Bad ignition switch. What's the symptoms?

[GTIUPVR6]

Not much in the search as far as symptoms.

Sometimes my car shuts off completely while driving? My ABS light stays on too. (Maybe thid has something to do with it?)

How did your car react when the switch went bad? Please help. Thanks

[myk640]

whats up Troy...... when my switch started going out the main thing was that it wouldnt start when I turned the key and I had to wiggle the key a few times before it turned over. I never had any problems with it dying while driving. Maybe check you ground connections to your battery.

[RainMkrDV]

i think my ignition switch just went out tonight,
the key turns only to the on position, and i have to jiggle it, then it wont start the car,,,,,
now it wont turn the car off,,,so i disconecced the battery,,,
does anyone have a recomendation for a replacement ingition switch,,,,or what do do
thanks

[20psirabbit]

when you have a bad ignition switch, the car can also crank and start fine, then when you let go of the key, the accessory position can have a bad spot in it, so the car won't continue running

[RainMkrDV]

Quote, originally posted by 20psirabbit »

when you have a bad ignition switch, the car can also crank and start fine, then when you let go of the key, the accessory position can have a bad spot in it, so the car won't continue running

so do you think that i could have a bad lock mec. or a switch problem

[FHATTCATT]

An ignition switch went bad on a 95 gti I had earlier this year.

1) Sometimes I had to jiggle the key to get it to start.

2) If I hit a bump my radio would cut out.

3) If I hit a big enough bump the car would cut off.

I had recommendations from people to only replace the switch with genuine VW so did. It fixed the problem.

Here is my original thread- again the switch cured all the ills....
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1236365


Modified by FHATTCATT at 2:30 AM 11-1-2004

[green_slc]

Don't forget about the crazy seat belts moving at it's own will. Rather unnerving leaving you unprotected and asking for a ticket at the same time.

[GTIUPVR6]

I sprayed electrical cleaner into the ignition - so far so good. It seemed dirty. I'm trying the easy fixes first before I have to change it out. Who knows I may get lucky.

[20psirabbit]

Quote, originally posted by RainMkrDV »

so do you think that i could have a bad lock mec. or a switch problem

no, that would be the electrical portion of the switch itself, you can tell if you jiggle the key back and forth and it turns the power on and off. for instance, in my caddy, the switch just started acting funny, so it will crank and fire, but die when you let go of the key. so you have to start it then turn it back and find the spot where it works
PITA

[Lurkertom]

If your car is randomly dying while you are driving replace your ECU power supply relay. If your seatbelts are acting weird it's the electrical part of your ignition switch. I have had both symptoms and replaced both items. It worked.

[Boostedcorrados]

Try relay 109 or main ecm relay. They go bad all the time and will cause the car to die.Mine would do it if i would step on the gas really hard. Start the car and move there relay alittle. they get really hot and after years of use then the tabs get loose and will cause a problem thats hard to figure out.

abt cups car was doing it and after reading tons of posts about it i remebered that was what my 94 did. ITs astupid problem nobody thinks of but it may save you an expensive trip to the dealer or a shop.

When my starterswich went out i just couldnt get the car to start with the key i had to jump power from the +side of the battery to the starter I have seen the plug wiggle loose or clips wear and people throw big zipties on them to hold it in.

[20psirabbit]

i thought i had already replaced all the dumb cheap parts that make corrados wacky, i guess have one more to replace now

[phantomred]

Basically when the ignition switch went bad i had to turn the key while pushing very hard to the upper right and it would catch each time. it was a little trick that worked each time till i replaced it. its a lot of pressure to one side as you turn the key; felt like it would break the key but it works.
as far as replacing the ignition switch definately do it yourself. i did with the help of directions off corrado club of america. just make sure you have a crap phillips screwdriver u dont care about bending at a 90 degree angle. as far as tools needed thats it besides getting off the steering wheel bolt thing. if u need help let me know. good luck

*hey it was a good temporary anti theft device until i fixd the thing.haha

[a747ba]

[GoKart_16v]

Quote, originally posted by GTIUPVR6 »

Not much in the search as far as symptoms. Sometimes my car shuts off completely while driving? My ABS light stays on too. (Maybe thid has something to do with it?) How did your car react when the switch went bad? Please help. Thanks

this is exactly what is going on to my car...so this is defiantely an ignition switch or coil? wanna confirm before I buy the parts

[BlueCee]

Mine just went bad. Turned off while on the highway thank God it turned back on. Then when I shut it down the key did not want to get out. When I wiggled the hell out of it I managed to remove it, but when attempting to start the dead accessories position wouldnt keep the car on. Funny this is the 2nd time I'm replacing this, the last time was 3 years ago. Sometimes I feel particular parts are really designed to fail!!!!


Modified by BlueCee at 2:40 AM 9-22-2008

[boner]

there is one other possible cause.

crank position sensor. a bitch to get to though. down at the front of the block near the flywheel, has a white connector i think. if i wasn't 300miles from my bentley, i'd tell you what the resistance value should be across the pins. this happened to me with my mk3. by this point i was so pissed at the car, i sold it and bought a mk5 but i have been told by the person who bought it that it worked flawlessly after replacing that part (of course )

there are 2 different ones available. they both "fit", one will leak though but you can get some rubber o-rings to get a good seal. of course, the one that leaks is the cheaper one!!!