HELP HELP HELP!! CAR is still RUNNING?

[MyTi82]

hey guru's i wonder if u can crack this riddle.
so i get home and pull up in front of the house and sit for a sec. the car is still running then i go to turn the key......whoops the key turns counterclockwise but doesnt turn the car off......then the key comes right out of the ignition.
WTF!!!
the car is still running and drivable. try to put the key back into the ignition and turn but, nope.....wont turn. luckily my car is a manual so i just put it in gear and let off the clutch without giving it gas to turn it off. but no, the car is stuck in the ON position.......damn. key still wont turn......so with everything on i have to disconnect the battery so it wont get drained.......but of course i still cant turn the key to cut the car off or on.

now i will admit i have experienced this before but usually the car is off and the wheel is locked and i can press on the brake, turn the steering wheel and then the key turns, but never has this happened when the car was on.

i hope someone knows about this....
much appreciated guys.

[THAT318]

did you search the forum? i think this has happened before.
id assume you need a new key tumbler since yours isnt turning?
not sure just a guess but it makes sense.

[cooljess76]

common e36 problem. Search "e36 key spinning". I even posted a link to a youtube vid of the fix

[MyTi82]

great i wish i knew that this was common problem before today.....or else i would have had it fixed a while back. i just thought the spinning was a security feature since it would eventually catch.

but one question, is the vid a temporary fix and i should eventually go to bmw and get a new tumbler?

[MyTi82]

also my issue isnt that its turning freely but rather that its stuck in the on position and will NOT turn.

[cooljess76]

IDK maybe you have a different issue then.

[MyTi82]

maybe but the guy did say on there that the lock could seize with the car on too, so maybe same issue.

fyi though, i called the dealer and the part is now $103 in the maryland area. he also said it would come out of Penn and not Germany. but then he also qouted me $290 for labor. i am like serious dude.....he said it was a bunch of pins, bolts or sumting that needed to be cut off. i am like dude, i just watched a youtube vid of a guy take this out in less than 10min. somethings just aint right.

[bazar01]

If it's stuck in the ON position, you need to take out the electrical part of the ignition lock and turn it with a flat screw driver to turn it in the OFF position.
The electrical part is inside the steering column plastic covers. Remove the plastic covers and you will see the electrical part held in place by two small screw on each side covered with some wax or something to conceal it. Remove the two screws and pop out the electrical contact part and rotate the central part counter clockwise with a flat screw driver to put it in the OFF position.

Next thing you have to do is to figure out how to remove the ignition lock cylinder. The posted video link will help you with that. Clean and spray it with WD40 once it is out until it works properly. You may not need a new lock cylinder. Once you get the old one to work properly, you can put it back and follow the video and drill a hole and put a screw to keep the lock cylinder from spinning.

[MyTi82]

well thats some good news......but how do you know this? had to do it before? mechanic?

[MyTi82]

hey, just wanted to say thanks......i was able to put the car in the off postition by way of your instructions. i am currently in the process of getting the cylinder lock out. hopefully that goes smoothly. i was able to get the bobby pin in there last night but for some reason, today it doesnt want to cooperate.
so i am taking a quick break to type this up and hoping that when i get back to it, it will act right....

thankz again.

[MyTi82]

so i do have a lil dilemma. according to the vid, i have to turn the key "two clicks" and i cant turn the key at all. so now, i am not sure what to do......any suggestions?

[bazar01]

Originally Posted by MyTi82

so i do have a lil dilemma. according to the vid, i have to turn the key "two clicks" and i cant turn the key at all. so now, i am not sure what to do......any suggestions?

Glad you got it now in the OFF position. You know that you can drive your car with just a flat screw driver on hand while you are still figuring out how to take the lock cylindr out.

Go to a bicycle shop and get a spray can of Tri-flow lube. With the supplied tube, keep on spraying the hole where you insert the key. Let it sit for a while then insert the key and try if it will turn. If it does not turn, try to turn it from the other end using a long nose pliers taking care not to damage the end. I think that's how I got mine to turn by playing with it from the other end of the lock cylinder wher it engages the electrical part.
Once you get it to turn, position the key so it is pointing towards the instrument panel, then with a bobby pin, try to pull it out the housing. It takes a lot of patience.
Good luck.

[MyTi82]

Originally Posted by bazar01

Glad you got it now in the OFF position. You know that you can drive your car with just a flat screw driver on hand while you are still figuring out how to take the lock cylindr out.

no i didnt know that.......how would i do this? i tried to start the car with the flat head but when i turned it all the way, it didnt start......this would be very helpful seeing as i need to move my car by tues......street cleaning. i would love to avoid getting a ticket.

Originally Posted by bazar01

Go to a bicycle shop and get a spray can of Tri-flow lube.

so i am to use this instead of wd40?

thankz.

when this happened to you was your car left on, (engine running)?

[bazar01]

Originally Posted by MyTi82

no i didnt know that.......how would i do this? i tried to start the car with the flat head but when i turned it all the way, it didnt start......this would be very helpful seeing as i need to move my car by tues......street cleaning. i would love to avoid getting a ticket.

Of course you need to insert the key int the ignition lock cylinder, then turn the electrical part with a flat head.



so i am to use this instead of wd40?

Yes, Tri-flo is a better lube.
thankz.

when this happened to you was your car left on, (engine running)?

No, the car was off and when I tried to turn it ON, the key just kept spinning until it totally won't spin anymore.

[MyTi82]

well i want to inform everyone that while i wasnt able to get the ignition lock cylinder off.......i guess i didnt have the finesse or patience needed
i was able to free the stuck lock so that it will turn again. i am still not even totally sure as to why it was stuck but i got it free thanks to Bazar.

i went ahead and used the wd40 to lube it up since i cant get to a bike shop.
but what really did it is when u said to use needle nose pliers to turn the back part of the ignition that goes into the electrical part. once i did that, it became unstuck and has been acting fine ever since.

so thankz for your help Bazar. but i am assuming your car is older than a 96, cuz u didnt tell me that i had to have the black ring on there to start the car along with the key in the ignition, while turning the electrical part with the flat head.

also, if anyone needs to do this in the future.....i have noticed that all u need to remove in order to reach everything is the bottom plastic cover of the steering column.

this should be a stick.......i may take pics n post them up one day soon, especially if i plan on getting a new cylinder lock. but first i gotta figure out how to get that part off.......until then though, i will be driving again.