Hey guys, got home and couldn't turn my key off at all. can't turn the key back to off so i had to stall it and unhook the battery. Did my ignition switch go bad, or is there other things i should be looking at? I see that they're only like 15 dollars but are they very hard to change? any help would be great.

 

this might be dumb, but when I had this problem before, it was because my car was in gear (my shifter and stuff was off, and it looked like it was in park but wasnt) maybe just something to look at, see if the car is fully in park... other than that, I dont know a whole lot about ignition and electrical..

 

it's a manual transmission, that's why i stalled it to get it to shut off since i couldn't shut it off with the key. thanks though, always good to check for those stupid little things first before freakin' out. any other ideas?

 

Let's take this to the top! anybody?

 

More stupid advice LOL.. I did some reading for you...

this was the stupider of the options, but im only copying and pasting:

"Key stuck in ignition or steering lock jammed
Gently turn and wiggle the key whilst moving the steering wheel. This will often free up the key/steering lock. Sounds simple and it is... "

Other things I read seem to suggest that it's the ignition switch, so you might just be right about that...

The installation? I dont know, i would runa search in google.com and have it be "install ignition switch" inclusing your car model, and see if you come up wiht a step by step install with pictures! You'd be surprised, I get a LOT of my install help right off the net, print it out and I take it with me right under the car

 

Thanks, I've had to try that before, wiggling the steering wheel and that and i did that a little but i'll go back out and see if i was just stupid and in a hurry (always like that when i get home with food, it's my other obsession) I'll go out and give that a real shot before worrying about it too much. then i'll come back in here and do more research. thanks a lot for looking up some stuff. much appreciated.

 

no problem, if I find anything else out I'll tell ya... if you do figure it out, I'd be curious to know what it was... post up so in case it ever happens to me, i know what to do

 

any news on this?

 

is the wheel close to all the way left or right? if it is, try uber hard to pull it in the opposite direction, and it might feel like it broke, butbut what happens is that it cannot lock/unlock the steering column because it cannot move, I dunno if I'm explaining it right, but if the wheel is cut too far in one direction, it might cause it to lock up bad.

 

well, it appears to be that it was the ignition switch. even after taking it out, the key wouldn't turn in the cylinder... went and bought one that works now so i should be all set. you ever get to the end of the project and can't find the last nut? yeah...it's pathetic. but looks like it should be all fixed now.

 

What I love is when you end up coming up with extra bolts or nuts.

 

I actually just put my whole engine back together and no extra stuff, I was shocked. Not a single extra bolt that I could not account for. but there are some missing, lol

 

uh oh.... he he

 

Okay, typed that last post slightly off... i changed the lock cylinder and thought that i had cured the problem... but, after turning the key back...it stuck again. So, i bought the ignition SWITCH today and need to change it tomorrow. Anybody know where this is at? i looked in the Haynes manual and couldn't find any information on what exactly is required to check/change it. thanks for any help.