Clarky2 Posted October 29, 2023 Report Share Posted October 29, 2023 Had a cracking day yesterday chasing my mate in his 997 around the villages of Suffolk in my bargain basement 986. The Boxster performed admirably despite its knackered suspension and iffy brakes. Just after we stopped for this photo I noticed an issue with the ignition barrel and when we got back I struggled to remove the key, however the display stayed on even after I had wiggled it around and successfully removed it. A bit more jiggling and I did manage to switch everything off and remove the key but clearly there is an issue there. Is this something others have experienced and is there a simple fix? Cheers Jonathan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
½cwt Posted October 29, 2023 Report Share Posted October 29, 2023 49 minutes ago, Clarky2 said: Had a cracking day yesterday chasing my mate in his 997 around the villages of Suffolk in my bargain basement 986. The Boxster performed admirably despite its knackered suspension and iffy brakes. Just after we stopped for this photo I noticed an issue with the ignition barrel and when we got back I struggled to remove the key, however the display stayed on even after I had wiggled it around and successfully removed it. A bit more jiggling and I did manage to switch everything off and remove the key but clearly there is an issue there. Is this something others have experienced and is there a simple fix? Cheers Jonathan Great picture. Read this item from the How To section, I think it covers your issue which started exactly as mine started.: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky2 Posted October 29, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2023 46 minutes ago, ½cwt said: Great picture. Read this item from the How To section, I think it covers your issue which started exactly as mine started.: Cheers, I'll give that a read! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
technics100 Posted October 30, 2023 Report Share Posted October 30, 2023 Switch is a fairly easy swap.. I did it not so long ago just as I know they can give issues.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky2 Posted October 31, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2023 So, is this more likely to be the switch than the actual ignition barrel itself which has always felt a little loose in its action? Would an issue with the switch affect removal of the key? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
½cwt Posted October 31, 2023 Report Share Posted October 31, 2023 I thought barrel too to start with, however there is a mechanical cam and spring assembly in the switch housing that captures the key and makes the clunk as you pull the key out. It is this assembly that starts to fail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phazed Posted October 31, 2023 Report Share Posted October 31, 2023 There are many switches from £25 upwards on eBay. I assume they are all pattern parts and could be of dubious quality. Can anyone recommend a good quality switch? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
½cwt Posted October 31, 2023 Report Share Posted October 31, 2023 1 minute ago, phazed said: There are many switches from £25 upwards on eBay. I assume they are all pattern parts and could be of dubious quality. Can anyone recommend a good quality switch? Mine was a generic aftermarket from ECP (it failed 2 days before a trip to Europe, so not a lot of choice other than what was in stock in town...) , about £38 IIRC, quality seemed good and it is still fine after 18 months. It is a common VAG part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phazed Posted November 29, 2023 Report Share Posted November 29, 2023 Just removed the old electrical switch. What a job! Light switch out, corner dashboard trim and vent out, ducting gubbins from behind out. Graham screws sealed with some sort of chalky paint on top. Scrape off with a very sharp 90° 12“ long pic. Grind down and adapt a very short fine stubby screwdriver. Spray WD-40 or similar over the screw heads and work with pic to remove paint. Spray a bit more, and squeeze hand through vent aperture and eventually wiggle the two grub screws loose and hey presto, switch can be removed. Not for the faint hearted and if you ask me to do yours, the answer will be a resounding no!Just waiting on delivery of new switch and hopefully we will see some sort of Electrical Messiah doing its magic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
½cwt Posted November 29, 2023 Report Share Posted November 29, 2023 1 hour ago, phazed said: Just removed the old electrical switch. What a job! Light switch out, corner dashboard trim and vent out, ducting gubbins from behind out. Graham screws sealed with some sort of chalky paint on top. Scrape off with a very sharp 90° 12“ long pic. Grind down and adapt a very short fine stubby screwdriver. Spray WD-40 or similar over the screw heads and work with pic to remove paint. Spray a bit more, and squeeze hand through vent aperture and eventually wiggle the two grub screws loose and hey presto, switch can be removed. Not for the faint hearted and if you ask me to do yours, the answer will be a resounding no!Just waiting on delivery of new switch and hopefully we will see some sort of Electrical Messiah doing its magic. Did you follow the How To on here? I wrote it after doing mine. It is not easy access but it certainly wasn't the hardest electrical job I've done on a car. Add some notes to the How To if you think they would be helpful to someone else doing the job. Then again, I suppose I've just changed both door looms to add speakers and courtesy lights and also retro fitted cruise in the past, so everything is relative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phazed Posted November 29, 2023 Report Share Posted November 29, 2023 The worst aspect of it all was getting the grub screws undone hence the soaking with the WD-40 equivalent at various stages, and working the strange chalky paint they used to seal over the grub screws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phazed Posted December 1, 2023 Report Share Posted December 1, 2023 New ignition switch arrived this afternoon. Decided that I would rather have my fingers as they are rather then wannabe frozen fish fingers in the garage. Hopefully will man up tomorrow and see if fitting it will solve a few electrical gremlins! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TV8 Posted December 1, 2023 Report Share Posted December 1, 2023 3 hours ago, phazed said: New ignition switch arrived this afternoon. Decided that I would rather have my fingers as they are rather then wannabe frozen fish fingers in the garage. Hopefully will man up tomorrow and see if fitting it will solve a few electrical gremlins! Wimp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phazed Posted December 1, 2023 Report Share Posted December 1, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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