Hey all, I have a potential doozy for you. I'm familiar with the stuck-key scenario, but I've got something different going on today.

I went to a junk yard this monring to pull a turn signal lever froma Cobalt to replace my defunct lever. I got it in, no problem, and everything worked great. I started it up, drove home from the junk yard. 20m later I started it again, drove into a shady spot to work on my parking brake adjustment. 15m later I started it again, drove back to the front of my apt.

When I went to start it again after about 20m, there was no turnover at all. Here's all the symptoms I've identified:

•*Key goes in, turns to all positions, elec works, but no start
•*Security lock light on dash stays on when key left on
•*With the key on, I can shift through all gears; key only pulls out in park
•*Steering wheel does not lock when in park with key out (I can turn it a full turn)

I'm looking for info on doing a security reset, but the non-locking steering wheel is throwing me off even more. Any one have ideas I can check for? Thanks for any insights!

 

That bit that surrounds the key cylinder is the anti-theft module.

I think you may have jiggled a wire.

 

I did a 45m battery disconnect, and went in and triple checked the harness that plugs into that thing, still same situation. I looked inside that lil control module, everything there seems to be ok, do they just go all the way out sometimes?

If so, can I just replace it with another, or since it's a security thing will it be VIN-specific? There's a donor Cobalt just up the street I could pull from (if I can figure out how to remove).

Thanks for the response!

 

If it was working correctly before you replaced that switch, then I would suspect you bumped, disturbed or knocked something loose.
It would be pretty unlikely that the theft module would decide to go bad exactly at the time you were working around it.

Just for curiosity sake. Have you tried to start it in Neutral(not Park) ?

Option 2. Check the condition and/or voltage of your battery. All that work with the door opened and several starts without going far could have dropped the battery voltage.
Maybe even try a jump start or put a battery charger on it

 

X2 FMG suggests exactly what I think is your issue. Dead or close to dead battery!

 

Battery is pretty new and checked out fine at 12.0V.

Interestingly, everyone I've read talks about a flashing security light: mine stays solid in the 'on' position, never turns off after leaving the key in and on for 10-15m.

Looks like I'm taking Uber to work in the morning, after dropping the HHR off at the nearest dealership. Really didn't want to have to mess w them..

 

The security light only flashes when the car is parked and locked with the fob or the master button.

The fact that it is on is what makes me think you jiggled something around the key cylinder making the car think its been stolen.

 

Still can't find any loose wires or harnesses, looked everywhere inside the steering column.

My neighbor ran an OBD2 on it, no codes. REALLY hoping it's just a flash at the dealer, and not a hardware issue.

 

Just a FYI. 12.0 volts is low. Full charge should be in the 12.7-12.8 range.

 

Battery only at 12.0 volts, it should be 14.6, try charging the battery.