IGNITION SWITCH BYPASS? BROKEN STEERING COLUMN

HondaCowboy82

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Told my wife to turn the wheel on my 86 with SuperDuty axle conversion so i could hook up the steering linkage. She put all of her weight into it while the key was off and popped the ignition system somewhere along the column. Now the truck will run but only when you have the switch turned all the way to the Start position... Is there anyway to d/c the key switch and be able to run it? I have seen these trucks on a push button starter but not a push button run. :dunno
 

bike-maker

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Sounds like it needs adjusted, but might have broken something in the column. The switch itself is on top of the steering column down low and actuated by a rod from your keyed ignition switch. If you pull the steering column loose and let it fall down, there are two nuts on the ignition switch that can be loosened to adjust the switch.
FWIW, I run a generic aftermarket ignition switch on mine in lieu of the stocker. I just took the 2 big yellow wires off the stock switch and ran them to one side of the aftermarket one, and took all the other wires off of the stock switch and put them on the other side of the aftermarket one.
This setup works for me because I have a push button for the glow plugs, and a push button for the starter. The accessory position in the ignition switch contains some circuitry that I couldn't easily replicate, so the aftermarket one I rigged up is either ignition on or off; if I want to listen to the radio with the engine off, I have to turn everything on.
 

MIDNIGHT RIDER

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My guess is that she broke that flimsy pot-metal actuator-rod that connects the key-switch to the actual ignition-switch.



I am in the process of doing similar to what bike-maker described.

I have the starter on push-button and kill the engine with a manual cable.

I have a big constant-duty solenoid that is going to handle all of the KEY=ON functions.

Once I get all of the electricals removed from the column, I am going to also remove that stupid column-locking pin and throw it as far as I can send it.



I put my radio and C.B. on constant-HOT years ago, so I can use either, key or no key.


:puke: Power-windows :puke: , if one is unfortunate enough to be plagued with them, should also be removed from the key-switch and put on constant-HOT; I did so on the wife's truck and it is ever so much more convenient to be able to operate the windows without having to mess with a key.
;Sweet
 

DOE-SST

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My guess is that she broke that flimsy pot-metal actuator-rod that connects the key-switch to the actual ignition-switch.....

........


If this is the case, I can offer a few tips and pics. I tore down a ford column to replace that actuator. The chinese replacement part needed a fair amount of filing to make it work.

If you're a mechanical kinda guy, it isn't hard. Just take your time and figure out how each part works with everything else. Take pics to establish the sequence of reinstalling the parts. My vehicle, a 1989, only had 82K miles, but the grease had hardened to a sticky sludge.
 
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rhkcommander

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[My guess is that she broke that flimsy pot-metal actuator-rod that connects the key-switch to the actual ignition-switch.

And that is why I went with pushbutton starter and glowplugs :sly, with a wire to hook up if i need for ignition
 

MIDNIGHT RIDER

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As best I can tell from looking at several tear-down pictures, that same pot-metal rod that works the switch ALSO is the pin that locks the steering-wheel.

It would be my fear that it could also break in such a way as to :eek: lock :eek: one's wheel while driving.


Mine has given me fair warning, as it has been real sluggish and stiff on really cold mornings the last several winters; it is just a matter of time before it strands me somewhere.

With the alterations I have already done, so long as the column will un-lock, I ?think? I could still drive it; I would just lose the heater/A-C, wipers, factory gauges, I can't think of anything else.

My turn-signals have been independent of the column and key-switch for years.

My 110-555 Leece-Neville requires no input whatsoever to function; it takes care of itself.
;Sweet
 

DOE-SST

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As best I can tell from looking at several tear-down pictures, that same pot-metal rod that works the switch ALSO is the pin that locks the steering-wheel.

It would be my fear that it could also break in such a way as to :eek: lock :eek: one's wheel while driving.


Mine has given me fair warning, as it has been real sluggish and stiff on really cold mornings the last several winters; it is just a matter of time before it strands me somewhere.

With the alterations I have already done, so long as the column will un-lock, I ?think? I could still drive it; I would just lose the heater/A-C, wipers, factory gauges, I can't think of anything else.

My turn-signals have been independent of the column and key-switch for years.

My 110-555 Leece-Neville requires no input whatsoever to function; it takes care of itself.
;Sweet



On my 1989 E350 column, the ignition key cylinder has a gear that engages the vertical steering wheel locking post.


If you can turn the key, the gear moves the vertical locking post downward and disengages from the locking holes in the steering wheel, even if the pot metal actuator is broken. That was the case in my repair. Multiple broken parts in the column may be a different situation.


The pot metal actuator is linked to, and receives movement from, the vertical locking post. A spring pushes up on the actuator, which pushes the vertical locking post up to engage the locking holes in the wheel. Turning the key rotates it's gear, which forces the vertical locking post down, which forces the actuator down, which forces a steel linkage rod down, which engages the starter.


It is a lot of linked mechanical movement, that really needs to be well lubed with grease. My problem was the grease had dried out, and became an adhesive, causing parts to bind up.


Just pulling the wheel, and the plastic turn signal plate, should allow enough access to clean out most of the old grease, and relube everything for another decade of smooth operation.
 

RLDSL

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I recently destroyed the good part of a steering column while following all available directions to the T on how to drill out an old lock cylinder-cuss but once I get over being mad at it and go back and fish all the pieces out that could jam anything up, I'm just going to drill a nice hole in the dash and install a universal ignition key switch . The rest of the column is still good.
 

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