ignition switch trouble ??

Sorry that no one replied earlier.
Did you get it figured out yet?
If you remove the covers off the column you should be able to see what the problem is. There is an actuator rod in between the ignition lock cylinder (where you put the key in) and the ignition switch which is mounted further down on the column. If the rod moves but the switch still doesn't work then the switch is probably shot. If the rod doesn't move then either it's broken or the lock cylinder is no good.
I did get it figured out by getting previously posted info from different areas in this forum. I pulled the plastic and got the key/guts out all the while listening to that annoying chime
. I didnt see anything at first and got ready to pull the actual lower switch but the chime stopped after I bumped my head
on the steering wheel. I started looking harder for the cause of that and found a small greyish plastic clip at the top of the barrel (that the key/guts came out of) with a black/red striped wire that had come loose and was grounding the small metal contacter to the barrel body. That was the apperant cause of the chime being on with no key. I tried to reattach it but it was missing a very small tang of plastic that held it in place. As you have probably guessed by now the plastic tang was jambed up inside the guts of the key switch and was binding it up. Thanks again for your info and all the other excellent info I have read from this site. It is amazing the amount of time and effort I have saved by reading other posts and replies from here.
I had the same problem with my 97 F150. Solved it with $.02 worth of epoxy.



