Hello all,

I changed my ignition switch yesterday and I was wondering if you could explain to what a bad switch looks like. I checked all the wire connectins, but couldnt see anything wrong. then I opened the plastik cover of the part that goes close to the cylinder and one of the three metal things had a different color... Was this the problem of my car stalling all the time???

Thanx

Isis

 

It is quite possible. I am in the process of writing up a little ditty about the ignition switch. The contacts burn a bit each time that the ignition is cycled due to the electrical arc when they get close enough. If the current draw is high, the arc will be more intense. Over time, the high current contacts will start to burn in a bit and sooner or later, they will stop conducting the proper amount of electricity causing heat and an increase in damage. I have a few pictures of the insides of a working ignition switch. Even this shows signs of burning at the larger contacts. Not too much longer and the switch would have been dead. I'll post some pictures later.

 

I changed the switch according to your instruction here in the forum and I have to thank you a great deal. Without that I would not even have known something like that existed!!! I really hope this fixed my problem after a long time of trial and error. I already put a lot of money into crankshaft sensors, EGR valve and some other little things which were hard to replace and expensive. Maybe now I can save some money to make the car look nicer:-)
I will try to take a picture of my swich and maybe you can tell me if that looks bad.
Oh and I didnt make my system "relearn" since it started nicely and I dont have a scan tool anywhere near. Could this cause another problem?
Thanx again for your help