Ignition switch loose inside?

Hi everyone... been away from home for a while. Came back to discover my ex's son, who is also my handyman, had borrowed my truck (which is fine with me) but has ham-handedly worsened an existing problem with the ignition switch rotating in its mount. I think. Read on...

He says that the battery dies every couple of days. This only happens to him, of course, not me. Even after I explained in detail last year that something's worn or loose in the column, so if you are not careful, when turning to "off" and removing the key, it could actually be in the accessory position with the relay and stereo amplifier drawing current.

Apparently he twisted too vigorously and it takes some fiddling now to even get it in a position where the key can be removed. It feels like the body of the switch is actually turning in the housing. So - what's the easiest way to get in there and what is likely to need replacing?

I re-keyed the truck when I bought it, but the problem is deeper than the lock cylinder itself.
Any tips and tricks welcome. At least there is not an airbag to worry about going off accidentally...

thanks
Charles

If the key cyl is in good shape , I wonder if the actuator for the switch is not broken . pretty common for those to break on older trucks. Other then that there is just really a lot to go wrong .

If the famous actuator piece is broken, it will not start. I would pull the key tumbler out and see what is going on. See if your truck has a little hole somewhere in the column or the lock cylinder. If it does, go out and disconnect the batteries, put the key in and turn it to run, and then stick a straightened paper clip up in the hole and push while pulling on the complete chrome piece, it should come out.

And then thee fun begins

Randy Bush said:

If the key cyl is in good shape , I wonder if the actuator for the switch is not broken . pretty common for those to break on older trucks. Other then that there is just really a lot to go wrong .

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My F250's actuator acted funny for a couple months before it totally broke. It wouldn't activate the starter every time. Then one morning it was finally totally broken.

DrCharles said:

Hi everyone... been away from home for a while. Came back to discover my ex's son, who is also my handyman, had borrowed my truck (which is fine with me) but has ham-handedly worsened an existing problem with the ignition switch rotating in its mount. I think. Read on...

He says that the battery dies every couple of days. This only happens to him, of course, not me. Even after I explained in detail last year that something's worn or loose in the column, so if you are not careful, when turning to "off" and removing the key, it could actually be in the accessory position with the relay and stereo amplifier drawing current.

Apparently he twisted too vigorously and it takes some fiddling now to even get it in a position where the key can be removed. It feels like the body of the switch is actually turning in the housing. So - what's the easiest way to get in there and what is likely to need replacing?

I re-keyed the truck when I bought it, but the problem is deeper than the lock cylinder itself.
Any tips and tricks welcome. At least there is not an airbag to worry about going off accidentally...

thanks
Charles

Click to expand...

Sounds to me like an anger management problem.

Also sounds like the receptacle for the cylinder is so wallered out, you may have to replace enough parts, you might as well get a whole column from the junkyard.

I just had to replace that actuator piece. AutoZone stocks it for $6. It's an absolute pain in the ass to change. As soon as we carefully pulled the pins for the tilt the entire tilting part with springs behind it blew apart. Took almost an entire weekend for 2 of us to put it back together. You can't do it by your self. Someone has to push the tilting part down while the other puts the pins in. My 215 lbs was barely enough to hold it down. Bypassing the lock stuff and going to switches is an option but my truck is not a hooptie plus I don't know how to wire all that.

chris142 said:

I just had to replace that actuator piece. AutoZone stocks it for $6. It's an absolute pain in the ass to change. As soon as we carefully pulled the pins for the tilt the entire tilting part with springs behind it blew apart. Took almost an entire weekend for 2 of us to put it back together. You can't do it by your self. Someone has to push the tilting part down while the other puts the pins in. My 215 lbs was barely enough to hold it down. Bypassing the lock stuff and going to switches is an option but my truck is not a hooptie plus I don't know how to wire all that.

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Glad I skipped that step and just hacked off the end of the new one, no pins to remove. Makes your truck easier to steal though, you can shift it without turning the key, which is what that knob on the long end prevents. But steering wheel lock still works, so there's that at least.

I have changed a number of them over the years by myself ,yes they are a pain but doable. Have seen them still start a truck when broken , but not every easy.

I have never had a problem starting the truck - it's only when turning the key to Off (while holding the external lever with my thumb) that I have a problem getting the key out and making sure the switch is off and not on accessory position.

Going clockwise to On and Start works every time. So I don't think this is the notorious actuator rod problem.
Any other thoughts?

DrCharles said:

I have never had a problem starting the truck - it's only when turning the key to Off (while holding the external lever with my thumb) that I have a problem getting the key out and making sure the switch is off and not on accessory position.

Going clockwise to On and Start works every time. So I don't think this is the notorious actuator rod problem.
Any other thoughts?

Click to expand...

It could still be somehow, it all connects to the key cylinder. As I recall, it goes: key cylinder -> sawtooth thing -> actuator rod

Maybe the sawtooth part or the cylinder itself has messed up.