2006 hhr current draw

I installed an Audiovox Pursuit Pro-9801 (2-way Alarm, Keyless, and RS) on a 2006 Chevy HHR. A day after delivering the vehicle to the customer he calls and complains of the vehicle being sluggish to start. I instructed him to go ahead and pull the 3 inline fuses to the alarm system until I could get the vehicle back in the shop. He called me this morning (only 2 days after install) and said that the vehicle's battery was dead in his driveway. He charged the battery and got the vehicle started and up to the shop. He had already removed the fuses to the alarm system the day before and had driven the vehicle after the fuse removal. I was thinking that if the alarm system was causing the current draw it should have stopped once the fuses were pulled to the system. So I placed the DMM on the battery and check for the amount of DC Amps being pulled while the vehicle is off. The system is pulling around 152 mA at complete rest after all systems shut down. I have localized the draw to be within the BCM because when I remove the BCM 2 fuse under the hood the current draw drops to 4 mA. I had several connections that were made into the BCM while installing the alarm system. So I started removing one wire at a time that I had installed into the BCM looking for the cause of the current draw. I have now completely uninstalled the entire alarm system and there is still a 152 mA draw coming from the BCM. I'm wondering if something I had tied into the BCM has now caused this problem. Any ideas on the next plan of action to get this vehicle back within normal range of current draw?

Okay I just wanted to follow up with this posting. After uninstalling the entire alarm I made an appointment with a local GM dealership service department and notifed the customer. The customer and I dropped the vehicle off and described the current draw and dead battery issues. The service tech stated that a 152mA draw at rest is within normal range for this vehicle (as Howie stated).  Later in the day the dealer tech called and stated that the battery was just bad and needed replaced. The owner had a warranty on the vehicle and the replacement battery was free of charge. Got lucky there!

I advised the owner to drive the vehicle for about two weeks to make sure that there were not going to be any other charging system problems with the vehicle. After that two week period the owner called me and stated that the HHR was running fine with no problems. I got the vehicle back in the shop and reinstalled the alarm/keyless/rs system exactly the same way as before. Everything seemed to be working good. Thought we were in the clear.

Now I must mention that during the original install I never wired in a passkey III bypass module because I didn't have one in the shop at that time. I used a Bypasskit XK01 for the door lock/unlock and alarm interface and initially assumed that it also controlled the passkey III bypass. So anyway, the vehicle initially was delivered to the customer with alarm/keyless and was supposed to come back when the new module arrived.

Okay so the vehicle has a new battery and I have reinstalled the alarm back to where it was before. Now I add the new Bypasskit PUKGM2X Passkey III module. I try programming the module after installing the wiring harness and no luck. So I go back through all of the wiring and instructions to see what I was missing. I try to program several more times and still no luck. I try and remote start the vehicle with the key in or near the ignition and it starts right up. So I know the problem lies within the bypass module. I call Bypasskit tech support and the tech tells me that sometimes these modules need to be programmed with 2 keys instead of just 1 as stated in the instructions.

So I call the customer on the phone and ask for his second key to finish programming. Of course he tells me that he does not have a second key for this vehicle. So I tell him that we need a second key so that his remote start function can be programmed to work properly. He is at work but okays me to run to the local GM dealership and have a second key cut and programmed. I return and program the PUKGM2X module with both keys as described by the Bypasskit tech and no luck. I repeated the process serveral times and it still would not program. At this point we have reached the end of the business day and the customer is on his way to pick up his completed vehicle and the tech department is closed at Bypasskit. So I do the old wire tie the spare key to the ignition cylinder trick and it remote starts like a charm. I pull the Passkey III bypass module out of the vehicle and put it all back together. The customer shows up and I explain the issues and that I had just rigged that vehicle to remote start for now but that it would have to come back in for more troubleshooting on the passkey bypass. I sense the frustration from the customer and his questioning of my knowledge and abilities.

About a week after the customer has his vehicle back and all features are working, minus the fact that a key is wire tied to the ignition, he calls me. He states that the unlock and lock features of the keyless entry are no longer working. He also states that the factory alarm when off for several minutes while he tried to locate his factory key fob. So it sounds to me like the XK01 door lock/unlock and alarm interface is no longer working. So I get the vehicle scheduled back in today. This is the 5th full day this vehicle has been on the floor of our shop for this alarm/keyless/rs system install.

Today my first action is to test the functions. Alarm and remote start are working but no keyless entry. I pull the XK01 from the vehicle and connect it to my computer to ensure I have loaded it with the correct firmware. I connect it to the computer but the computer will not recognise it being connected. I also have to mention that during the initial install I had flashed a second XK01 module because I was having intermittent problems with the first one. Not sure if I ended up using the first or second flashed XK01 module in the vehicle at the end but it worked and I threw the other one back into inventory to be reused on another vehicle. So I go back into inventory and find the other module that I have flashed and used in this vehicle for a period of time while troubleshooting during the initial install. I now connect that module to the computer and it still won't recognise it being connected. I pull a new XK04 off the shelf because I'm out of XK01 modules at this point. I plug it into the computer and it immediately recognises it. So I know that my computer software, Xpress Loader, and connections are all working properly.

At this point I go back to the vehicle and probe some of the wires in the harness from the XK01. I look for the basics: +12 volt, ground, lock and unlock inputs. All of these wires seem to be connected properly going into the module. So no reason module should not be working as it had worked before. So I call the Bypasskit tech department and they advise to just remove the XK01 and wire the lock/unlock & arm/disarm features manually. I was a bit puzzled that a tech from the company would resolve my problem by telling me not to use a product that his company had manufactured for this specific application. So I hang up the phone and contact a service tech from Audiovox to see if he can help seeing as how the main unit that the customer puchased and I installed was an Audiovox. The tech from Audiovox was very helpful and even tried to troubleshoot the XK01 for me. He seemed to be much more knowledgable about the module than the tech from Bypasskit. He had me probe a few wires and jump a few wires with the XK01 plugged back into the vehicle with no response. I told him about the computer not recognising the module when I connected it. He said that the module must be corrupt and needs to be replaced. I told him that I have 2 of them that are both not working and he said that they both must be corrupt. So this goes on and I contact the tech department at AAMP and they say pretty much the same thing.

Now I get into troubleshooting the PUKGM2X passkey III bypass and not having any luck there. Now I'm irritated and ready for a shot of hard liquor. I contact Bypasskit tech department yet again. The tech walks me through about 5 different attempts to program this passkey III bypass and still no luck. I have him verify wire for wire every connection that I have made for both of these modules and he confirmed that they were both installed correctly. He finally says that their head tech is on vacation but this job needs to be referred to him. He stated that he will have "Freddy" contact me on Monday to assist with the troubleshooting of both the XK01 and PUKGM2X modules.

This install is causing me to lose trust in the products that I install and makes me second guess providing this service at my shop. Not to mention that I think the customer is going to kill me!

You have my heartfelt sympathies, it's no consolation to you but most of us have been there.

About 20years ago I installed an alarm and a stereo to the 7 series BMW belonging to a high Government official at his Central London Home. I get a call about 8:30pm telling me I'm an idiot, I've ruined his car etc etc.

He goes off after insulting the quality of my work and tells me I've got to hang around for the dealer's trouble shooter. He promptly ? arrives at 11pm, refits the plug on the back of the instument panel "very common on these, it goes out of place when the new vehicle is shipped over, not your fault"

Nowadays I would have sued for defamation and time. You have to get to the bottom of this. Is it the module or a fault on the car. Is there an owners forum you could use?

Okay I finally got this system wrapped up after having the vehicle return to the shop on five seperate occasions after the initial install. Here is how it all worked out: I got the vehicle back in the shop and got Freddy from Bypasskits tech department on the phone. He walked me through some more trouble shooting on both the XK01 and PUKGM2X. After no response out of the XK01 he asked how long I had had that unit in stock. I estimated that it was purchased back in early 2007. He basically said that the hardware had since changed (been updated) on the XK01 and that my older units may no longer support the newer firmware. A little disappointing to hear after they had marketed these upgradeable kits to be a universal, fill your inventory shelves, type of module. So they told me to return the 2 older XK01 modules that I had left and they would replace them with 2 newer units. Then we moved on to the PUKGM2X and tried several different ways to get this module to program. No luck after several attempts. Freddy was at a loss on this one. He recommended getting rid of the PUKGM2X and using the XK06 instead. I had originally purchased the PUKGM2X from AAMP of America. So I contacted them and they gave me an RA on the return unit and I purchased a new XK06 from them. So I return the vehicle to the customer and tell him that I will need it for yet another day when the new parts come in.

So the parts show up and I get the car in for the 6th time in over a two month period. I flash the new XK01 with the appropriate firmware. Check all wiring yet again to ensure everything is correct. Plug the module in and everything works great! Now I move on to the XK06. I flash it with the appropriate firmware. Wire in the new harness. Plugged it in and programmed it. The vehicle remote started on the first try!

This was definitely a frustrating, time consuming, money losing install. 

I don't know if you had many units in stock but I recommend having extra modules on hand.  We had the same issue with an Omega Bypass that I guess we had sitting on the shelf for a while.  We wired the module to the car and got it to program but still would not remote start.  We double checked wiring and checked the GWR.  Luckily I had an extra Omega module and did the same exact programming and it turned over on the first try. 

Bottom line is that any module may be defective.  Always carry more then 1 of the same module to ensure its not your wiring.  If 2 modules didn't work then I doubt the 3rd one will.  Theres always a chance that the first wont work but its almost 90 percent of the time due to the wiring.  When I was in tech training I was always told to Always make a solid ground at the DKP.  Resistance in that wire may cause the data module not work.  It could be that some modules are more prone resistant then others but I always advise my installers to do it there and we've had great luck.

I always thought that it was a good idea to have extra modules on hand as well. But this experiance proved the exact opposite. We had two of the same (XK01) units in stock prior to the install. Programmed both modules in the troubleshooting stages and still would not work. I was thinking that it must be my wiring that was causing the problem. After 2 months of troubleshooting it ended up being out-of-date modules from holding in stock too long. Bypasskits had since updated the hardware on the device and the older modules (the ones I had stocked) were no longer compatible with some of the new fireware. So this experiance has taught me to be cautious with the inventory of these items.

I must mention that I run an automotive upholstery shop and we offer some mobile electronics and audio products in addition. If security and convenience was our bread and butter; being installed at high volume, it would be a different story. The inventory would rotate quick enough that the updates in hardware would not be as big of an issue. But for a shop that does limited installs that require these modules it can be counterproductive. With a low volume shop I would advise to just order the modules at an on demand basis and hope the industry manufacturers can deliver a quality, reliable product.