Hi all,

99 Chevy Blazer SUV.

Was putting in a new car radio today and had to unbolt the dash cover and move the steering column down. I also had to put the shifter down to create clearance, so I unlocked the ignition with the key, put the E-brake on and put the car down into 2 low. I got the old radio out and the disconnected the harness to bring in and attach the new radio harness to the factory. I put the car back in park and turned the ignition back to off and removed the key.

Came back out later to put the new radio in and went to press the brake and turn the ingition to move the shifter down but nothing would move. Now I can't get the key to turn or come out. The shifter is in Park and the brake feels really hard to press. That is with the e-brake disengaged.

Also the steering wheel won't turn. I have power (lights and dings when doors open). I also checked all the fuses and didn't see anything burnt up.

Any suggestions on what the issue could be? I just got the damn thing back from the shop for ball joints on Wednesday!

Thanks,
Hawk

 

Thought I would update with some of the steps I've tried and possible diagnosis.

The ignition is stuck in the "Accessory" position. This is the all the way back/last position, which is one past the standard "Lock" position for removing the key.

I talked to my garage and they said it's probably a the ignition cylinder, one of the springs in the lock broke and has it stuck in the locked position and won't release the key. I disconnected my battery to keep from draining since stuck in the "Accessory" position. Also took off the bottom and top column covers.

Also been on the YouTubes pretty heavy.

I've been researching ways to get this unstuck and tried the following, all while making sure to keep the wheel pulled to the left (spring side) to take tension off the ignition lock.
1. Spraying in a non-flammable lubricant to see if does anything.
2. Jiggle and tap with but of screw-driver.
3. Tried using my neighbors air hammer on low-low setting just to get some vibration by the key to see if the lock would fall back in.
4. Making a small/thin pick to get between the cylinder and housing to see if I can depress the lockbar.

At this point I think I'm going to have to detach the shift linkage under the truck just so I can manually get the truck into neutral so I can push it out into the driveway so it can get on a tow truck.

I'll play around with it more this weekend and see if I have any luck. If I could just get it to the normal position I could depress the spring bar to get the cylinder out and just replace, but nothing is ever easy. Not sure I want to pull the wheel and column to get to the cylinder screw.

Anyway, if anyone has any other advice, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks,
Hawk

 

All I can offer is emotional support. Good Luck!

 

Something similar happened to me on a 1999 RX300. While messing with the key cylinder I had shorted a fuse that, among other things, controlled the brake lights and for reasons I forgot it locked up the shifter.