This 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix had already been diagnosed with a faulty ignition switch. The faulty switch was not allowing the blower motor to operate properly.
Now on to changing the ignition switch. Disconnect the battery.
The first step is to remove the lower trim panel under the steering column. There may be some screws at the bottom of this panel that have to be removed. This car did not have any. With the bottom edge loose the panel can be slid towards the driver’s seat to disengage the retaining clips.
Now that the trim panel is out of the way. There are several 7 mm headed screws that have to be removed.
There are four 10 mm headed bolts that have to be removed that are further up in the dash and an extension will be needed.
The panel removed. Notice how far up in the dash the interior mounting edge is.
Pull the tilt lever from the steering column. For more detailed pictures of how this comes out please click here.
There are a couple of torx screws that have to be removed from the bottom cover and then it can be pulled down.
With the bottom cover removed the upper cover retaining screws can be removed. A torx socket will be needed.
The one on the outside is a two step process. First remove the screw.
Then remove the extension with a pair of pliers.
Next disconnect the gang connector near the bottom of the steering column. There is a 7 mm headed bolt in the center of the connector.
After separating the connector halves you will notice that the connector is made up of three pieces.
Using a small screwdriver spread the outer connectors away from the main body. Sorry about the blurred picture.
Slide the connector out of the main body. Repeat this step for the other side of this connector.
Next lift the upper shroud and insert a curved and pointed device as shown in the next picture.
Look closely with a light and locate the small hole in the aluminum housing above the lock cylinder.
Rotate the lock cylinder to the full crank position and then depress the retaining pin in the hole that you located earlier. Pull the lock cylinder from the housing.
This is a view of the above mentioned hole and tool with the cover removed so that you can get a better idea of its location.
This vehicle has a factory anti theft system that uses a transponder in the key. The black part that I am pointing to is the receiver antenna. Release the clips and slide it off of the housing.
Remove the screws that hold the ignition switch in place. The cream colored piece to the right with two wires attached is the key buzzer switch. To remove it use a small screwdriver to depress the locking tab, rotate it and lift off of the housing.
When removing the forward screw you will also be removing the lock cylinder shift interlock solenoid.
Finish removing the switch by cutting the wires ties that hold it to the other harnesses and install the new switch in reverse order. Make sure you secure the harnesses back together with new wire ties.
Update July 11, 2011: Well it was bound to happen, a bull in a china shop had difficulty reinstalling the lock cylinder and has now messed up his steering column. Wants to blame poor information from this site. I cannot stress enough that all of the work performed by me, on this site requires an extreme eye towards detail and a gentle touch. No part of this repair in particular should require any force or coercion of any kind!
Some extra things to keep in mind:
The new ignition switch needs to be indexed into the exact position, as the old switch was in, when it was removed. The ON position
The key tumbler assembly needs to be checked, to make sure the locking bar drops flat and evenly towards the center of the tumbler assembly when the key is installed. If it does not, DO NOT INSTALL IT!
There is a retaining bar/panel that holds the springs in place for the individual tumblers. If it is not fully installed and flat, no protrusions past the outside edge of the tumbler housing, DO NOT INSTALL IT!
These two tumbler pictures are for a similar design and not specifically for this vehicle.
This last tidbit of info requires some thought before performing. If the ignition tumbler was giving any signs of sticking or hanging up, I perform one extra step. In the slot that the locking bar rests in, take a small file and bevel the leading edge of the slot, so that a worn tumbler assembly will work without sticking. A very small amount of grease helps as well.
I changed the crank pulley about a year ago so i’m pretty confident i can change the crank sensor, i will take it to the dealership for the crank relearn procedure (as long as it’s reasonable). Is that what you would do next Sparky? Or is there something i should do before changing the sensor? BTW i changed the ignition switch yesterday and so far so good 🙂 Your instructions were spot on.
The code P0336 will generally be caused by the sensor behind the damper pulley but there are other things that can cause it as well such as faulty spark plug wires and arcing coils. The sensors do fail intermittently many times. Special tools are needed to change the sensor. A scan tool is needed to perform a crank relearn procedure. The engine will run fine without doing it but it may affect the rev limiter.
Being that i already have the new lock cylinder and no BAE code on the trunk label, i might as well change the whole setup i was just scared because i didn’t want to get locked out of my own car lol, and last but not least my service engine soon light came on and i had it scanned and got a PO336 code (crankshaft position sensor) and after some digging i found that there’s 2 of them on my car but i think the code is for the one behind the damper pully, i looked at the sensor and it looks like half of it is covered in oil, could that be triggering the light? If the sensor was bad wouldn’t the service light stay on? it usually only comes on for a couple of minutes and then turns off. The car has never cranked and not turned over.
The lock cylinder has nothing to do with supplying power on the yellow wire except for actually turning the electrical portion of the ignition switch. Your test results and inspection indicate that you need to change the electrical portion of your ignition switch. As far as programming goes the 10 minute routine requires a scan tool and programming subscription. The 30 minute procedure does not but is only possible if your vehicle does not have the option code BAE. That code should be on the RPO label in the trunk or glove box. It is much easier to buy the lock cylinder un assembled and code it to fit your key. This eliminates programming an allows you to keep only one key for the vehicle. Most dealership parts departments will code the lock cylinder to match your original keys for a very modest charge when you buy the parts from them.
Just checked again and i have power in both reds in off, on and crank, there’s no aftermarket anti theft device installed only the passkey 3 system and the wires all look clean. Also my ignition lock cylinder is on it’s way out (key goes in and out while the cars running) so i got a new lock cylinder and the paperwork that can with it states that there are 2 possible procedures, a 30 minute relearn procedure and a 10 minute one, it also says that both require a scan tool, do you know if this is true?