Help! I’m stuck...

it all started with a snapped off hazard switch. My good friend insisted that I need that for safety and should fix it. He has a point so I tore down the steering column to the turn signal switch, fought with that damn harness for a long time, and finally cut it and jammed it back out... what a PITA.
got a new replacement switch, fed it back through with relative ease - great. Connected it back and figured I should test before I buttoned it back up. Turned the key with power reconnected and ... nothing. Plus a new problem! No radio power either! WTH!
so I did more reading, researching, looking at pics and diagrams, and thinking.

at this point, it is relevant to mention that the turn signals worked when they felt like it - sometimes no issue, other times completely unresponsive. I knew that this was a phantom electrical issue, and that I would maybe find it one day...

Ok so the symptoms seem like a faulty ignition switch and this is where I’m starting to get scared. This steering column is a complicated mix of electrical and mechanical and I am getting less and less confident.

I go my hands on a new ignition switch and figured I could unplug from the old one, plug into the new one and text for symptom resolution that way. No dice. I cleaned the contacts inside the white half of the harness and the darn wires popped out! Man o man I hope I put them back in the correct places! I cannot understand how the mechanical turning of the key makes the ignition switch turn on and supply power to accessories in one position and then crank the engine in the next position... does the ignition switch need to be mounted on the steering column in order to work correctly? And if that’s a yes, then I guess I have to pull the column out completely then, don’t I?

I am scared in that I don’t want to mess this up. I have pics of that harness in case anyone can confirm I got the words back in their correct spots and a pic of where I stripped the column down to (ugh).

I hope one of y’all seasoned experts can help me understand this ignition switch situation so I can confidently put er all back together and give my lil C3 some more driving love before the season comes to a close.

 

Car is too new for me to help you but do you have a service manual, the AIM, to help you?

 

OK-maybe I can help.the ing SWITCH your holding has to be installed on column there is a rod on the column from the key to the ing SWITCH there is a bend in the rod that points up you have to find the hole in the ing SWITCH some where in the middle then put it in then tighten the 2 screws down and try the key and look at the rod goes up and down to engage the ing SWITCH and if you don't know where the wires go on the ing SWITCH the white connector goes on first to the left on the SWITCH and black on the bottom.its better to put the connections on first before installing the switch so you can see what you are doing plus you can get a screw driver put it in the hole where the rod goes in and push it forward and your car should start so when you install the SWITCH on your column you have to adjust the ing switch so when you turn the key just put it where your car starts then tighten the two screws any ? just pm me bob if you have more ? pm me for my phone #

 

Very useful! Thank you!

this totally helped me understand what my next move was. So with the help of a friend and this forum and some YouTube videos, I got the steering column out! IMHO there was no way I would have been able to properly get at the ignition switch without the column on the bench.

with it out, the high beam switch came off first, then the ignition switch. Replacement was then easy.

I’m attaching some pics in case they are useful for others. I’m still working on putting everything back together so I might post again after.





my last dilemma will be to make sure that the wires from my ignition harness are correct as they fell out of the harness and are currently loose… drat! Clean all the contacts, search around, get them back in the harness and attach to the switch, button it all back up and see if everything works… <sigh> still some good driving season left right?

 

bobby70 is correct, there is a rod that extends from the ignition key to the switch on the steering column. You can put an Allen wrench in the slot for the rod and move it by hand in order to test the function of the switch with a multimeter. You can also directly install the switch in the car without the column and test it that way but I probably wouldn't recommend it with wiring blown out all over the place (good way to short stuff). Having the service manual for your year (with circuit diagrams for all wiring) really helps in understanding how all these systems work. Hope that helps.

 

my thanks! Totally appreciated!

 

Put in for one today - with the variations in wire colours and pins and all sorts of other subtle differences from year to year I can see that I need this for sure. Still trying to make sure my ignition wires are correctly reinserted into the harness plug pigtail thing… I’m still not sure and that shop manual can’t come fast enough…

 

think I’ve reasoned the plugs’ wire colours from logic, and review a helluva lot of pictures. Posting a sketch for people’s reference. I plan to cross reference this with the shop manual which is in the mail and coming…

hopefully this helps someone.

 

Now my work will be to realign that steering wheel because I’m sure I messed that up (signals won’t cancel and steering wheel is definitely out of alignment)… one problem at a time…

 

Nab Yags - I've gone back to correct this thread and remove bad info. Could you please delete this post (or at least the pic) so no one uses it to wire their ignition harness incorrectly?

 

Of course. All done