C5 Ignition Switch Repair
10-18-2008, 10:42 AM
#62
Drifting
HOLY SH*T BATMAN ---> Bill Curlee is the MAN!! I posted my problem Directly to him, He responded, Said it was the "Ignition Switch" AND He was RIGHT!!! I followed the instructions on This Thread. http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...tion+c5+switch
Put it all back together and BLAMO!! The Car instantlly came to life.. Cleared all Codes and so far so GOOD!! THANK YOU BILL CURLEE!! I OWE YOU MORE THAN A BEER!! I Also Owe thanks to Jet-Jock, TOQUE, HomeWrecker and dgrant3830. I cannot Believe I spent $600 Dollars at the Dealership for NOTHING!! I'm going to drive to the Dealership tomarrow morning and tell them how BAD a TECH they have and I cannot Believe they let him work on the new ZR1's.. .. I learned a lesson too! Ask the Forum and FIX it your Self.. Here are some Pictures of my Repair.
Some of the Parts and the Ignition Switch on the Table.
This is a Picture of the Inside of the rear of the Ignition Switch, The Contacts behind those Prongs were Black. And I do mean BLACK. Sanded all the Contacts with 400 gritt, used some Di-Electric Grease and put it all back together.
Thanks Again BILL CURLEE, I OWE YOU A STEAK DINNER and DRINKS!!
GOD I LOVE THIS FORUM!
Put it all back together and BLAMO!! The Car instantlly came to life.. Cleared all Codes and so far so GOOD!! THANK YOU BILL CURLEE!! I OWE YOU MORE THAN A BEER!! I Also Owe thanks to Jet-Jock, TOQUE, HomeWrecker and dgrant3830. I cannot Believe I spent $600 Dollars at the Dealership for NOTHING!! I'm going to drive to the Dealership tomarrow morning and tell them how BAD a TECH they have and I cannot Believe they let him work on the new ZR1's.. .. I learned a lesson too! Ask the Forum and FIX it your Self.. Here are some Pictures of my Repair.
Some of the Parts and the Ignition Switch on the Table.
This is a Picture of the Inside of the rear of the Ignition Switch, The Contacts behind those Prongs were Black. And I do mean BLACK. Sanded all the Contacts with 400 gritt, used some Di-Electric Grease and put it all back together.
Thanks Again BILL CURLEE, I OWE YOU A STEAK DINNER and DRINKS!!
GOD I LOVE THIS FORUM!
10-24-2008, 10:11 AM
#63
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St. Jude Donor '08
Heres a link to the entire slvrzo6 post. Ive included it because its an interesting story (dealer technicians are not always compentent) and it contains some good indications for a defective ignition switch.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...ht=bill+curlee
BC
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...ht=bill+curlee
BC
12-13-2008, 07:01 PM
#64
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St. Jude Donor '08
If you "THINK" you have an ignition switch issue, you can use a volt meter and measure the output of the ignition switch.
There are TWO voltages that power the critical modules in our cars. One is "HOT AT ALL TIMES" and the other is "HOT in ACC and ON". When you turn the ignition switch to ON, you can read the fuses listed below and you should see exactly what the battery puts out. If the electrical contacts inside the switch are burnt, there will be resistance in the circuit and the voltage output of the switch will be lower or even zero.
On top of the fuses are two small holes that you can insert pin point meter leads into and read that fuse terminal. MAKE SURE to read both holes. If the fuse happens to be blown, only the battery side will have voltage on it.
Heres another troubleshooting tip: If you read across the fuse; If it good, you should read ZERO VOLTS!
If its bad, you will read BATTERY VOLTAGE.
Heres the schematic for the START /Crank side of the switch:
Heres the schematic for the IPC and the voltage that you see on the IPC Volt Meter:
Here are the fuses powered by the "HOT in ACC and ON". part of the switch:
Ok,,,here are the fuses that your going to check:
Under Hood Fuse Center
ENG ING1 FUSE# 19
INJR 2 FUSE# 18
THROTCONT FUSE# 17
INJR 1 FUSE# 22
PCM FUSE# 16
F/PMP FUSE# 13
Instrument Panel Fuse block
BTSI BU Fuse# 21
BCM 13 Fuse# 22
IPC Fuse# 19
Check the VOLTAGE on these fuses when the ignition is in the ON position. There should be battery voltage on these fuses.
Another ignition switch troubleshooting aid is; If the engine will run when you HOLD the ignition switch to the CRANK position but dies when you release the key, the switch could be at fault.
Bill
There are TWO voltages that power the critical modules in our cars. One is "HOT AT ALL TIMES" and the other is "HOT in ACC and ON". When you turn the ignition switch to ON, you can read the fuses listed below and you should see exactly what the battery puts out. If the electrical contacts inside the switch are burnt, there will be resistance in the circuit and the voltage output of the switch will be lower or even zero.
On top of the fuses are two small holes that you can insert pin point meter leads into and read that fuse terminal. MAKE SURE to read both holes. If the fuse happens to be blown, only the battery side will have voltage on it.
Heres another troubleshooting tip: If you read across the fuse; If it good, you should read ZERO VOLTS!
If its bad, you will read BATTERY VOLTAGE.Heres the schematic for the START /Crank side of the switch:
Heres the schematic for the IPC and the voltage that you see on the IPC Volt Meter:
Here are the fuses powered by the "HOT in ACC and ON". part of the switch:
Ok,,,here are the fuses that your going to check:
Under Hood Fuse Center
ENG ING1 FUSE# 19
INJR 2 FUSE# 18
THROTCONT FUSE# 17
INJR 1 FUSE# 22
PCM FUSE# 16
F/PMP FUSE# 13
Instrument Panel Fuse block
BTSI BU Fuse# 21
BCM 13 Fuse# 22
IPC Fuse# 19
Check the VOLTAGE on these fuses when the ignition is in the ON position. There should be battery voltage on these fuses.
Another ignition switch troubleshooting aid is; If the engine will run when you HOLD the ignition switch to the CRANK position but dies when you release the key, the switch could be at fault.
Bill
Last edited by Bill Curlee; 11-01-2009 at 03:44 PM. Reason: Added some more critical data and test stuff
12-27-2008, 05:33 PM
#65
Le Mans Master
Thank you Bill for the discovery. I too performed this easy fix and it allowed me to rid my Z06 from a pesky Security issue and no start condition that was intermittent and a pain to deal with. My contacts looked exactly like the pictures you posted on my 28K mile 2001.
01-14-2009, 06:25 PM
#67
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Bill, Can You help
I accidentally broke my key off in the ign switch. In trying to fish it out I damaged the security contacts for the resistor on the key. I bought a whole second hand ign switch from ebay and installed it and everything worked except the starting. like turning the key all the way with the clutch out, I then took the contact and wires off of the new unit and put them on my old unit but before installing I checked resistance and it read 2.36 or key number 8. I cannot figure what happened, can u shed some lite on my situation. Is there some kind of dance routine like turn left blinker on, press gas pedal 3 times while pushing the windshield washer and turning the steering 183 degrees from north? hehehehehhe
Mike
mike4man@gt.rr.com
I can give u a call if necessary.
Mike
mike4man@gt.rr.com
I can give u a call if necessary.
01-15-2009, 08:34 PM
#69
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St. Jude Donor '08
Man,,,sounds like you have the WRONG resistor pellet. Go to the dealer with your VIN and ID and they will be able to tell you what resistance the pellet should be. If you remove the ignition switch and then the tumbler,,you can pop the remainder of the key out fairly easy. Then just take it to a locksmith and have themm cut you the correct key. What DTCs are you throwing See if your getting a VATS security DTC.If you have the correct key and resistance pellet, if the VATS system is working correctly, it should start fine.
Bill
Bill
I accidentally broke my key off in the ign switch. In trying to fish it out I damaged the security contacts for the resistor on the key. I bought a whole second hand ign switch from ebay and installed it and everything worked except the starting. like turning the key all the way with the clutch out, I then took the contact and wires off of the new unit and put them on my old unit but before installing I checked resistance and it read 2.36 or key number 8. I cannot figure what happened, can u shed some lite on my situation. Is there some kind of dance routine like turn left blinker on, press gas pedal 3 times while pushing the windshield washer and turning the steering 183 degrees from north? hehehehehhe
Mike
mike4man@gt.rr.com
I can give u a call if necessary.
Mike
mike4man@gt.rr.com
I can give u a call if necessary.
01-21-2009, 07:40 PM
#70
Well, as of last Friday I have had the same symptoms as "slvrz06" was having with his ignition switch in his 2001 ZO6. My car is an 02 ZO6 and upon trying to start it last Friday morning I began getting all kinds of weird DIC warnings, low voltage, charging system fault, reduced power mode, service traction control system, also had flickering of the guage needles as they made their sweep across the guage faces and could hear what sounded like relays clicking in the passenger footwell.
After searching and coming across Bill Curlee's posts about the ignition switch fix, I decided to give it a go. Pulled the switch out and disassembled it and sure enough I had two contacts that were burnt pretty black. Sanded them down with some 800 grit wet-or-dry sandpaper and cleaned it up with alcohol. Reasembled the switch and reinstalled it in the car.
The car fired up and did not throw any codes at all. I started and killed it several times this evening, and so far so good. It got dark on me this evening, so I will finish putting all of the trim and console and shifter plate assembly together tomorrow evening.
Big thanks to Bill Curlee for his time that he graciously dedicates to this forum. I also want to thank "slvrz06" who answered a couple of questions about disassembly of the ignition switch.
THANKS GUYS and Thanks Corvetteforum
Floyd
After searching and coming across Bill Curlee's posts about the ignition switch fix, I decided to give it a go. Pulled the switch out and disassembled it and sure enough I had two contacts that were burnt pretty black. Sanded them down with some 800 grit wet-or-dry sandpaper and cleaned it up with alcohol. Reasembled the switch and reinstalled it in the car.
The car fired up and did not throw any codes at all. I started and killed it several times this evening, and so far so good. It got dark on me this evening, so I will finish putting all of the trim and console and shifter plate assembly together tomorrow evening.
Big thanks to Bill Curlee for his time that he graciously dedicates to this forum. I also want to thank "slvrz06" who answered a couple of questions about disassembly of the ignition switch.
THANKS GUYS and Thanks Corvetteforum
Floyd
Last edited by Floman; 01-21-2009 at 09:48 PM.
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cb98 (07-11-2019)
02-01-2009, 11:08 AM
#73
Drifting
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St. Jude Donor '07
This answered all my questions except one. How do I get the key tumbler out? I have a good used ignition key assembly but I want to keep my original key.
Thanks for all the info and photos.
Oh I got it. Now the tumbler is out.
Thanks for all the info and photos.Oh I got it. Now the tumbler is out.
Last edited by FLORIDA; 02-02-2009 at 09:05 PM. Reason: Now the tumbler is out.
03-29-2009, 07:05 PM
#74
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!!!wow!!!
For two years I have fought and dealt with this problem!! When I looked it up on here I decided I would give it a shot and take a leeson from Bill. Well to make a long story short one and a half hours later my car was runnung beautifully. Thanks Bill!
03-29-2009, 07:33 PM
#75
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St. Jude Donor '08
This issue effects a lot of c5 owners.... Sooner or later, they will figure it out! Easy and free fix! Glad you were successful!Well done!
BC
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03-31-2009, 08:36 PM
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St. Jude Donor '07
Bill you have helped so many people. I have a spare ign switch and plan to install it before I have all the problems that are due at 199,500 miles.
04-02-2009, 09:00 AM
#79
Maybe you're talking about the email delivery of this forum. The forum delivers them in plaintext to your email account; you'll have to go to the actual website to view the images/smileys/etc. Not sure if there's a **** one can toggle to get them to deliver 'em in HTML format...