Hope someone can shed some light over this, because I'm at the verge of sending the car to the scrapyard after 2 months of being not available...
So, one day I wasn't able to start the car. The key wouldn't turn past the accesories position and the steering lock wouldn't engage when releasing the key. These symptoms, along with the key feeling very loose, led me to think that the ignition barrel was at it's end. So I ordered a new one.
Ignition barrel arrived, went to replace it. Now the key would turn perfectly... but I wasn't able to engage the starter. The dash lights would come on and everything, but when trying to crank it, it felt like it wasn't turning enough and there was no starting signal. Then I remembered that, these last years, sometimes the key would need to be "wiggled" or make some force upwards when trying to crank for the starter to be activated.
So my order of though was, ok, the old barrel had this little slack to be wiggled and the new doesn't, so maybe, somehow the ignition switch is at fault being loosely working at the starting signal. So, I ordered a new ignition switch... only to find out that I still can't start the car. When pushing the key in the springed are to crank it, I can hear the switch click but nothing happens. So decided to check the new ignition switch with a multimeter and turning it with a screwdriver, and what I found is that it gives the starting signal not when it clicks on the springed area, but a little further away. But the key doesn't seem to turn enough to get to that area.
So now I'm at a loss, with a new barrel (100€), a new switch (200€) and a car that can't start.
Now I'm wondering where the fault is. Is the barrel defective and not turning enough? Is the switch defective by not making contact just where the click happens? Or could it be that in between both, the steering lock has some kind of malfunction/slack and is preventing the barrel to turn more? Does anyone know if it's usual for the steering lock mechanism to fail in this way (the lock engages on a rotating part in the steering lock, and then this part to the switch)?
If that's the case it would be great, because I would have to order a new steering lock (250€) that includes the ignition switch... and that makes me remember on when I ordered it and though that the steering lock couldn't fail in that way...
Sorry for the long post and hope someone can help... I know I could connect a pushbutton to the black/yellow wire, but I'd like to keep it tidy...
Ignition switch is driving me nuts
Moderator: martauto
By ignition switch I mean the electrical part made of plastic with cables that goes to the steering lock. So it's been replace with no luck
Regards
The problem is not at the engine, but at the lock cylinder/steering lock/ignition switch. If I turn the old and the new ignition switches with a screwdriver, I get cranking signal. But when installed on the steering lock assembly, seem like the key isn't able to turn enough travel to get to the cranking point. I could suspect a bad ignition lock, but it is also new, since I ordered it from BMW with new keys.