Ok, this actually happened. I am traveling for work and got a call from my wife this morning that her H3 was sitting in the garage running. Both sets of keys were inside the house and the remote starter has not worked on this since the BCM was replaced. She tried to shut it off with the keys and had no luck, but when my son was trying to put the key in he bumped the steering column and the vehicle shut off..again no key inserted. Has anyone else ever had this happen?? Does this sound like a shorted ignition switch?

 

Welcome to HF.

You have an aftermarket remote starter. What are they for? Starting without the ignition key.....

You have an aftermarket remote start problem.

When an ignition switch dies, it creates a no start issue by default. If it is the ignition switch starting the H3 without a key, the odds of that are probably like 2x more difficult than winning the power ball, ..... go by a lotto ticket.

 

And I would agree with that 100% except for the fact that the remote start is not a valid ignition source in the new BCM. Even if I intentionally try to use the remote start, it triggers the VATS immediately and I have to go back through the BCM relearn cycle with the correct ignition source to get the vehicle to start.

 

Is the remote start still wired in? If yes, I stand by what I said, new BCM or old one, doesn't matter. When it started by itself, you were not intentionally trying to start it.

Disconnect the aftermarket remote start and see if it ever happens again.

 

No, it is not. The wire that jumpers the ignition is not connected that is why it won't "trick" the BMC into seeing it as a valid ignition source. It did not work on the previous BCM either before it went out.

 

Then you might have won the lotto.

I have never ever seen or heard of a GM truck ignition starting an unattended vehicle because of ignition switch failure. Perhaps you are the first.

Ignition switches are no expensive, easy to swap out. There are vids on line for a step by step.

Please let us know what you find out when digging into it further.

Good luck.

 

Ha, yeah no kidding. I have been trained and working on vehicles for over 30 years and this is the strangest thing I have seen on a vehicle, generally I can make sense of the situation, I just cant get my head around this. In 5 years this is the only incident, and hitting the steering wheel caused it to shut off. I wish I would have been here to see it for myself and tried to drive the vehicle without the key, that would have told me instantly if it had anything to do with remote start which again does not work..lol.

I'm going to try a new switch just for grins and may totally remove the aftermarket equipment.

Thanks for you input, I will pass along what I find on this unicorn.

 

That is interesting, but the only thing that makes any sense is what Doc says. Something to do with the aftermarket remote start is still hooked up somewhere and somehow got triggered. Do you have the wiring diagram/installation documentation that came with the remote starter kit? That's the only way to determine for sure that it is completely removed/disconnected.

These H3's are notorious for not playing well with aftermarket electronics. Good luck!