on my 95 TA ive been having trouble with the ignition. the key will turn but nothing will happen, no dash lights, no cranking, nothing. sometimes i can come back to it a little while later and it fires right up. what could it be? ignition switch, key cylinder, neutral safety, key?

 

Check the battery. If it was the key cylinder, your security light would be on, and since you say there are no lights whatsoever, it is probably electrical. See if the fluid is low in your battery, or just take it to Autozone if you can. They will check it for free.

 

I had the same problem and it was the vats. The connection in the steering collum was going out.

 

yea its not the battery. im gonna tow it home later and tear into it. im not sure if its vats or ign switch or cylinder. hopefully more will chime in

 

just got it towed home, hopefully it will stay in one piece out in front of the house. ill start on it tomorrow. btw does the column have to come out for ignition switch? how can i be sure that it is the switch?

 

Probably the ignition switch or the connection to it. You can find instruction in the How To section of my Tech Page. Links in sig.

 

I would say someone with good mechanical skill can change the ignition control switch but the cylinder where the key goes in is more complicated and i would recommend taking it to a lock smith and having them do. I worst part is getting to the switch since it is on the back of the collum.

 

is there a way to verify its the switch before taking it out?

 

when i keep messing with the key i noticed maybe 1 out of 50 times i turn the key backwards the radio will come on.

 

If you can keep fiddling with turning the key and something occasionally happens, then it is most likely the switch. It's a fairly common failure point, since these cars are getting older.

 

update: i started taking the dash apart underneath the column and jiggled wires to the ignition switch and it started. so i began taking out the switch and it has a brown spot as does the blue connector. my new switch will be in tomorrow. should i replace the connector or would it be ok to leave it with a new switch?

 

I'd suggest reading shoebox's how to on this subject which answeres that very question.