Sorting out Ignition Switch and Lock issues

[vwwestyman]

I think the issue has gone beyond the scope of the thread I originally posted in, as I'm having all kinds of difficulties now.

The tab part that engages the electrical portion of the ignition broke out of the lock portion,
as described in this thread.

I bought the part and swapped the end over as described there. That went overall smoothly... Until I went to install it in the Van.

I have two issues:

First, the button doesn't want to pop out when the key is removed. It was very tight so I sanded all the way around the perimeter, as well as the tab itself to smooth it out. Also sprayed in some Super Lube. That has improved the issue but not fully resolved it. It still doesn't want to pop out fully when inserted into the steering column, though most of the time it is enough to stop the door chime and turn off the radio so whatever...

The second issue is that sometimes when starting, the slide lever that moves the shift lock cable gets jammed up.

Instead of sliding to the left and staying there, unlocking the shift cable, it will sometimes slide back to the right and jam things up, so the key is stuck barely in the run position. (i.e. just to the left of "start" but barely, and it can still be turned toward start and cause the starter to hit the running flywheel if you try to wiggle the key to loosen it.)

When this happens, the only way to get the key to return fully to the run position or turn off the engine is by taking a screw driver and manually pushing that tab over.

It *seems* like if I push in on the collar of the lock, it keeps this from happening; the lock is slightly loose and wants to pop out slightly. I think that is probably because the lock spring was damaged when I drilled the housing.

Unfortunately, when I was frustrated at the button not popping back out, I tried the new URO Parts cylinder in there, and it's spring tab didn't line up with the hole as well, and when I tried to drill the hole slightly larger, it's spring also got damaged!

Ugh.

Finally, before I went to put all this together the first time yesterday evening, I spotted a tiny spring and little brassy stepped "button" laying in the bottom of the opening for the lock. The spring seems to fit inside the "button" but I'm not 100% sure where it is supposed to go. There is a hole in the column lock that is about the size of the diameter of the button, so on a guess I inserted the spring into the button, and inserted that assembly into the hole (spring in first) and tried to get the lock in. I don't know if that was a bad guess or the spring popped the button out, but it had not stayed in place when I removed the lock after that (to try to sort out the issue with the button not popping out.) I was able to recover the spring, but the brassy "button" has now fallen back in there somewhere and I can't find it.

Ideas on where to go from here?

Was my guess on where the button is supposed to go correct? What is it's function?

The worst part of a 10 minute job is when you've been working on it for 3 hours!

Video shows how the shift cable lock gets jammed up, and then a small pin in the lock that may or may not have something to do with the shift cable lock... I couldn't decide for sure.

Arrow in the pic shows the hole I guessed the button was supposed to go into.


Link

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Dave Cook

President, Wild Westerner Club

1978 Champagne Edition Westy, repowered to '97 Jetta TDI
1973 Wild Westerner
My Thing

[Tom Clark]

Can you tell exactly what “part” you bought?
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2003 MV Weekender

[vwwestyman]

I linked the thread I followed but maybe that wasn't obvious.

I did the same thing described here, including ordering the part through Amazon even.

[vwwestyman]

The pop-out function does seem to be getting better as I've driven the van a couple times now today. Maybe it is "wearing in" a little bit or something.

I ordered another URO lock from Amazon to steal the spring from. If that holds the cylinder in place more securely, it may fix the problem altogether.

I am still anxious to know about that tiny spring and the "button" it seems to do something with.
_________________
Dave Cook

President, Wild Westerner Club

1978 Champagne Edition Westy, repowered to '97 Jetta TDI
1973 Wild Westerner
My Thing

[vwwestyman]

I'm getting tired of how I have to drive the Eurovan... Not to mention that when someone else has to drive it (e.g. a month ago, my sister had to drive it to pick us up from the airport) I worry about things jamming up and them getting stuck.

Currently, you have to put the key in the replacement cylinder, turn the key carefully while being mindful to push inwardly on it, while making sure that the original key is placed in the immobilizer reader loop for it to start and run.

If you don't push inwardly enough, the key will turn and the engine will start, but the shifter unlock lever won't slide to the left; it'll jam up. When that happens, the engine is running but the key is stuck in between "start" and "run" and the shifter won't move. You cannot jiggle the key to unjam it; that doesn't work and you risk hitting the "start" position while the engine is running, making the starter hit the spinning flywheel. (It also doesn't turn far enough back to lock that out.)

Then you have to manually force the lever to the left with something like a tiny screw driver, just pushing on it. (You can see the scratches where that has happened and the screwdriver slipped or whatever.)

Now, when I originally got it all pulled apart, I found this very small spring and little brass button. It was as if they'd just sprung out of wherever they live when the cylinder was removed. They were just laying there in the housing. The button is hollow and the spring fits inside the opening pretty closely, so I believe they go together.

I'm wondering if maybe they are the "key" (pun intended) to prevent this jamming up of the shift lever.

There is a hole in the part that slides to the left when the steering column locks that the brass button fits pretty correctly, but that also means it would be sliding along a twisting part of the lock cylinder, so I'm not sure if that is correct. When I tried that once, it seemed to jam up and I was afraid I'd break them. It is hard to know for sure if perhaps it tried to pop out when I was going to insert the lock.

Here you can see the hole in the column lock that the diameter of the button does fit, but again I'm not totally sure if that is correct, and/or which direction it would go-- i.e. spring in first with button facing out, or button in with spring facing out. Or, I suppose, if I'm maybe even missing another piece of some kind?

Anyone have any idea? I'm having a hard time finding any pics of the lock housing at a similar angle, so I can't see if there is supposed to be anything in that hole.

_________________
Dave Cook

President, Wild Westerner Club

1978 Champagne Edition Westy, repowered to '97 Jetta TDI
1973 Wild Westerner
My Thing

[vwwestyman]

After making that post, I went and watched several youtube videos, and saw a couple quick frames that very briefly (and grainy-ily) the inside of the housing, and it sure looked like the little button was in that hole.

So I tried it, and when I pulled the lock out, I noted that there were some contact marks on the lock that were similar to wear marks on the old lock, and determined that was from the button rubbing on it. No idea what purpose it actually serves, but it is back in place.

The problem is, that didn't fix the issue of the shift lock jamming up. Fiddling around with it, I realized that the problem is the whole lock wanting to push out of the housing a little bit, and if it does, it won't properly contact the internal lever for the shift lock. That's why you have/had to apply good inward pressure to keep it from jamming.

It happened while I was running the replacement lock, and was more likely to happen with the original lock... I presume the original is a little more worn in or whatever.

So, I drilled and tapped the housing for two set screws! This was necessary because only one (the bottom one) cocked it just enough in the housing that the button wouldn't return when the key was removed. The second helps center the lock. Upon a quick test (driving to work) it seems like this may keep it from jamming up as easily.

I'll try driving it like this for a while, and see if it continues to work before I consider reinstalling the plastic column trim.
_________________
Dave Cook

President, Wild Westerner Club

1978 Champagne Edition Westy, repowered to '97 Jetta TDI
1973 Wild Westerner
My Thing

[Joshwa]

Good troubleshooting. I leaned towards the side of the new cylinder binding up due to slightly different tolerances. I had a cylinder bind up on a later model due to a little bit of oversizing.

Did you try just swapping out the lower piece of the replacement cylinder onto your original? Then you would not have to have two keys and the body of the cylinder would likely fit better, since it is the original.
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93 Weekender TDI conversion (AHU)
93 MV TDI conversion (1Z)
Weekender rear cot
Late model cabin air filter on 93
Euro spec bumper install on 93

[vwwestyman]