Ignition switch problem

[brightbill]

Ignition switch went out on me last thursday. Today I got around to putting a new one in and it went out in about 1 minute. Went back to autozone and picked up another one and it didn't work at all. I'm at my wits end, when I have the battery hooked up I hear a solenoid in my engine compartment clicking and the fan is running. Also when the key is off the cel light is on, and the oil pressure gauge and fuel gauge go up. Any help on where else to start looking would be greatly appreciated.

 

[HISSIN50]

How do we know the ignition switch is the issue?

Good luck.

 

[brightbill]

I'm pretty sure it is the ignition switch. I did a search about the symptoms I was having and it came up that the ignition switch was the problem.

 

[urban96]

hrmm.. i just had an issue the other day where the little plastic piece that connects the switch to the key came apart

theres two pieces to allow for the tilt steering colum, their held together by a small metal pin. the pin somehow came out and left my car in the "run" position all the time, none of the accerories turned off w/the key removed, also the engine stayed running (unless i stalled it out)

maybe check there?

 

[brightbill]

Those pieces still work. The only electrical things that work in my car right now are the electric fan when it's not supposed to, the check engine light, and the dome light sometimes.

Thanks for the replys.

 

[brightbill]

Could it be a short somewhere, if so where would be a good place to start looking?

 

[HISSIN50]

I'd access the switch and start probing terminals and see what's going on. That's a grip of components to not have getting power (and the switch is very likely at fault - I'd just want to see what exactly is going on at what terminal so I could trace some wires/circuits).

Good luck.

 

[brightbill]

I'll bring home my multimeter tomorrow and start testing everything. My luck is the switches I got from autozone are just junk.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[brightbill]

Well I put another switch in it today from oreillys and it didn't work either. So I started moving wires around and I got it to start with the switch hanging down and the key on. I then put it all back together and it was still working, then it just quit working again. The car has an alarm on it so I'm thinking about ripping that all out. What is a good way to look for shorts?

 

[brightbill]

I just checked the voltage at the switch and I'm only getting about 2.5 volts out of the wires coming out of it. When I was checking around the engine compartment there was a clicking noise by the coolant reservoir. Also the injectors sounded and felt like they were opening and closing.

 

[HISSIN50]

I doubt it's related to the alarm. Most have starter kill, and ignition wires are tapped into (Y connection). On that last note, perhaps some hack cut the wire (rather than backstripping it) to make a Y connection and when you goose the wiring harness, that's opening and closing the poor splice. I'd trace wires backwards from the switch for a little ways. Put your meter on one of the terminals that changes voltage (depending upon switch position) and as you trace see if you can find one spot in the wiring where you make the voltage swing back and forth like crazy. You'll know you're getting close.

That sucks. Good luck brah.

 

[brightbill]

Thanks hissin, the wires for the ignition were all cut instead of back stripping.

I also pulled the harness off of the ccrm to check for voltage and I was only getting 12 volts to about 2/3 of the prongs.

I think I'm just going to have to start gutting the car now to find the problem. I was just getting ready to start ordering parts to turbo it too. Just my luck.

 

[HISSIN50]

Glad to hear you found that issue and got it fixed.

The CCRM houses the EEC relay, two fan relays, the FP relay and WOT relay.

There are a few dead terminals and some ground pulses to the relay coils, so 2/3 of the wires having 12 volts sounds about right.

If you need it, here's a diagram.

Good luck.