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Thread: The spinning ignition issue

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    19
    My Cars
    BMW E36 M3 Evolution Saloon

    The spinning ignition issue

    Hi all.. Just to say that almost three months ago I had the infamous spinning key, can't turn off car etc etc problem. I followed that advice on here about removing the orange cap and pressing the pin in. I have not had the problem since and think the original thread (wherever it may be) should be pinned as the majority of advice was that I needed a new barrel, had to come from Germany, car off the road for weeks etc.
    Has anyone else tried this method (left hand side of steering wheel) and not had problems since?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Boston
    Posts
    1,448
    My Cars
    E30(sold *3), E36, E46
    So you pressed the pin back in from the ignition switch side and the problem hasn't reoccured?

    That's weird, because I thought this was caused by a sheared tab that engaged that pin/assembly from the lock tumbler side.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Boston
    Posts
    1,448
    My Cars
    E30(sold *3), E36, E46
    Just an update, I had a similar experience. Couldn't shut car off and I had to yank the battery.

    Anyway, it's unclear whether you really need to remove the ignition switch at all to reset it to position 0 if you are able to remove the key cylinder. I did it anyway out of curiosity. You will need the key in position two though so for ease of positioning you might want to do it anyway. But if you are lazy and are able to rotate the cylinder ,but cannot figure out where position 2 is, look at the keyhole carefully and turn the key until you see a metal piece covering the hole. Once you are past that piece you are in position 2. Like the Bentley says, it's 60 degrees past position 0. The hard part by far is trying to insert a metal rod into the pinhole to get the lock cylinder out. I removed the EWS antenna key ring, which is not necessary. Large paper clip works best, I tried many different metal rods. You do NOT need a lot of force as people here have said (use hammer...uh, nope). You do need to wiggle it quite a bit.. the problem is that the activation mechanism lies slightly near the outward circumference of the barrel... and if you do not angle your paper clip outwards there, you will hit something solid at the same depth which will not budge at all. All it needs is a medium push and the thing will come out.

    My lock cylinder was also perfectly fine and intact including the infamous tab, which actually had no wear. The ignition switch, which is plastic, had a bit of wear but it still seemed very good. I could not quite figure out how it "breaks" in such a manner such that the key cylinder and ignition switch are out of sync - obviously something to do with the retraction of the metal pin that activates the ignition switch, but reassembly was quick and it works like a charm now. Definitely worth pulling out and taking a look before bringing it to a mechanic and emptying out your wallet. Hope this helps someone.

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