Expert: Skip Bollinger - 5/9/2007

Question
My 1993 Pontiac Grand Am would not start so we tried to jump it and it still did not start. The next day my friend moved a battery cable and it started right up so we went straight to an auto part store to get some washers to put on the bolt, we also had them test the battery- it was just about dead and so was the alternator. When I went to put the new parts on, of course the car would not start so I was going to put it in neutral and push it to the garage, but it would not shift and now a Theft something light is on, but I have no idea what for. I replaced the battery and alternator and it will only turn over, it still won't start. Could there be some original security system that is preventing it from starting? And how would I reset it?


Answer
Carla,
 Please let me preface this response with this: I'm a Parts Professional, NOT a Tech... Okay. I will offer these thoughts to you...
  I have been through this crap in the last 18 months with my car and my daughter's truck. I had my car towed to a repair facility and they replaced the ignition lock cylinder and had to have it towed to a GM dealership to have the computer reprogrammed. It was expensive... Now to my daughter's truck.
  I'm in Kansas City, she is in Denton, Texas. The same thing happened to her. I'm 550 miles away. I work at O'Reilly auto parts and am the wholesale manager. I called the store in Denton to find a "reputable" garage. At the same time, I called a damn good customer of mine that is a REAL mechanic. He told me that if you raise the front end of the car about 3' and leave it there for about 15 minutes, the computer would reset itself. DON'T ask me how or why. I sell parts... Anyway, after being towed to a shop in Denton, Texas, the owner got in Sara's truck and it started just fine and has been good for the last 5 weeks. My mechanic told me he heard about this "trick" from a tow truck driver. Sooooo...
  With that being said, I'd try to get the front end of the car up about 3' in the air and leave it for about 30 minutes. From what I'm told, this is supposed to reset the anti theft stuff. I guess it is supposed to emulate the car being stolen and put on a tow truck to go back to the owner. I don't know.
  Carla, I hope this helps. If the "tow truck" trick doesn't work, I would guess you will have to have a new lock cylinder installed for the ignition. Expensive.. Sorry.
  As I said, I'm a Parts Professional, NOT a Tech but I hope this helps...
Skip