Anybody ever triggered RDS theftlock during programming?

I programmed VATS out of an impala last night,and afterwards the radio was locked.
I'm not sure that I necessarily triggered it (I only changed VATS) and doubt I did but am curious.
It is a 2001 impala,and i've been trying to learn more about theftlock to try and help get it unlocked.

Car has bcm issues,and I haven't got a straight answer whether it worked or not before really.
Does anybody know exactly how it works?
From what i've gathered it receives ViN info from the data bus and if it's serial key isn't correct than locks down.
(the owners manual said as much).
I'm wondering if the bcm is sending a corrupt vin signal,and that is why it triggered a VATS fault and now theftlock?

He texted me that he tried the instructions from online to get unlock code and it didn't work.
I have seen where some have said that it must be done at the dealer with presumably a tech2.

Any more info on this,as technical as you want to be,would be appreciated.
If I can unsolder/solder a jumper to get it to work that would be fine even.

I'm heading up there in a bit,While I doubt it will do anything i'm bringing my tech1 with me. It's updated to 2001,but that doesn't mean i'll have the capability.

Thanks for any insight.

Have you tried to put VATS back and see if radio works? If that works then need to figure out how to turn the Theftlock off in radio, then disable VATS again.

Fixing to head that way in a minute,i'll give that a try.

It's a full double din radio, correct? Not the din and a half?

On the full double din radios the theftlock is controlled by the VIN information from the BCM. So if the BCM is not sending the correct VIN information the radio will not work.

That's what I figured,my wife's 04 impala has an RDS and it is how you control some of the programmable bcm options like keyless,change oil reset,english/metric etc..

I helped a buddy from a local forum recently with a similar vats problem,having more issues he pulled his bcm down eventually and found corrosion everywhere in the box.
Might check this one out,if nothing else i'll plug into bcm and see what it says codewise.

RDS is something different, That's "Radio Data Systems" that has to do with information broadcast over the airwaves.

Yep,figured that out while searching. Nothing I tried worked. I pulled down the bcm and unplugged it,opened it and checked connections etc..
Everything looked great,i had him pull the neg cable while I did it just because this thing has issues.
After reconnecting everything and starting car the radio came to life,played for a minute then locked out.
I'm guessing the radio isn't getting the signal it wants.
I pulled body codes and 4 different modules are showing class 2 data link codes as well as radio showing a data signal loss.
I'm intriqued,so gonna refresh myself on the data bus and see if I can find a wiring fault.


As far as the radio goes,he isn't paying for the dealer to reflash. He'll go aftermarket first he said.
So I offered him a nuclear option,before trashing it I want to try cutting the power leg on the eprom used for vin/theftlock purposes.
I found a thread via google where it was purported to work. I figure if nothing else might as well open it up and see if I can find something to snip.
This is supposed to be the data sheet for the eprom(and a link to the thread) I wonder if there is some way to rig up my reader to it?
Haven't had a chance to look thru datasheet or google what it looks like yet.


http://pdf.datasheetcatalog.com/data...4/80474_DS.pdf
http://www.automotiveforums.com/t899...mp3_cd_hu.html

24C08 is listed in the GQ-4x programmer, but then what would you do with it?

I know the vin is used as part of the code for unlocking,I know the correct vin maybe do a search for it in the data?No idea really,never took apart programming like that. Might be a good way to learn to disect a chip (that has limited data/instructions?).

the measures that GM went through to protect a cheapass head unit.... are priceless

mine is a friggn' tape deck

even in 1997, who would try to steal that!?

The 1997 Theftlock used up to '99 and '01 on certain vehicles is a lot easier to disable, because it's in the radio solely, not can bus comms to worry about. The new VIN encoded system means that even swapping in another OEM radio means a trip to teh dealer to get it unlocked, or rather programmed for the vehicle's VIN.

From what I can tell just reading on the link,the chip seems to control quite a bit. It apparently affects the 12v ign circuit and power switching of some type based on network signal?Consensus seems to be remove the entire chip,and then the only con is some type of slow drain on the batt+ circuit that retains memory presets.
He came into store today to get a harness for it anyway,he's just swapping in an aftermarket and already has it.
He's going to give me the radio though,i'll try the mod for the heck of it if I have time. I can test in my wifes 04 impala.

There's a way to have the radio power up for 15 or 30 seconds or so, by pressing a pair of preset buttons IIRC. This is how the tech at one of the shops I worked at would test the radios when he repaired them.