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What Shops Say About the PRO Module
Most of the stories on this blog are written by owners. This one is for the people on the other side of the counter, because a GM security fault costs a shop something it costs an owner too: the comeback.
The comeback problem
A Passlock or VATS fault is close to the worst possible ticket for an independent shop. The symptom is intermittent, so it will not reproduce on your lift. There is often no stored code in the early stages. Every clue points at fuel, so the honest diagnostic path leads through parts that are not the problem. And when the customer’s car strands them again three weeks later, the invoice with your name on it is the one they are looking at.
John’s Automotive knows the shape of this exactly.
“We’ve been working on a Pontiac G6. The G6 has been in and out of my shop on numerous occasions with no start problems. We have replaced the BCM, the fuel pump, the battery, and the ignition lock cylinder. The car would run for about a week and then go in security mode and not start.”
Four parts, including the Body Control Module itself, and the car kept coming back on a weekly cycle. Nothing there was incompetence. It is what happens when a system fails by drifting out of tolerance rather than by breaking.
“So I decided to look into a security bypass and that’s when I found the Pro Module. The module installed in about 30 minutes and was very user friendly. The G6 started and seems to run great with no more security issues. I feel so good about the product that I am going to make my shop an installer facility for this wonder product.”
Why shops end up recommending it by default
Corey Gettle, who owns a shop, put the economics in a single sentence.
“I own a shop and we have seen a ton of cars with the security issues. Now that I’ve found this product I recommend it to all my customers now when there’s a security issue. Super easy to install and I have never had a problem with them yet. My customers are very happy because they don’t have to worry about getting stuck somewhere and have to be towed back in for another repair. When my customers are happy that makes me happy and a lot less stress.”
“Towed back in for another repair” is the line that matters. A tow plus a redo, on a job that was already diagnosed and paid for, wipes out the margin on several good tickets.
It brings work in, too
Kelly Ashmore at Excel Automotive in Tampa reported the traffic running the other direction.
“A customer found my business through this website, on-line while researching theft issues on his Chevy Impala. In turn he researched my business through other references to realize that we’re a reputable and trustworthy business. This created a new relationship, as well as new potential customers. Thank you, Newrockies Inc.”
That is not a one-off. Owners who work out what is wrong with their car often decide they do not want to do the wiring themselves, and then go looking for somebody nearby who has done it before. Steve Johnson, whose 2004 Impala had already cost him a camshaft sensor it did not need, found his installer exactly that way.
What the job actually involves
For a technician who does auto electrical work, there is nothing exotic here. Locate the module the security system reports to, which depending on the platform is a TDM, a PassKey decoder, an EVO module or the BCM itself. Make four connections at the documented pins. Set the dip switches for the vehicle. Run the relearn. Thirty minutes to an hour is typical, and the installation guides give connector-by-connector pinouts for every supported vehicle.
Two things worth knowing before your first one. Check that the wire colours and pin positions in front of you match the guide, because GM varied them mid-production and a mismatch means you have the wrong guide, not the wrong instructions. And if an aftermarket alarm or remote start is already spliced into the column, take it out first rather than working around it.
If you run a shop
The NEWROCKIES PRO Module is the same unit whether it is fitted by an owner in a driveway or by a technician on a lift, and our support answers technicians directly, including at weekends. If you fit them regularly and want to be listed as an installer, or you have a car in the bay right now and want a second opinion on the wiring, get in touch. Luke still answers.
Related stories on the blog. Two shop-relevant cases: Mark’s Suburban, where the fault was a half-seated EVO connector, and William’s Impala, which had two faults at once.
