My 2005 C-6 says on the DIC to: service column lock. The Battery is good. Where is that sucker at and what does it look like?

 

 

Here is the eliminator you want to buy, and from whom. The reason for this, is kfn01 was the one that original built the eliminators for corvettes of Houston, and has the lowest fail rate of all the eliminators made by everyone else (think his count is a total of 3 years that had problems in all the years he has been making them).

https://www.ebay.com/p/2005-C6-Corve...tor/1862746687


Quick run down on how to get to the SCLM.

Now before you watch the video, understand that before you disconnect the steering column lock connector from the SCLM, the steering lock has to be in the unlocked position. So if you can't get the steering column to unlock for you (get the message instead when you put the car into run mode, motor off, by holding in the bottom of the starter button for 5 seconds), the disconnect the batter for a few mins, reconnect it, then put the car into run mode, motor off again.

Also since the video does not show these steps, once you unplug the Steering column lock connector from the SCLM, unconnected the other connector, pull the SCLM out of the car, use spray electrical contact cleaner to clean the socket pins, and both connector pins that you will be reconnecting to the SCLM (main and the eliminator connectors), before you clip the SCLM back in the car, and connector both connectors back to it.

You want the red can CRC spray electrical contact cleaner , not the blue can of crc spray cleaner.





Once you have installed the eliminator, next go through your charging system to make sure that all the connection points have been cleaned and dielectric greased as well.



To add with the age of your car and humidity of your area, would be a good time to go through a few more connectors to clean and dielectric grease them as well when you have the battery disconnected.

To sum it up, the actual steering column lock used in the 2005 M6 cars has real problems, being it has a plastic worm drive gear that will bind up after a while and cause you problems. So by using the eliminator, you takes the problem child steering column lock out of the play.
Note, there is the option of taking a few hours to pull the steering colum lock assembly out of the steering colum; to pull it apart, cleanup and re-grease is gears to solve the problem, but take hours to do such, as well an item that you would need to do every few years over again as well. If you feel that you want to do this to keep the steering column lock in play, isntead of installing a column lock eliminator instead, then let me know and I can walk you down the rabbit hole plunge for that. Myself, have a perfectly good working steering column lock in 2005, but still have installed the eliminator, since it not a problem of if, but when the steering column lock starts to have problems with worm gearing binding up instead.

Also, since due to the humidity in your area, the electrical pin connectors can become corrode, which can cause not only the lock problem to begin with, but other electrical gremlins in the car as well.

 

I have the eliminator and STILL get the message to service column lock. Thus I’ve learned the routine I mentioned to get things going again.

 

Racer, did you clean the main connector/socket pins on your SCLM and even the charging system/module connectors as pointed out.

I have seen SCLM get a little funky when the it main connector pins are slightly corrode, and the module not seeing full voltage from the same problem up line of the SCLM connector as well.

 

I have not. To this point I haven’t even looked for the module. Bought my car used with the module already installed. May be a Memorial Day project!

 

Is it possible that once the column lock is unlocked, cut the wires to the motor, install an appropriate resistor to simulate the motor coil windings being connected, to eliminate this problem? I bought my '05 used and it has the SCLM problem almost from day one. Had the lock replaced by the dealer, only to return a few months later. I went through waiting a minute, disconnecting the battery, etc. for a few months when finally the motor decided to jam in the unlocked position. No worries for 3-4 years when finally this past week it decided to lock. I didn't know about holding the start button down until now. I have the dash apart but haven't tried to electrically unlock the column yet.

 

No, because in the unlocked position, the SCLM is looking for a 294ohm resistance on the sensor wires, and in the locked position, 487ohm instead.

This is the reason for the eliminator having a latching relay, with the two resistors needed to send back the correct resistance on the sensing circuit wires when the relay is latched the the two different directions instead.

Hence SCLCM fires the eliminator latching relay to the N.O position when you go to start the car, and the resistance back on the sensing circuit wires is 284ohms. When you shut the car off, the SCLM fires the latching relay to the N.C circuit side, and the sensor wires have the 487ohm reading to keep the car happy isntead.

 

I would leave the original sensor wires intact so that the SCLM would see the 294 ohm reading and think its unlocked. For whatever reason, my column lock mechanism jammed in the unlocked position, and it started every time. I never heard the motor cycling on startup or shutdown. It recently loosened up and locked the column and wont, by itself, unlock now. Once I unlock it, I'll snip the two motor drive wires and install a resistor in them (C and D) so that the coil motor windings "appear" to still be there. I'm sure the SCLM will freak out if those two wires are just left "open".

 

 

Here is how to de-solder and solder in the #7219 bulbs to replace burnt out bulbs in the dash and pods.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...light-out.html

 

Awesome! Thanks Dano for all your help with this and the column lock. I've learned a lot even though I thought I knew most of the details on the lock issue. Always something new to learn along the way.

 

 

Fixed!!!!!
I figured my last option was to drop 150 for a new column lock module so before doing that I yanked the dash apart again and removed the CLM for a closer inspection. I still didn't see any cold solder joints but just to be through I reflowed the solder on all of the major pins underneath the relays and connector pins. I also managed to remove (i.e. break) the cover on one of the three relays. Those contacts looked good and the movement of the contact arm seemed ok so I left it alone. Fearing that attempting to remove the remaining covers would damage the board I elected to try it out once more and amazingly it fired right up first try and no SCS message. Previous to this session I had removed the CLM and cleaned and greased the connections but that didn't help.

So the bypass is in all is good. And on the plus side, I had the opportunity to replace the mini light bulbs in the option buttons around the instrument cluster.