Trick to removing ignition key switch...

[Petie724x4]

There is something acting up in my ignition system, and I think I'd like to start by swaping out the key switch. Is there a trick to removing the bezel from the dash? It seems to keep turning and turning but never quite treading out.

[richards72chevy]

I ended up drilling mine out.

[Petie724x4]

Drill the whole thing out?
Was it the problem? Are they prone to failure?

[yuccales]

I pushed a piece of paperclip into the hole in the lock cylinder & turned the key to the left to remove it. I then unscrewed the bevel while holding and slightly pulling the switch away from the dash. Hope this helps.

[dcasalena]

There is a small hole on the face of the key tumbler. You need to stick a paper clip into this hole to remove the tumbler, but to get a paper clip to go in you first need to turn the key to the acc position. Then the tumbler should pull out, mine needed quite a bit of wiggling around before it finally came free.
When the tumbler is pulled, then the bezel will spin off.

[Petie724x4]

Ahhhh....crafty..... I thought there would be a trick to it.

[richards72chevy]

Mine was in bad condition.It would spin when i turned the key over.I didnt plan on reusing it.I disconected the back of it before i drilled it out.Did the paper clip route but it didnt work for me.Just curious why are you taking yours out if theres not a problem?Are you repainting the dash?

[DorianB]

Just in case anyone glossed over the steps above, you have to actually put the key in, use the paperclip and pull the key with the ignition guts out before you can take everything apart. (Everything being the bezel and the back pieces.)

[Petie724x4]

richards72chevy, I think there is a trouble either between the keyswitch and the distributer, or the keyswitch itself. Cold starts are no starts. It will roll over until the battery is flat. It has fuel, I can smell that. The odd thing is that it seems to fire when the key is let go and is almost between "run" and "start". It doesn't seem to have enough juice when rolling over to fire....when cold. Once warm, you barely have to touch the key, and it starts, runs fine. My neighbours hate me in the morning. I'm not sure this will fix the problem, but I have another keyswitch in the parts truck, so I can eliminate it from the list.

[richards72chevy]

Maybe somebody can correct me if im wrong but i dont think that the key switch would have any thing to do with it.Mine is not turning over at all it just makes one click sound and thats it.I took out my switch too because i suspected of being faulty but it wasnt the problem.I ended up just putting in a push button to get it started but i would like to go back to stock.Let me know if you find what the problem is.

[LockDoc]

Guys, not trying to sound like a parent here but if you are going to try and tell people how to do this please read the instructions carefully and follow this sequence. It is not rocket science but the steps have to be performed in the correct order or it will not work. It gets pretty frustrating for the person trying to remove the cylinder when they are actually doing it wrong. Thanks...
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You have to turn the ignition cylinder to the left as far as it will go before you put the paper clip or stiff wire into the hole. You DO NOT have to push hard on the paper clip or wire. Here are the instructions:

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Turn the key to the left as far as it will go and insert a straightened paper clip or stiff wire into the hole in the face of the cylinder and “gently” push the spring loaded pin in. Turn the cylinder further to the left to remove it.

After you push the spring loaded pin in with the stiff wire and turn the cylinder further to the left you have to pull the wire out to finish turning it or it will bind. You can also turn it too far after you pull the wire out. That is when you have to wiggle the cylinder back and forth a little bit. If you wiggle it too much the pin will pop back out and you will have to start over. You should not have to put excessive turning pressure on it or push down hard on the spring loaded pin. Gentle and patience are the key words here...

Petie724x4: What kind of distributor are you running?

LockDoc

[mrein3]

Originally Posted by LockDoc

snip of proper instructions. See above.

Petie724x4: What kind of distributor are you running?

LockDoc

I agree with LockDoc. (At least I think I agree with him). I don't think it is the key switch part. I think it may be the switch behind the key tumbler or the wiring that plugs into that.

If you're still limber enough, stick your head back there with a flashlight in hand. If the wires and/or the switch look melted, fix that before you screw up your key tumbler.

If you just installed an HEI distributor, and didn't change the resistor wire out, you need to get a good 12 volts to that distributor, not the resistor stepped down 9 volts in the stock wire.

[screamin_c10]

Originally Posted by mrein3

If you just installed an HEI distributor, and didn't change the resistor wire out, you need to get a good 12 volts to that distributor, not the resistor stepped down 9 volts in the stock wire.

I agree 110% as I had this exact same issue and resolved it by installing a relay for the HEI, using the original resistor wire to trip the relay. Cant beat straight battery power to the HEI, and she fires right up cold or hot now.

If you want to do a quick check, hot wire your positive straight to the battery and try and fire her up cold.... if she fires up easily you know you need more juice to the ignition.... also, make sure you arent running the electric choke off the same wire as the HEI..... it draws a lot of juice and will starve the module.

Bill

[fastwillie 696969]

i got the right key just the wrong key hole

[Petie724x4]

LockDoc: Thank you for the clarification, those are easy steps to follow. I am running a HEI, and have been chasing ignition problems for a while. Always runs, just never bang on.
mrein3: I agree, just that I have another ignition in the parts truck, just trying the easy (or what I thought would be easy) stuff first. Someone told me about the resistor wire before, but then I found the choke problem like screamin c10 explained. I fixed that and thought I was done. Now its gettin colder out and I'm back to square one.

mrein3 and screamin c10: tell me more about resistors or the like. What do I do. It sounds like screamin c10 knows what I'm talking about....

[LockDoc]

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Don't know where you are getting power for your HEI. If you are not already, I would run a wire from the "Unfused Ign" terminal on the fuse block to the 12v terminal on the HEI with no other wires connected to it and see what it does.

LockDoc

[screamin_c10]

As lockdoc and mrein3 stated you need a good healthy 12 volts at the BAT terminal of the HEI. Your truck came equipped with a points style ignition that only required ~9 volts to operate. In order to step down to 9 volts from 12 GM used a "resistor wire" as the positive feed to the coil.
This is simply not enough for the HEI to operate correctly off of. As Lockdoc suggested you can run a wire from your HEI BAT terminal to a switched hot on your fusebox.
I prefer keeping the big power consumers out of the old harness, that is why I have my headlights, cooling fan, fuel pump, and ignition on relays kicked by the original wiring.....

AS A DIAGNOSTIC MEASURE:Before you go ripping into your harness or ignition switch, simply hot wire your HEI BAT terminal to the POS of the battery and see how well she fires up cold... If she fires immediately then you are on the right path and can decide which way you want to supply 12v to the HEI. Remember by hotwiring the dizzy you are taking the key switch out of the loop and will need to manually disconnect the wire in order to shut off the motor.

Bill

If you decide to relay it, I can send you a quick wiring diagram... it is very simple to do.

[Petie724x4]

Fantastic..... Patched a temp wire in spliced to the "BATT" wire into the dist, ran it around to the battery, and clamp it on for cold starts........ fires up like its 1972 again. Thanx for the help. Now to get it wired properly...... I have to get that full voltage into the keyswitch, correct? I haven't ventured under the dash yet to follow wires, but which wire in the loom am I looking for, and am I safe just cutting it and re-feeding it with battery or ignition power?

[screamin_c10]

That is really good news....

Originally Posted by Petie724x4

Fantastic..... I have to get that full voltage into the keyswitch, correct?

No, the thick red feed to the key switch is 12V hot. The pink wire from the switch to the POS side of the original coil has a built in resistance that knocks it down to ~ 9.5V. This needs to be either taped up and set aside and a keyed positive run from the fuseblock or you can use it to trigger a small relay that feeds battery voltage to the HEI. Option 2 is the way I went.

I'm getting ready for work, I can send you a schematic tonight some time.

[Petie724x4]

Originally Posted by screamin_c10

That is really good news....



No, the thick red feed to the key switch is 12V hot. The pink wire from the switch to the POS side of the original coil has a built in resistance that knocks it down to ~ 9.5V. This needs to be either taped up and set aside and a keyed positive run from the fuseblock or you can use it to trigger a small relay that feeds battery voltage to the HEI. Option 2 is the way I went.

I'm getting ready for work, I can send you a schematic tonight some time.

That would be great if you could.....thanx

[LockDoc]

Just run a wire from the location "ign unfused" circled on this picture to your HEI and you will be good to go.

LockDoc

[screamin_c10]

Looks like LockDoc beat me to it.... this is by far the simplest setup. remember to tape up your original resistance wire so you dont short it out on the block/body....

[stich626]

I'd also add an inline fuse.. a short in that new wire can cause a mess if you don't..

[Petie724x4]

Thank you very much.... looks easy enough. I'll have to go looking for power in my fuse box though, not everything that is supposed to have power does. Gettin old...

[LockDoc]

Originally Posted by Petie724x4

Thank you very much.... looks easy enough. I'll have to go looking for power in my fuse box though, not everything that is supposed to have power does. Gettin old...

The "Ign Unfused" terminal won't have power unless the ignition switch is on.. That is the way it is supposed to be.

LockDoc