MactheGeek

Hi Everyone,

Long time member, first time poster to the site. Thanks to all who provide their advice to us that are less experienced than you. Your advice has meant a lot to me and many others.

I have a really nice 1990 IROC (305 with 700R4). Over the last couple of years the Key has started turning (and releasing) less and less freely as I start up the car. Often the starter stays engaged slightly passed the point where normally it would have released. I am confident the ignition cylinder is going bad. (VATS still works and when the key is removed, it still locks the wheel in place. At no point does the "Security Light" come on.)

However, very unfortunately last week while on the exit ramp of a very busy interstate, my car just died right when I was turning the steering wheel to the right in order to change lanes. The car barely started back up and something was clearly shorting while I was cranking it.

This was after driving for 2 hours with no issues at all (and running for years without anything like this happening.) Once it did start back up (After I turned the wheels back straight, suspecting the ignition cylinder was malfunctioning or shorting), it started and drove for two hours again back home flawlessly. I am confident this is related to the ignition cylinder failing. I would ask to keep this post related to this, rather than to toss in a bunch of other ideas about "what it might be."

I have scoured the message boards and have found some good write-ups on replacing the ignition cylinder. What I thought was a viable solution, that appealed to me, was simply to re-wire the car slightly so that they "On/Off" function that the ignition cylinder helps provide could be bypassed and instead be controlled by a toggle switch under the dash (I don't need "accessory") and wiring in a push button for the starter instead of having the ignition cylinder involved in that part of things.

If I did this, I would still have a functional VATS system and still have the wheel lock working to help secure my vehicle. (along with an alarm system...) I would still insert and turn the key on, then turn the toggle switch to "on" then press the push button to start it. I would turn off the car by moving the toggle button and then removing the key.

If I could ask for advice from the knowledgeable guys on the site:

#1) Aside from possibly increasing the ease of which the car could be stolen, are there any concerns with this approach?

#2) If it seemed viable, could anyone offer suggestions as to the wiring mod that would need to occur for this to work out for me?

I scoured the message boards and could not find any postings that addressed this, so I am guessing this is not considered a viable approach for some reason.

Any advice that experienced folks might offer would really be very helpful. I promise that if you can give me any advice, I would do my part by taking any pic's needed, trying things out and so forth and providing feedback so that this could become yet another valuable thread for all the members of the site.

Thanks in advance,
Mac

MactheGeek

Any Ideas Guys?

OrangeBird

iTrader: (1)

I gotta be upfront here , , I AM one of those who thinks toggle switch/pushbutton "fixes" for ignition switch problems are the wrong way to go . I would repair it "factory" , once , and be done with it .

Now , with that said , If for some reason I just HAD to do a switch/button setup , here's what I'd do ;

I would use the button as you planned to engage the starter , but the toggle switch would not power the circuits directly . I would use the toggle switch to turn on several relays and have them be turning the power on and off to the needed circuits . As you well know , there are a number of different sets of contacts in the factory ignition switch all supplying different things like radio , wipers , turn signals , engine controls , etc , and I would use the same number of relay contacts as the original switch had switched contacts so as to not try to draw the current of ALL of those devices from a single switch .

PS , yes , I realize a bank of switches would accomplish the same electrical task , It would just be up to whether one switch or multiple switches were desired in the application . Me ? I'd go for the single switch idea although individual control over every different circuit could be fun as well

Rockguy

I'm with init4fun, you have a nice car there. Fix it the right way.

SansKey

I also agree with the other guys on replacing the ignition cylinder. It is a bit daunting the first time you do it, but, all you need, besides the normal stuff, is a wheel puller, a lock spring compressor and some torx sockets. Once it's fixed you can be sure that it will work the way it's supposed to.

If you do any sort of ignition switch circumvention, the relays are a must. They will ensure you don't melt your switch.