Ignition Switch locked on
 

I recently bought this 85 crew cab. Tonight i went to turn the truck off and the ignition will not turn back to shut the truck off. I did some wiggling and such but could not get it to turn back. I put a rag over the carb to kill it and unplugged the battery to turn the key forward in the start position and it will move that way. So far after doing a quick search on the forum I couldnt find any info no a cylinder being stuck on. I've taken the steering wheel off to find the awesome snap ring, I'll need a compression tool to go further. But I found a linkage rod going down the column to a switch under the cluster from the ignition cylinder, could the switch be stopping the rod from returning to the off position? Also, I can pull the key out while its in the on position. I tried the spare key that wasnt worn out but still had no luck. Anyone have some ideas or expirience on this problem?

Re: Ignition Switch locked on
 

You will likely need a new lock cylinder and a ignition rack kit. Maybe a switch too. All fairly cheap. But you will need to teardown the steering column to replace all this stuff and clean/adjust everything.

Re: Ignition Switch locked on
 

Thanks Malibu. I did end up renting the compression tool to remove the snap ring and installed a new ignition cylinder. That was the problem, still not sure what made it stop returning to the off position though.

Re: Ignition Switch locked on
 

easy way to turn it off is to get pliers and push down the rod that goes from the the ignition switch to the ignition rack. if you take off the lower dash stuff under the steering column you can get at it it will be more on the left side and on top of the column. feel for a rod right past the dash and that should help with turning it off.

Re: Ignition Switch locked on
 

go to this for a good understanding of the steering column its should be a pretty easy fix.
http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/sm...?topic=12525.0
My guess is its probably the lock cylinder if you can start it no problem. if it was the rack i would think that you would have problems turning on and shutting off.

if you need to take apart the steering column you will need a lock plate remover, pivot pin remover(for tilt steerring), and some kind of steering wheel remover if you have the stock steering wheel

Re: Ignition Switch locked on
 

Wow, thats a great link. Thanks for the help JacobSchni.

Re: Ignition Switch locked on
 

glad it was an easy solution.