Ignition switch woes? Easy to change/fix?

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Ignition switch woes? Easy to change/fix?

October 31, 2006, 01:01:31 PM

All,

Ho'kay, looks like I should've paid more attention when the symptoms were very minor and only an occasional nuisance.

On my 88 Tbird, I know that the ignition lock cylinder was replaced before I got it, however, is the problem located elsewhere? I'm only really familiar with one or two GM models with this.

What's happening is that there's OFF, ACC, RUN, START. Now for some reason, there's a minor "dead zone" between RUN and START, such that if the key doesn't quite come back enough after starting, the car goes dead.

However, if I let the key go too suddenly after starting, it overshoots slightly and goes just a hair into the ACC section, which of course kills the motor.

Well, turns out this past weekend that my "live zone" in the RUN part has narrowed considerably, to the point where it's a pain to get the car going, and well, on the way to work, just a slight motion of the keys when I hit a bump shut the car off. Fortunately, when in drive or overdrive at speed, simply moving the key will get the car running again.

In any case, I have to do something about this, and quick.

Now, on the Oldsmobile I worked on, I was able to drop the column, and the switch was right on top of the colum, about a foot or foot-and-a-half in from the steering wheel, and you could see the lower end of the rod that runs up the column to the lock cylinder mechanism.

Does it work this way on the Fox bodies as well? Equally easy? Or is this more complex or otherwise in a tight/confined area? I need this car to get to work, and I drive about 80 miles each way, so as you might guess, I'm getting desperate!

(and it was so well behaved last Friday....)

Ignition switch woes? Easy to change/fix?

Reply #1 – October 31, 2006, 02:18:39 PM

Remove the shroud from around the column.
IIRC, the switch is held in the column with two Torx bolts; they may be tamper-proof Torx.
It's a fairly easy job to replace it. I can't remember if you have to pull the lock cylinder out or not.
Anybody else?

Ignition switch woes? Easy to change/fix?

Reply #2 – October 31, 2006, 03:37:56 PM

Quote from: cougarcragar;110933

Remove the shroud from around the column.
IIRC, the switch is held in the column with two Torx bolts; they may be tamper-proof Torx.
It's a fairly easy job to replace it. I can't remember if you have to pull the lock cylinder out or not.
Anybody else?

Sounds right to me...the Torx screws have a little "nipple" inside...you'll have to either get the right tool, or somehow chip it out...replacement is easy...

Ignition switch woes? Easy to change/fix?

Reply #3 – October 31, 2006, 04:53:33 PM

The lock cylinder and ignition switch are two seperate parts. These cars are known to have ignition switch issues. The switch itself is lower on the column form the lock. There was a recall on them some time ago. Whether or not the recall was done it sounds like you should replace the switch. A bad switch could cause a fire. It is easy to change you do need the tamper proof torx bit mentioned above. Check the electrical connector to the switch while you have it apart for electrical burns etc. I believe you can buy the connector if needed.

Ignition switch woes? Easy to change/fix?

Reply #4 – November 01, 2006, 10:47:39 AM

Quote from: cougarcragar;110933

Remove the shroud from around the column.

Hmm . . is this easy/straightforward? I've never removed the shroud from a steering column before (the Oldsmobile I worked on, the switch was outside of the shroud). Any gotchas I should keep an eye out for?

Quote from: cougarcragar;110933

IIRC, the switch is held in the column with two Torx bolts; they may be tamper-proof Torx.

Anyone know what size Torx offhand? I figure if I'm getting the part, I might as well buy the tools while I'm there.

Thanks again guys...

Ignition switch woes? Easy to change/fix?

Reply #5 – November 01, 2006, 11:14:21 AM

No gatchs in taking the sterring colum shroud off. When I replaced mine I took my dremel and cut two big slots in the heads of the bolts. Then I used a flat head to remove them. Now that I have a drill press I would just drill a torx bit to make it work. Not shure about the size it has been some time since I have done it.

Ignition switch woes? Easy to change/fix?

Reply #6 – November 02, 2006, 08:53:53 AM

Quote

Hmm . . is this easy/straightforward? I've never removed the shroud from a steering column before

The "shroud" is just the two round plastic pieces surrounding the column. 4 or 5 Phillips screws from underneath.

More reading:
http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBroker?ForwardPage=/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/14/f1/20/0900823d8014f120.jsp

Ignition switch woes? Easy to change/fix?

Reply #7 – November 02, 2006, 10:02:44 AM

Quote from: ipsd;111116

No gatchs in taking the sterring colum shroud off. When I replaced mine I took my dremel and cut two big slots in the heads of the bolts. Then I used a flat head to remove them. Now that I have a drill press I would just drill a torx bit to make it work.

Why would you do that? Just buy the correct tool.

Look for a "tamper-proof torx" bit set. The footprint of the tool will be similar to the one shown at the top, with the dot in the middle. The factory screws have a dot cast into them to keep a standard Torx bit from fitting, to keep thieves from stealing the car by compromising the ignition switch.

I believe it was a T-15 but MAN it's been a long time.

Ignition switch woes? Easy to change/fix?

Reply #8 – November 02, 2006, 07:24:40 PM

My 87 does the same exact thing. Sometimes its fine and others it leaves you dead in the water. Replaced the switch, it was falling apart, and the lock cylinder, you could turn it with out a key and the problem seemed to be cured.......untill last sunday, came out of the grocery store loaded the trunk, got in with the family and you guessed it, start and die. Ended up driving home with my hand holding the ignition between start and run position with no accessories. Not fun. Of course after driving 5 miles like this and wrist going numb it now starts fine. Of course I now assume that the wonderfull Thunderbird gnome has fixed the car. Let me know if yours is cured.

Ignition switch woes? Easy to change/fix?

Reply #9 – November 03, 2006, 09:10:40 AM

Quote from: mjbtbrd;110968

Check the electrical connector to the switch while you have it apart for electrical burns etc. I believe you can buy the connector if needed.

Cool, thanks for that bit of info. Does this connector have a particular name or particular part number so that when I ask for it at the local parts shop, they don't stare at me blankly?

MasterBlaster: Thanks VERY much for the link with the illustration! I'll be doing this most likely tomorrow (*meant* to try and get the job squeezed in on Wed, but between work and life in general getting in the way....)

46Tbird: Thanks for the pic, as well as the approximate guess as to size. At least I'll know now whether to get smallish-Torx bits or bigger ones (I didn't know if it was in the T-10 or so range, or something like T-45 or bigger, though admittedly I had guessed it'd be smallish).

Dansbird: I've had to do that exact same thing a few times. Hold the key slightly into the start position to keep things running. Then I'd drive up until 3rd or 4th gear with the lockup kicked in, letting go of the key would kill things, but then rolling with the engine still being spun by my current momentum would allow me to fiddle with the key until the speedo came up and stayed up, then a second later the engine would kick back on. But MAN was it a pain in the

Ignition switch woes? Easy to change/fix?

Reply #10 – November 04, 2006, 05:21:48 PM

Thanks all for the info and advice. Changing that switch was pretty darn easy.

No burnt wires or anything though, so it's good there. But, the interesting part was that when I opened things up, you could tell something was wrong just by looking at the switch itself - it looked like it was starting to physically come apart.

When I even made the slightest effort to pull the wiring connector off, the switch came apart in two pieces, plus little springs and something that looked like a ball bearing fell down. The bracket to attach to the column was still there with those funky security-torx screws holding it on (oh, it's a T-27, by the way).

But . . it took me a few hours. Why? Not for the switch itself, but to remove the quasi-functional alarm system the original owner had installed. I'd been meaning to do that since I got the car, but now I figured that since I was down there already....

That's a story for another thread, though!

Again, thanks guys!

Ignition switch woes? Easy to change/fix?

Reply #11 – November 10, 2006, 03:40:28 AM

I, as well as others, have been hit by this in the last year or so. Seems Wells has a bad batch of switches that they did not know about, or that had been sold by a third party instead of being destroyed. Several that I know of, including mine, were bought at Autozone. I am sure other parts stores are affected as well depending on what the real situation is with these switches.

In any event, if you have these symptoms develop, replace the switch! You do not need your car dying at the wrong moment, let alone at any other time!

Ignition switch woes? Easy to change/fix?

Reply #12 – November 10, 2006, 10:49:19 PM

. . my new one's a Wells, from, you guessed it, Autozone.

I can't blame the one I had too much, it is, after all, 18 years old with 107K miles on it. But then again, I've had 3 cars with more mileage on them that did NOT need the switch changed, so there you have it.

But, at least I found that even for a total and complete newbie to the Fox platform such as myself, it was an EASY job.

Ignition switch woes? Easy to change/fix?

Reply #13 – November 11, 2006, 10:05:55 PM

I have had the same problem and replaced the switch and the problem persisted, of course not wanting to believe some new switch could be bad I have checked every other possibilty and have now ordered one from Ford. I to got my switch from Autozone.

Ignition switch woes? Easy to change/fix?

Reply #14 – December 01, 2006, 11:51:27 AM

Put a ford switch in mine, My bolts holding it had no head or anything just rounded metal. I used my dremel and cut a slot and used a screwdriver to back them out. My old switch also fell apart in two pieces.