Toolkit for ignition switch.

[Cubey]

saves life on the POS pot-metal actuator......

I cut off the very end of the long part of the new one in my F250 so it's easier to remove/replace again. The original lasted 30+ years, so itll probably outlive the truck. The side effect of that is you can shift it out of park without the key being turned.

 

[snicklas]

My RV saw low teens one morning last fall in the TX panhandle... but it was being heated inside and I didn't drive it that particular day. I was at a free RV park with electric, so I ran the block heater (with a new cord) for at least an hour on the day I did leave, a day or two later. The fresh water lines froze in a vulnerable place that morning but I had the pump off and the taps open with no pressure on them, so it didn't break the lines. A tiny rubber hot water bottle shoved in the small cubby area radiated enough heat to quickly defrost the lines.

The one day I remember one breaking it was something like 4 F.... and it sat outside all night... block heater was plugged in, but the cab was still as cold as outside........ it was fun to wire in the bypass with everything being that cold..... turn a nut a turn or two, then put your hand inside your coat so it would work again....... what should have taken a few minutes took an hour with all the warm up trips inside....

 

[Selahdoor]

That's when you run an extension cord out to the truck, and put an electric heater inside the cab for an hour or two before you get to work...

I hate those Indiana winters. That's one of the reasons I moved away from there.

The day I left... every step I took on the sidewalk, to the bus, was a loud crunch.

Thing is, the sidewalk was clean and dry. It was my shoes crunching!

I stopped on the step of the bus, and took a good look around. I wanted to remember the reason I was leaving...

I can still see it to this day. And people crunching, when they walk in snow, on videos, is still a cringefest to me.

 

[snicklas]

My trouble was hooking up to the glow plug solenoid and the starter solenoid.... plus there was a nice breeze that day too..... if it would have been in a different spot in the driveway I would have waited till a "nicer" day..... but it was blocking another vehicle.....

 

[Cubey]

The one day I remember one breaking it was something like 4 F....

It was either late winter or early spring when mine broke, not long after I got the truck in 2017. It has the typical loose steering column from being pulled on too much to get in the truck. I trained myself not to do that so it wouldn't get worse.

My RV's column is still tight that way, and the actuator arm might outlive the rest of it despite it's age. The truck probably as 3-4x the miles on it though, so that's why. The RV's original steering gear box is still tight, so that tells you something right there.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

91

Ignition switch seems to be going out.

I am way too busy with other stuff to just get out there and fix or repair it.

Yet it might leave me stranded in town sometime.

Thinking I'd better toss together a small toolkit with the tools I am going to need, to be able to jury rig it to get home.

Along with a coat hanger, of course.

Can someone who has done this, tell me the tools I am going to need if I find myself stranded in a parking lot somewhere?

It would be nice if someone had some pictures of the process, too.

Are you talking about the key switch, the actuator, or the ignition switch itself that's down on the steering column? If it's the key switch itself, it's easy to replace that. Just turn the key to the "on" position, push the release on the underneath side of the key switch part of the column, pull the old one out, install the new one, and then you're done. As long as you have a small enough tool to get in to push the relaesa with you when you start, it's literally less than a 5 minute job.

I ended up putting a push button start on mine. Key on, wait for GPs, push button to start. Mine is '86 with tilt which is almost as bad when it messes up.

Both my 81 F150, and my 85 F250 are like this and I doubt that I'll ever go back. I'm tired of the BS of the actuator breaking.

 

[Selahdoor]

I already replaced the cylinder.

It's either the switch down on the colum, or the rod in between.

Turn it all the way to start, and sometimes the starter kicks in, and sometimes it doesn't.

Starter is strong. It's obvious it's in the switch or rod.

Again, I am probably not going to get to fixing this even halfway decently for a while now...

 

[IDIBRONCO]

I'd go with the push button then and forget about it.

 

[Cubey]

It's either the switch down on the colum, or the rod in between.

Turn it all the way to start, and sometimes the starter kicks in, and sometimes it doesn't.

That sounds like the actuator arm, not the switch box itself. If it was the switch box, I'd imagine the other functions of turning the key would not work right either.

 

[Selahdoor]

Can't take the time even to do the switch yet.

Has to wait until I have the time, or it completely strands me.

 

[riphip]

Usually when the switch fails you can still turn it on, just won't crank. If that happens all you need to do is jump the starter solenoid.

If it won't go to the run position, the actual ignition switch is bolted to the bottom of the column with two 7/16 nuts. Might be able to get it unbolted and slide the switch into place with a screwdriver or something.

This is where my push-button start is connected. I have a black button on black background next to wait-to-start light. very hard to see if you are looking for a button. Does not need to be expensive switch, mine was $2. I added a weatherproof blade fuse holder (5Amp)

 

[ifrythings]

Just FYI, it’s is somewhat common for the ignition switch itself to fall apart, it’s all pot metal and the crimp tabs can break off and the switch falls apart, just putting out the worse of the worse lol

 

[jim x 3]

@Sell-a-door:

If your key works properly then use it to unlock the column. If the starter won't engage when rotating the lock cylinder to "START", sometimes this can be corrected by adjusting the ignition switch position up or down where it bolts onto the column.

IMHO, unless you need the security of a hidden start button then use some jumpers under the hood (as indicated by Phillip1 and Snicklas) until you can replace the exact failing part with an exact replacement part.