Member
My (Jan 1995) E36 manual 'vert yesterday developed the ignition problem where the key will not turn at all and one cannot shut the engine off. I drove it home, stalled it to get the engine to turn off and then disconnected the battery. I spent the rest of the day and this morning reading everything the internet has to say on the subject. Because the key was in the "run" position I could not release the tumbler by the bobblypin/paperclip method. I have now loosened the ignition switch so that I was able to get a pair of needle-nose pliers in there and rotate what I think is the shaft that runs from the tumbler cylinder. This allowed me to turn the key in the cylinder and I am now hoping that tomorrow I will be able to try to pull the tumbler out. My question is this: given the failure mode I have experienced, (i.e. symptoms I describe above - key would not turn in the switch so the engine could not be stopped), is it more likely that the shaft itself has sheared off or that the tumbler has gone bad? The tumbler sounds like a much easier replacement. If it is the pin, I will need to pull the whole mechanism apart, whereas assuming that I can get the tumbler out, if that turns out to be the problem, at least putting the replacement in looks fairly simple. So, is there any way to work out which is the more likely to have happened, given the symptoms? Is it just a bad tumbler or has the shaft broken?
Dan
Last edited by slamtry; 12-06-2020 at 12:12 PM.
Member
May be tumbler itself. Mostly what happens is springs inside go bad stoping the movements of the key.
Balogne Cajones
Did you see if the ignition switch itself was bound up?
I think the only way to find out is to remove the tumbler and find out for yourself since there's no definitive way these break. Pretty much all of it in there is problem zone and parts.
My key spun in 2014. I still haven't changed the tumbler.
Member
Well, I just went down and spent the first 45 minutes trying to get the cylinder out. I used first a large, straightened paper clip and got nowhere with that, and then I tried with a very small hex key. At that point, after ten minutes of revolving the tumbler/cylinder with the (ignition) key in the lock and the hex key in the tiny hole, I managed to insert the hex key the extra inch or so into its little hole. At this stage, I thought I had hit the jackpot. However, after playing with it and revolving the cylinder for another 15 minutes, I still could not release the tumbler so that it would pop out. Since the hex key does not have the little bend near the end that about half the posts (and youtube videos) suggest is necessary to release the retaining pawl fro the cylinder, I went back to the paperclip which I gave a little bend in the appropriate place. By inserting the paperclip into the hole, without letting the lock cylinder move, I was able to get the paperclip to sink fully into the hole. However, despite the little kink in the end, no amount of wiggling would release the tumbler any more than the hex key would. At this stage, I could not stand the position upside bent like a corkscrew so I decided to try something else. With my key in the ignition, I held the ignition switch where it should be, and twisted the key in the ignition until I could fully seat the ignition switch. I then tightened the grub screws back up, connected the battery and (making sure the EWS ring was in place) tried to start the car. Success!!!
Of course the plastic underside of the dash and the lower steering wheel cover are still hanging under the dash, but I could at least drive it to a mechanic if I need to. There are several posts out there of people who got to this stage and then just decided to go about their daily lives and ignore what had happened. I have three problems with this approach: 1. It's just not my style; if things are broken, you fix them; you don't just hope it doesn't happen again. The world doesn't work that way; broken shit is broken shit. Second, if it breaks again, I could be stuck somewhere I don't want to be (fleeing a bank robbery - ok more likely stuck in some parking lot I can't afford); thirdly and most scarily, I don't really know what is wrong with the system or even in detail how it works. What happens when I am going round a bend on the freeway and the resultant g-force or just my usual bad luck decides that is the moment for the steering lock to activate. Not only will I end up dead, I will quite possibly kill some completely innocent poor fucker who isn't dumb enough to drive a 25 year-old broken car. So, I am going to have to go back down there and try again to get the bastard ignition tumbler out.
Okay, that's the end of my rant. Forgive the bad language. Back down to the garage I go, more or less as ignorant as before. If anyone has (accurate) information about how likely it is just to happen again in a weeks time if I keep driving it, I would be grateful to hear about it. Or any tips on how I can get the tumbler out this time. My thoughts are that if I can get the tumbler out and try the key in it on the bench, it should be visibly either working or broken.
Member
Jbird
Since your already in to it, is the key really worn on the sides and wavy
Member
In the video he says 2000, so it's an e46. Does it work the exact same for e36?Originally Posted by AKBO
Member
The key is a bit worn, so I have started using a newer key that I was keeping as a spare, just in case the original, which is, as you say, a little worn, contributed to the problem. Anyway, the update is I could not get the cylinder out so I put it all back together and so far at least it starts and stops normally. I will see how it goes. If it starts to misbehave, I will address it again. But if it ends up needing to go to a shop, I will probably junk it. It would cost most of a thousand dollars to get it fixed even by an independent and the car is probably worth $2000 on a good day.
Balogne Cajones
Prolly slot more as a part out. Heyooo
Member
Some have switched over to a push button start due to problems with the key switch.
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