Loose Ignition Switch? Replace it! Smokey says only YOU can prevent dash fires.

[FastbackJon]

So I got some $600 bananas today. Wife wanted me to pick up some at the store late at night, so I hopped in the red '66 440 Charger [my avatar pic] as it was a good excuse as any. Went out to the store, got them and came back and pulled in the garage.

Turn ignition key off.... hmmm. Ignition key would not go in the off position and so the car would not shut off. Try a few times.

Hop out pop the hood of running Charger. Pull spark plug coil wire to shut off car. Car shuts off.

Go back to ignition key in loose ignition switch. The bezel holding the switch in was not loose, but the actual switch part inside the housing. Wiggle, wiggle wiggle. It finally comes out. I didn't reef on it, but I firmly moved it counterclockwise and it popped.

So being the smart guy I am at 11:00 PM, I put the key back in and decide to try it again. This time, same thing, it goes over to ignition just fine but won't come back to the position where it can be pulled out.

So I didn't reef on it, but again firm pressure counter-clockwise and it pops as it does I see an crack or hear a slight arc of light inside the ignition switch. Look up. Smoke coming up from the firewall.

Hop out and to the front of the car. Note that the fuseable link at the starter relay is about four inches of bright yellow/white. Smoke coming up from there. Smoke coming up from other areas in the firewall like near the voltage regulator.

Quickly screw off the negative terminal (quick disconnect type, which was nice) and the fuseable link cools down. Run over and grab the fire extinguisher on the garage center post.

The whole interior of the car was filled with smoke. Put it in neutral in case I had to shove it outside the garage to avoid damage to the others in case it caught on fire.

Let the smoke clear out a bit and looked for any flames. Didn't see any.

Peering under the dash, a couple wires had burned themselves out of their looms. One was that wire from the ignition all the way up through the firewall and the other was the fuseable link wire that comes off of the starter relay and joins to a normal wire and goes into the firewall in the big bundled harness had shorted out and burned itself. The fuseable link apparently didn't do that great of a job in this case, as it should have gone first, saving the others, more so or so I thought.

So it looks like I'll be in the market for a new dash and engine bay wiring harness, and what do those cost, like $600?

And the moral of the story is that if you have a loose ignition switch. Replace it or risk it! I have no idea what shorted out inside the switch, but it was not good. The key was not worn down and was/is in good shape. The switch only had three positions. I forget if that is normal or not. It had the OFF position (where you should be able to remove the key), the RUNNING position, and the START position that you hold it in to start the car. I thought there should be a fourth ACCESSORY position one click left of off for just the radio and heater, but this switch wouldn't go there.

After the switch was unplugged and removed from the vehicle, I couldn't get it to go out of the OFF position. You can see how loose the ignition cylinder is in the housing.

[tan top]

   yikes !!  , oh noooooooo  ,   scary moment  ,  could of been a lot worse ,  wonder if alternator /voltage regulator / starter relay has been damaged too  

 do you know what when i was putting mine back together  , noticed the the ignition switch was loose , well the lock cylinder is, in the switch its self , still op perates as it should , turns freely in both directions , but loose , been wondering about that ever since , think i'll be getting a new switch    wonder what the quality is like on the repoped ones    although got to be batter than a 40 plus year old switch , i would of thought ....


one good thing to come out of this !  is  ! , you have warned every one to check out the ignition switch  


https://yearone.com/Catalog/Filter?bpid=24&tags=%7C133%7C1111%7C3881
https://yearone.com/Catalog/Filter?bpid=24&tags=133%7C498 with electronic ignition

[JB400]

It's on the list, thanks

[charger Downunder]

The best thing for an ignition switch is not to have a big bunch of keys and trinkets as they will bounce around as you drive and wear the switch out. Wow you where lucky could of ended up in a disaster.

[BrianShaughnessy]

Lucky you got it before you had a major fire.   There's a lot of old mopes that went to heap because of fires like that.

I firmly believe in getting rid of the ammeter for a voltmeter and other mods like running the ignition off a relay.

Good luck with the repairs.   

[HeavyFuel]

Sounds like you were pretty cool under pressure.......I'd have been either running around like chicken with my head cut off, or frozen solid as it went up in flames.

Mine is kinda loosey-goosey as well.....but what's 'normal' and are the aftermarkets any better?

[Lennard]

Glad you saved your car. I bought a new ignition switch (and locks) for my Charger.

[bull]

I bought a new one recently and couldn't get the lock to engage inside it without hammering it in. And when I did manage to get it in far enough to turn the switch it would not turn to the left (accessory position), so I sent it back. Maybe I got a dud but the vendor said he hadn't heard of any problems with the switches. I still want one but I need one that works.

[Lennard]

I bought a new one recently and couldn't get the lock to engage inside it without hammering it in. And when I did manage to get it in far enough to turn the switch it would not turn to the left (accessory position), so I sent it back. Maybe I got a dud but the vendor said he hadn't heard of any problems with the switches. I still want one but I need one that works.

Did you buy it on eBay from Thomas-j-sestak autoparts? That's where I bought all my stuff.

[bull]

No, Megaparts. I sent it back and they told me they'll be returning it to their supplier, I imagine the switches are all made at one place.

[Fred]

The best thing for an ignition switch is not to have a big bunch of keys and trinkets as they will bounce around as you drive and wear the switch out.

I'm of the same mind, no heavy key holder either.