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Had a 2004 Saturn Ion 3 (manual transmission) in here the other day to diagnose an intermittent no-crank and its driving me crazy. Starter would occasionally "click" rhythmically, but it never turned over when you held the key in "Start." The car also had the following codes: U1606, B2960, B3033, B3949 and P1599. According to TSB 04-08-45-005D, the ignition switch should be replaced with new P/N 10392423 and then the Passlock relearn should be performed (turn ignition off for 1 minute, then turn the key to "Crank" and release to "Run", leave key in "Run" position for 10 minutes and then turn igntion off for 10 seconds. Repeat 3 times). I have replaced the old ignition switch with the new one, but the Passlock does not seem to be relearning. After trying this multiple times (taking half an hour each time) the starter still just clicks rhythmically except now the car NEVER starts. I have tried disconnecting the battery cables and rubbing them together with the headlights turned on. I've also tried turning the key with and without the clutch pedal depressed. In every attempt the doors have been closed and the DRLs turned off per instructions. In looking at BCM data on my scan tool, the 600 second timer for the Passlock relearn never starts counting down. Any tips for how to get the relearn to actually start (does the fact that the car is a manual effect the relearn procedure?), or is there a good way to confirm that the BCM itself is bad?

The Vehicle Theft Deterrent (VTD) on this car inhibits the crank signal. If you are in theft mode, there will be no audible clicks at the starter. If you have audible clicks, then check elsewhere. You can also check theft mode by going into the pcm and looking for the related pid. Should be something like 'theft enable' or 'theft disable'. You will also have a flashing Theft telltale on the dash if it's in theft mode. My instincts tell it is not based on your description. I'd be checking basic electrical right now.

no, its not inhibited by any theft deterent issues. PIDs all say that system is off and not active. I'm thinking the bcm has an issue. Keep 'em coming, and I'll keep yall posted

On a whim I took jumper cables and went from the - post on the battery to block when I had an intermittent no crank. From then on I do it on all of these issues and have found bad grounds causing issues. Another issue i've found is a bad ignition switch or neutral safety will cause this. Will it crank if starter is jumped out?

steven kiser wrote:On a whim I took jumper cables and went from the - post on the battery to block when I had an intermittent no crank. From then on I do it on all of these issues and have found bad grounds causing issues. Another issue i've found is a bad ignition switch or neutral safety will cause this. Will it crank if starter is jumped out?

Vehicle has a bad bcm. Sent out for reprograming and waiting for its return. Apparently ther is some kind of issue with the programing as to the new bcm was damaged due to having to download one program then cleaning it out and downloading the correct program for vehicle. Waiting for another bcm to arrive and be written. I will definately keep yall in the repair loop. Did originally groung block and body, have seen that also, starter cranks fine when manually jumping terminals.

well, after several days at dealer they supposedly have bcm programmed, after a couple replacements and changing the ignition switch again. Vehicle still doesn't crank. Dealer has no idea why it doesn't crank, so it's coming back here. I guess i have my hands full with this one. Once again, i'll keep ya posted and if youze guyz have any input it would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

I've found alarms that "haven't worked for years" or ones that were installed by a previous owner. I would check the power feed for the starter relay at the neutral switch and the underside of the fuse box for corrosion. Good luck...........................................................

The whole issue after ignition switch and bcm replacement was the "dealer" we used couldn't program bcm. We sent to a different dealer and they were able to re-program, car works fine now. Thanks for all your input.

Thanks for posting the fix. A side line point here is I've found that a lot of dealers are having issues not being able to work on "older" vehicles. My local G.M. dealer isn't able to program through the tech 2 anymore since they went to lap top diagnostics. A competitor of mine called and asked if they could use my tech 2 to program a vehicle. They had lost the necessary cables and the dealer wasn't set up to do it anymore. I called the dealer and it was true. Since they had switched over to the newer style of lap top they didn't support the old systems any more.