Has anyone had any experience with replacing the ignition switch in their C5? After a month of trying different things (including replacing the battery; that actually solved my start-up problem for about 2 weeks), I've isolated it to the switch. I've used lithium grease and contact cleaner/spray with moderate, temporary results. The part is only about $75 from GM. Both keys fail to start the car 1 in 5 times. It used to be just three minutes, now its up to multiples of three :cuss

How hard do you think it'd be? :confused:

Torchy





[Modified by Torchy2000, 4:41 PM 6/17/2002]

 

If you're problem is in the security system (solid security light and need to wait before trying again), you don't want to go after the switch assembly itself. The "switch" is the big, black, plastic with the large wires going to it. More than likely, you'd want to replace the ignition lock cylinder. That's the silver-colored assembly that fits inside the ignition switch. It's got a much smaller, two-wire harness under on it that coils around and mates up to a two-terminal connector. Those wires connect inside the lock cylinder to contacts that read the resistor value of the key. If the contacts are sticking, you'll run into the intermittent problem of having a no-crank condition. Moral of the story: make sure you're replacing the right part. I don't know how much the cylinder costs so I can't tell if the $75 is getting you a switch or a lock cylinder.

When you answer back, I can tell you how to proceed.

Good Luck,
IB

 

Thanks for the clarification! :cheers: What I had priced was the "surround" to the cylinder. The cylinder assembly is $109 and comes uncoded. So... Lead on mighty one :flag Whats my next move?

Torchy

 

PRECISELY Bystander! :smash: :smash: :smash:

 

Never spary any lubricant in the ignition switch.. Coats the contacts and it won't start.Try Spray contact cleaner, and might fix your problems.. Clean out real good with electronic spray contact cleaner first.

 

I didn't spray lubricant. Used a touch of lithium grease on the key and slid it in and out several times. That worked for a day. Then I sprayed electronic contact cleaner. That seems to give me 4-5 days...

 

To get at the switch, you'll need to pull the trim off of the center I/P area (covering the radio, etc.). So, yank the four 10mm nuts holding on the center console (2 at rear of console inside storage area, 2 under the traction control switch. The switch should pop out if you pull it up from the front edge). Undo the fastener inside the air temperature grille next to the ignition switch (torx or hex... not sure). Put the shifter in 1 (auto) or move the stick rearward (manual). Pop the trim off. Pop the bezel off the ignition switch and remove the rosebud holding the coil to the bezel.

Here's where it gets tricky. If you can reach under the knee bolster to get to the ignition switch, great. If not, remove the bolster. Disconnect the coiled harness at the 2-terminal connection.

The really tricky part. To remove the cylinder from the ignition switch, turn the key to ON (RUN), and press in on the metal retainer that you can get to under the switch. If you are in ON and pressing far enough on the retainer, the lock cylinder and its sleeve should just slide out. If you're planning on re-coding the cylinder yourself, you'll just need to remove the cylinder from the sleeve and place the tumblers into the new cylinder in the same order as the old cylinder. You know you've got it done right if the sidebar retracts into the cylinder immediately after you put the key all the way in. If you haven't guessed it already, this is a kinda delicate process and if you're not careful, tumblers, springs, and grease will get scattered all over the place. Might be best to get this recoding step done by a dealer.

Mucho luck!!
IB

 

i was trying to replace my ignition switch to, have no idea how to separate the ignition cylinder from the ignition switch, tried to search it in google and found this thread. Thank you Innocent Bystander....

 

Bumping a really good thread that has helped a lot so far today.. anyone experience any difficulty getting the cylinder back into the sleeve after removal? It slides in 80% of the way, then seems to be jammed on something; tried turning the key/cylinder while inserting into the sleeve to see if that helped, but I am not able to determine how it should be oriented to put it back in. Seems like it should be simple but it's not to me apparently

 

Good news: Figured the issue out after pulling the whole assembly apart.

Bad news: Tumblers fell out.