2010 Silverado 1500 wont start. How to reset Passlock system

viktoryakimov · April 15, 2014

I have a 2010 Silverado 1500 and i am not able to start it up. I just replaced the fuel pump, but it still wont start up. There is an icon with a car and a lock so i assume its the passlock system. How do I reset it or bypass it(preferably resetting it).

Doug_Scott · April 16, 2014

No where near enough information.

Why did you replace the fuel pump?

When did the truck stop starting?

What else has been changed recently?

If it is the PassKey doing this, you may need to re-learn. Try the following

Step 1 – Attempt to start the vehicle. It will crank, but not run. The security light will be flashing on and off. Leave the key in the ‘run’ position for exactly 10 minutes, then the security light will stay solid or go off.

Step 2 – Turn the key to the ‘off’ position for 10 seconds. Attempt to start the vehicle. Some vehicles will run at this point, although many will require you repeat repeat Step 1 two more times. Make sure turn the key to the ‘off’ position for 10 seconds before each 10 minute cycle.

Step 3 – The vehicle is now ready to relearn the proper code. Turn the key ‘off’ for 10 seconds and then ‘crank’ the vehicle. It should be running now. The security light might stay on solid for several minutes afterwards, depending on your system.

viktoryakimov · April 16, 2014

I replaced the fuel pump because when you start the vehicle, you could not hear the fuel pump working. Now its working.

I was driving to NYC while towing a car and the truck just shut off. I was able to turn it back on after 20min and drive about 60 more minutes before it shut off. From that point on, the truck never started. I did spray starting fluid and it almost started,but other than that, i have not been able to start it

I tried resetting the passlock so many different ways and none of its worked so far.

The truck was damaged and was fixed at a garage. (Hit in the right rear end)

Doug_Scott · April 16, 2014

I replaced the fuel pump because when you start the vehicle, you could not hear the fuel pump working. Now its working.

I was driving to NYC while towing a car and the truck just shut off. I was able to turn it back on after 20min and drive about 60 more minutes before it shut off. From that point on, the truck never started. I did spray starting fluid and it almost started,but other than that, i have not been able to start it

I tried resetting the passlock so many different ways and none of its worked so far.

The truck was damaged and was fixed at a garage. (Hit in the right rear end)

Was the truck running before you changed the fuel pump, or had it stopped running and you changed the fuel pump because you could not hear it prime when you turned the key on? Did the truck start and run after changing the pump? Just trying to make sure we all know what happened and why. You have the advantage here, you know exactly what you mean. Have you checked to make sure you have fuel pressure in the fuel rail after turning the key on?

Also, just to make sure I am understanding, the engine will crank over, but will not start, right? When you changed fuel pump, did you also change fuel filter? Have you checked for spark?

Using starting fluid (likely ether) can be very misleading. Ether will ignite without spark if compression is high enough, or cylinder is hot. Don't count on the results of using ether being useful for troubleshooting.

The passkey reset procedure can be a pain in the ass. I know when I did it on mine due to PCM swap it did not work the first time. The times specified are important. 9 minutes 55 seconds is not the same as 10 minutes.

You mention damage to right rear, how is it relevant to the truck not starting? Did you get hit from behind, and since then the truck won't start?

When the truck quit while towing the car, did the ignition switch turn off on its own(like the recent recall GM announced)? When the truck quit, did it still crank ok, but would not fire? Was this before the fuel pump replacement?

Sorry if this seems like too many questions, but, you know what you mean and what order it all happened in, and it is my way of troubleshooting.

To summarize, verify that there is fuel, under pressure, in the fuel rail with the key in the ON position. Verify the fuel filter is not plugged. Verify you have spark at the spark plug.

viktoryakimov · April 16, 2014

The truck wasnt running before i changed the pump. Ever since it stalled on the highway, It hasnt turned on since

Yea, it cranks, but it wont start

Sorry, i meant to say that I changed the whole fuel assembly, so it came with a new fuel filter. Yes there was a spark

I mentioned the rear because you asked what was recently changed, although the rear has nothing to do with it. (It was hit a year ago, but is not relevant to this issue)

The ignition is fine because I was always able to turn it on and see everything on the dashboard so ignition was fine

This is exactly what happened.

I was driving to NYC at 70mph when the truck randomly shut down. I then turned it on again with no problem and drove another 60 miles before it turned off again. I then waited 15min and tried again and it turned on again for about 15 more miles before I turned off(Never turned on after that). I towed it back to Rochester and changed the fuel assembly, but it still didnt work. I tried resetting it many different ways based off of other forums and other people. This is where I am now.

There is a spark at the spark plug. The filter is brand new and there is fuel

Doug_Scott · April 17, 2014

The truck wasnt running before i changed the pump. Ever since it stalled on the highway, It hasnt turned on since

Yea, it cranks, but it wont start

Sorry, i meant to say that I changed the whole fuel assembly, so it came with a new fuel filter. Yes there was a spark

I mentioned the rear because you asked what was recently changed, although the rear has nothing to do with it. (It was hit a year ago, but is not relevant to this issue)

The ignition is fine because I was always able to turn it on and see everything on the dashboard so ignition was fine

This is exactly what happened.

I was driving to NYC at 70mph when the truck randomly shut down. I then turned it on again with no problem and drove another 60 miles before it turned off again. I then waited 15min and tried again and it turned on again for about 15 more miles before I turned off(Never turned on after that). I towed it back to Rochester and changed the fuel assembly, but it still didnt work. I tried resetting it many different ways based off of other forums and other people. This is where I am now.

There is a spark at the spark plug. The filter is brand new and there is fuel

Just to be clear, the fuel filter I am asking about is not the one on the inlet of the pump, it is the further up the line from the fuel tank. I was not aware of a pump assembly coming with the fuel filter, and actually went online using Google to see if it does come with one. Found hundreds of matches, looked at 12 of them, none come with the filter. There is a "filter" in the tank, but, it is more commonly called a "sock" or strainer.

An engine traditionally needs three things to run, fuel, spark, and compression.

You have checked for spark at more than one cylinder I hope. If you are seeing spark at the plug while cranking the engine, then that takes care of the second requirement.

Losing compression on more than 2 cylinders at the same time would about never happen without a catastrophic failure. If timing chain has failed, that would stop the engine from starting. But, you would get some backfiring while trying to start the engine due to spark at wrong time.

You replaced the fuel pump as your first attempt to fix the no start condition. Please make sure the fuel filter that is in the fuel line between the fuel tank and engine is replaced. Near as I can recall, my truck would not even crank over when I changed the PCM. I had to do the security relearn process in order for the truck to start. Looking into all the links google gives regarding this, they mostly say security will cut power to injectors(actually I think it cuts the ground side) when key is thought to be the wrong one. Do you happen to have two keys for your truck? Sounds stupid, but, did you try the other key?

You have not said anything about checking for codes from the PCM. Did the check engine light come on before truck quit? Have you tried retrieving codes from the PCM. Have you tried disconnecting the battery for a minute or so, then connecting it back up? Doing that is like restarting your PC when it starts to do strange things. It will reset the PCM, effectively losing the learnt part of the tune. As you drive the PCM constantly makes adjustments based on how you drive. Disconnecting battery clears that data out.

I think you may be needing to take the truck in and get diagnostics run on the PCM.

viktoryakimov · April 17, 2014

What is the name of the filter because when i called the local Chevy dealer and auto parts store, they both said that it comes with the assembly and that there is no other filter, so im confused

Ive tried the other key but it doesnt work

The check engine light came on too. After the first stall, some codes appeared liked the fuel pump pressure sensor, fuel level sensor and others tied with the fuel pump

Ive managed to get my hands on a Scanner so il hopefully use that tomorrow.

Doug_Scott · April 17, 2014

What is the name of the filter because when i called the local Chevy dealer and auto parts store, they both said that it comes with the assembly and that there is no other filter, so im confused

Ive tried the other key but it doesnt work

The check engine light came on too. After the first stall, some codes appeared liked the fuel pump pressure sensor, fuel level sensor and others tied with the fuel pump

Ive managed to get my hands on a Scanner so il hopefully use that tomorrow.

Its proper name is fuel filter. I did some more looking around and from what I can see GM no longer puts a fuel filter in line after the fuel tank. It is apparently built into the fuel pump assembly. I really do not see the benefit of doing that, it ends up meaning that if the filter becomes partially blocked, the fuel pump has to work harder, and will lead to its early demise. It ends up costing up to 8 times more than it does for just changing the filter as part of normal maintenance.

If your truck has an inline fuel filter, it would be located inside the frame rail in the area of the drivers side door. Others here may have first hand experience with fuel filter issues on the 2007-2013 GM pickup trucks.

viktoryakimov · April 17, 2014

The only fuel filter there is, is in the assembly.

I just dont know what to do with the scanner becuae on the Solus Pro, it wont show any codes for the Theft Deterrent system. It keeps asking if the key is on and wont go past that page.

I think the cylinders locked up after something happened

Doug_Scott · April 17, 2014

The only fuel filter there is, is in the assembly.

I just dont know what to do with the scanner becuae on the Solus Pro, it wont show any codes for the Theft Deterrent system. It keeps asking if the key is on and wont go past that page.

I think the cylinders locked up after something happened

I am not understanding the last comment. What cylinders, and why are you thinking they are locked up?

If you have the scan tool connected correctly, and it cannot see that the key is turned on, then I think you have found your issue. I have never used the Solus Pro scan tool so cannot offer any suggestions on how to use it, Looking online for that scan tool brings up a couple of devices with that name. Did not find a user guide for it though.

Have you checked all the fuses? Also take a look at each relay in the fuse panel in the engine compartment and see what they are being used for. All the relays that look like each other are interchangeable, so if you have a relay that appears to be for something to do with the engine starting and running, you can swap that relay for one of the others. Be mindful of taking a relay that controls door locks, it can be real easy to disable the locks, and then lock yourself out of the truck with the keys inside it. I always roll window down when working on any vehicle.

There is an access panel on the left end of the dash, I think there maybe more fuses in there. You should be checking all fuses, regardless of what you think they control. A relay will click quietly when it is used, so if you put your hand on the relay and have someone else turn the key on you will feel the click by touching the relay.

viktoryakimov · April 18, 2014

While reading through the scanner, If the passlock system/ theft deterrent system malfunctions or goes off, it sends a signal to lock each cylinder.

Yea, yesterday we checked all the fuses.

I think that a wire was half connected and became disconnected because we got hundreds of codes I believe under the system: Engine. These codes could not have been there when the truck was running so I assume that it probably one little wires was disconnected somewhere around the truck causing all these codes to appear.

Doug_Scott · April 18, 2014

While reading through the scanner, If the passlock system/ theft deterrent system malfunctions or goes off, it sends a signal to lock each cylinder.

That manual sounds like it was translated to English from Chinese. If it is the passkey, then using the system I gave earlier will reset passkey. I also have a 2010 truck, and used that procedure to reset the security after changing the pcm. I went back through my emails with Justin at Blackbear in regards to changing pcm and it took 4 cycles before the truck would start.

I have a 2010 GMC Sierra Ext cab, with 4.8.

viktoryakimov · April 18, 2014

4 cycles, i only did 3

Doug_Scott · April 18, 2014

4 cycles, i only did 3

I would do it again, and if it is not done after 3, do another 10 minute session. I could not locate the email that I received with the security re-learn procedure, but I do know it said to do it like I posted. I am sure it also said that it may work after one, but may take as many as 3 or 4 more key on sessions. On mine it took 4. Had to be about the hottest day of the year when I did mine, sitting in the truck, no shade, for near 45 minutes doing this security learn. Didn't dare get out, just in case it really did mean "exactly" 10 min.

Is the security light behaving as described in my post with the procedure?