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Posted by: OGmikey914 Jan 13 2021, 05:42 PM

Wondering if someone can help me out with some ideas on what might be going on. Went to move my car out of the garage the other day to replace my water heater that went belly up, and ran into a strange issue. Tried to start it up for the first time and a while but the battery was dead so I tried to give it a jump. I used a battery pack since space is limited (unfortunately only have a small emergency Costco one) and it died before I could get it to turn over since I only got like 3 tries.

Charged it again to try again and now the ignition won’t turn at all.

The key goes in the Ignition fine, but it is locked so it won’t turn. The steering column though seems to be unlocked as I can move the wheels freely. I was able to push it back and steer just fine out of the garage.


Any ideas?

Posted by: TheCabinetmaker Jan 13 2021, 11:17 PM

Does the key insert easily to the lock? Wiggle the steering wheel while turning the key.

Posted by: OGmikey914 Jan 14 2021, 09:33 AM

The key inserts easily but it still won’t turn. The wheels turn freely and I’ve tried every wiggle I can think of with no dice. Tried to wiggle it for a good 20 minutes

Posted by: Superhawk996 Jan 14 2021, 09:46 AM

As I read it:

Steering column is turning completly free (wheels move right and left) but the lock cylinder and key itself won't turn.

What I've seen is the housing for the ignition key cylinder gets worn and then the wafers start hanging up in the notches or indentations that have been created over time. This prevents the ignition key from turning.

Wiggling up down and side to side may help get it rotating temporaily.

I had one in similar situation and the end solution was to get a new key cylinder housing assembly that wasn't as worn as what I had. In my case sometimes it had to sort of be "forced". However, do this at your own risk. In my case I was getting very concerned about breaking a key off in the ignition cylinder before I replaced the housing.

The housing I'm talking about is the middle row - it is the part the lock cylinder and wafers rotate within.

Posted by: bdstone914 Jan 14 2021, 09:55 AM

@http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showuser=20035


What year is the car? Sounds like you are going to need a replacement ignition lock assembly.

Posted by: TheCabinetmaker Jan 14 2021, 10:59 AM

Could be one of the springs has broken, letting the wafer fall out the bottom. An old worn out key could also be the problem.

Posted by: OGmikey914 Jan 14 2021, 12:54 PM

It’s a 73’