Yep, if the Theft Lock feature on his 2002 Pontiac was activated he will need to enter the code to get the radio to work again. If Theft Lock was activated he would show a red light blinking on the dash when the car is turned off and locked. Once the power is restored the digital read out on the radio will say LOC. If you don’t have the code, you don’t have a radio anymore.
I can provide the instructions for entering the code if the OP does not have an operator’s manual, but you have to know the code.
The feature is left turned off from the factory so the owner needs to pick his own 3 or 4 digit code and turn Theft Lock on.
Just in case **SenorBeef **or someone else who might bump this tread in the future needs the instructions, here you go.
Unlocking the Theft-Deterrent Feature After a Power Loss. 2002 Pontiac
1.Turn the ignition on. LOC will appear on the display.
2. Press MIN and 000 will appear on the display.
3. Press MIN again to make the last two digits agree with your code.
4. Press HR to make the first one or two digits agree with the code.
5. Press AM/FM after you have confirmed that the code matches the secret code you have written down. The display will now show SEC, indicating that the radio is now operable and secure.
When removing a battery, ALWAYS (99.99999 % of the time)* remove the NEG terminal first.
When installing a battery, ALWAYS (99.99999 % of the time)* install the POS terminal first.
= Pos ground systems, some aircraft systems & boat systems but none are very common but I had to CMA because there does exist a few rare instances or conditions that are a bit different. Late model autos in the USA are not one of the different or rare sort.
I’m sure the enterprising piece of shit is enjoying your who-knows-how-old used battery, but he might be even happier with a brand new battery and I’ll bet he has an idea of where one of those is likely to appear in the next few days.
Actually, it should cost your insurance company the extra $20.
Be sure to also file this as part of the accident damage. Some insurance companies will try to call it q separate claim (thus a separate deductible) – fight them on this.
I don’t think reporting it to insurance is a good idea unless you have some kind of provision in your policy that recovers stolen items from the car. Most policies don’t, and most policies have deductibles that are going to exceed the price of your battery.
Follow up question, I guess I should start a new thread. I got a new battery, installed it. Car started right up. I drove it for 20 minutes. Later last night I take it again and drive 30 minutes. Everything works fine.
I try to start it this morning, it’s dead. Nothing was left on last night, no reason it would be drained. Wtf? If it started and ran in the first place it was installed correctly, right? There are just the 2 terminals. If it started and ran fine, it should charge fine too right? Could the thief somehow have damaged the alternator? Is there a likely problem you can identify?
No multimeter unfortunately. Incidentally there were a few sparks when I was connecting the negative terminal. That’s normal, right? Could they have damaged my alternator somehow when they stole it? I guess I can probably jump it and get it to a shop.
Well, sparks on connection means something electrical is on, and has enough of a draw to cause sparks (and no, this shouldn’t happen). If your alternator was fried you’d probably have gotten a warning light on the dash while it was running.
No, that’s apples and oranges. You could remove the alternator from the vehicle so it can’t charge at all and it will start and run fine, until the battery is depleted to a certain level.
Not impossible, but pretty unlikely.
I’m certain there’s a problem that can be identified. If you mean can we identify it through this thread, that’s a big maybe.
No, it’s not normal. In my observation the normal/allowable parasitic drain (< 60 mA) does not produce a detectable spark. Sounds like some circuit is shorted or staying on improperly.
Got back, opened the hood, checked that everything looked normal, (moved battery a bit to look) tried starting it and it started right up. Clock was reset to 12:00. It definitely didn’t have power for a while. Not sure what happened. Batty holding snap in platform is loose, but it was before. There’s nothing for the positive terminal to hit except an air hose. Short? Loose terminals? Guess I can buy a new tray or straps or something