board, since I am spotting some questionable solder joint on the top side, and want to see what the other side solder joints look like as well.

 

Thanks Dano.

Below is the pic of the back side. How do you probe and fire the relays manually or individually?

Here's the thing about the main board. The power coming from the BCM to the module off of pins 2 and 6 is only 12.6 to 12.7. But I cycled the ACC off of the connector to the locking drive - pins C and D. And for a brief flash it would hit 12.XXX. It was hard to tell with the numbers moving so fast. So the eliminator or lock drive is getting 12.XXX volts. Let me know if any of those solder joints look bad. Thank you.

 

Module use to control CL is also used on certain 04-08/09 Caddy model as well as all C6 Corvette including Z06/ZR1- other than '05 in conjunction with an additional column lock, terminolog on other model is simply "Ignition Immobilizer Module".

So...being a common denominator used among all these GM model and having small relays, over time, its bound to develop reliability problems with ignition while trying to start car-thus, from time to time, there exist an outage in market supply due to demand!

Correctly manufactured printed circuit boards are normally made in "Clean Room" condition to avoid contaminations to enhance life cycle. If an existing Ignition Module is aged, even if one part is replaced with fresh...the other parts within the circuit board's life are also questionable!

My '05's module was "Made in China" and had the three Taiko relays...cheap but few months back, only source was purchase thru web-from China supply house! Instead of replacing an offending relay/relays and ended up with a questionable dependable module...I opted to replace with an OEM new....new module has "Made In Mexico" label and all three relays are "Panasonic"....What does that mean?...Probably all these relays were made in the same Chinese plant!!??

But just the thought of a circuit board having all individual components start from fresh..gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling-all for $130!

Finally, contray to all the "Expert" here on the forum saying "reflash" is needed for module replacement...Hogwash!!

Case in point: couple of years back when I posted my rotor replacement with after market two piece rotor having painted heat indicator paint strips, one "Expert" chimed in and adamantly said my replacement rotor was not justified- since I didn't "burnt" off the painted heat strips!
I asked for reference source to back up his claim-while not holding my breath.....still waiting

 

I just bought an '05 and am probably going to replace the module. Do you know what part number you installed? The one currently installed is 10387604 but it looks like the new ones on-line are 15915003. It looks like the new number supersedes the old one but just wanted to make sure.

 

It's 15915003. That's the new part number. And I can confirm any previous doubts about the root cause of the service message. It's this module. I did mine two weeks ago. Once swapped, it starts every time on the first try and I don't get the message anymore when I'm driving down the road. So it's definitely this part that goes bad after a while that caused so many problems.

 

Just to reinforce what others have posted I replaced my module and it appears to have corrected the problem. I used P/N 15915003. It is plug and play, no programming is required. Car starts every time and it has not displayed the message. Prior to swapping the module I replaced the battery and cleaned all the connector pins/sockets at the module. The car would typically take several attempts to start and sometimes I had to disconnect the battery to get it to start. The message would display multiple times each time I drove it. The PO had installed an ebay eliminator which tested good but I don't know which seller he got it from. After replacing the battery it appeared to get a little better because it would always start after two or three attempts but the message was the same. As an electrical engineer I agree that you could probably get the original board to work by re-flowing solder joints and cleaning or replacing relays but my experience (35 years worth) with boards that fail because of quality problems is that you can repair them for the moment but it doesn't last long. Thanks guys for all the great information. I have only had the car for 2 weeks and it was pretty frustrating to have a car that didn't start. Now I can enjoy my new Corvette!

 

If you can find a replacement module cheap enough, no harm/no foul.

Its just that the module, like the ABS modules on the C5's, had spotty solder joints and/or a $4 relay on the steering lock module that was easy enough to replace (or just clean via pulling the relay cover), instead of dropping hundreds in a new replacement module instead.

 

I'm about to embark on this fix myself. I'm on the second OEM column lock after the dealer replaced it under extended warranty a couple years ago. It has now stranded me 3 times after soaking in SoCal heat while parked outside during the day. It'll work again after rolling down the windows and cooling the interior but I'm not willing to bet that it'll keep working.

My question: I have no issue installing the eliminator, but based on my reading it seems like there are a LOT of people who install the eliminator and THEN after a while have the SCL module itself go bad. The OEM lock motor draws current when operating normally that doesn't match the current drawn by the eliminator's latching relay. Is this potentially a reason that the SCL modules themselves seem to "burn out" after a while when used with the eliminator? Or is this all just coincidence and the module would have gone bad with the OEM lock anyway? Thoughts??

I'd really prefer a mechanical fix to the binding plastic gears so that the SCL continues to drive the motor, but it doesn't seem like that is feasible. I don't mind pulling the lock, but I don't know how to remedy the gear binding problem.

Am I over-thinking this? Should I just get the eliminator?

 

The eliminator takes the oem steering lock out of play completely.

Hence you get the OEM steering column unlocked, unplug it for the Module, and plug the eliminator into that plug in the module instead.


As for the SCL module, when you are installing the eliminator, unplug all the connectors to the SCL module (the big black box), clean all the connectors and socket pins, use a dab of dielectric grease on the pins, then plug all the connectors back into it (eliminator connector, instead of the OEM SCL connector), and snap it back in place.

On my 2005, the OEM SCL still works fine, but I was dammed if I was going to leave it in play to end up with a Bound gear lock/ service steering column lock/ message on the dash as I waited for a tow truck to haul it off to the dealer instead.

So as you watch the below video, before you disconnect the OEM SCL connector from the SCL module , you need to get the car into run mode to get the OEM lock into the unlocked position, then once the OEM SCL is unplugged from the module, it stays in the unlocked postion; with the eliminator sending back the needed resistances to make the module think that the lock is still in play.



As for the eliminator, it just a SPDT latching relay, and two resistors.


The glitch in building them, the latching relay is a board pin type relay, and if you over heat the pins during soldering, which then screws up the contact points inside the latching relay.
These type of pins,


Hence if a eliminator goes bad, the pins where over heated when soldering to cause the problem. This is the reason that I tell everyone to pick up the eliminator from here.

https://www.ebay.com/i/111235442827?chn=ps&dispItem=1

Hence kfn01 is the the person that started to make them first for COH, and resolve the over heat pin problem during solder on the first ones he started to build. Other are just coping his design, but some have still not figured out how to solder to the latching relays push socket type pins without over heating the pins to cause the very short life of the latching relay internal contacts instead.

 

To explain on the elimnator workings,



In the above diagrams, look at the SPDT.

If you you put power through the coils wire one way on the far left, it will draw C to A and latch the relay contacts to that postion. When you reverse the current through the coil, it fires the C to B and locks them that way instead.

on the A side, you add in 487ohm resistor , and on the B side, you add inn a 294ohm resistor isntead. So when the Module fires the latch back and forth at lock and unlock, you get back the desired resistance through the contact side of the latching relay.

So the way that the OEM SCL works, when the SCL module fires the lock into the locked postion and the locking bar is fully extended, it sends back a 487ohm resitance on the signal side. To unlock the SCL, the module reverses the current through the lock motor to draw the locking back back in, and when the bar is fully back in, the signal side sends back a 294 ohm resistance instead.

Its when the motor does not fully fire that bar in either direction (gear bind up) that you don't get back the required signal resistance, and you get the service steering column lock DYI message isntead.

As for the latching 12 volt relay, it uses about 450ma, will latch back and forth down to about 10v, so resolves even the low battery problem that most cars have with either a weak or worn down battery (so long as there is enough voltage to power the SCL module up correctly,which bring up back to cleaning the connectors to the SCL module so the problem is not there.

As for doing a full schematic on the design and even the parts numbers to build your own (can be bought from mouser for about $20 for all the parts), the problem is and always will be that the latching relay used for this build is the board socket type push-in relay, and when you solder to these pins that where not meant to be soldered, most will over heat the pins to take the internal relay contacts out from the start, or with enough heat damage that they relay only last for a short period of time instead. Soldered correctly, the relay/ will not wear out in your life time instead.