rch427

For a couple of months, I had noticed that the ignition switch on my '91 F150 was taking a little more torque than usual to convince the starter to kick in. I presumed that the switch unit was going out, but since it still worked...well, you know how it is.

So, last week, I went to start it up and discovered that there was nothing there. I cranked the keyswitch all the way over, and nothing -- not even a click. I knew that the battery was OK, I checked the fuses that I could find, I had power getting to the lights, etc., and I knew that the starter was good; I had replaced it two years before.

The mechanic made a house call and, after ruling out this and that, turned the keyswitch to "run" and tried jumping the terminals on the starter relay. Sure enough -- the truck started right up. After driving it back to his garage, he discovered that the remote ignition switch (mounted down on or in the steering column) had failed. He replaced it, and the keyswitch once again worked like a champ. Until this afternoon.

I went to start it up and discovered that the keyswitch just turns clockwise freely all the way to the limit. Neither the mid-way key position, nor the accessory position does anything; the radio won't come on, and so forth. I tried jumping the starter relay terminals with the key in the "run" position but, although the starter turns and the engine cranks right over, it will not catch and run.

Am I correct in assuming that the connecting rod between the keyswitch and the remote ignition switch has broken or come loose? Could anything else be responsible for this?

Thanks in advance for any help!

--Robert

Moose_God

Having the same problem---see my "no start after replacing steering column" thread. I'll let you know what went wrong on mine when I get it out of the shop this week.

rch427

Sorry to hear about your truck's situation.

My mechanic figured out my truck's problem: apparently there's a geared piece that is part of the keyswitch unit inside the column called the "starter switch rack" that operates the linkage rod that runs the length of the steering column and activates the remote ignition switch under the dashboard. That geared part is broken and, according to him, very difficult to find a replacement for. He seems to think it might be more sensible to find a similar truck being parted out and buy and swap the entire steering column and wheel assembly! Either way, having had to unexpectedly spend $600 on the truck in the past 2 weeks, I can't afford to have the work done right now.

In the meantime, he unbolted the remote ignition switch and it's dangling underneath the dashboard. With the keyswitch in the "run" position and the shift lever in "park", I can use a screwdriver to slide the ignition switch to the "start" position, and I can at least drive the truck (it's a bitch to turn off in a hurry, tho'.)

I found this thread that seems to relate to the problem: https://www.f150forum.com/f10/igniti...-problem-2726/

Let me know what you find out from your mechanic.

Thanks --

Robert

timmy1991

Had the same exact problem on my 91 two different times. First time i replaced the ignition switch(really easy to do) and it work for a while, then i

timmy1991

Then i ended up having to replace steering column and thats fixed it so far, npbout a year later and its working

rch427

Oh, and this site seems to be helpful, at least for my F150: they sell instruction booklets for replacing parts yourself ( http://www.steeringcolumnservices.co...tions/ford.php ) and parts ( http://www.steeringcolumnservices.co...-actuators.php ). One thing that's particularly useful is that they list the OEM parts numbers for the items they sell, so you can use that to look up other sources, such as on eBay, who has the gear that I need for $10 less ( http://www.ebay.com/itm/FORD-OEM-GEA...-/150713275707 ). I'll have to double-check everything to make sure that I get exactly the right parts, but it all looks do-able.

Good luck!