Ignition switch replacement

[stevemac 0]

The only things which may have a slight difference are ones without an adjustable steering column

Steering locks for Corrados without adjustable steering also contain the top steering column bearing. :wink:

 

Makes the job a little longer but IMO - 5 hrs is taking the piss !!

 

emax - my advice is to refuse to pay the bill & demand to speak to the garage manager - print the instructions & show them to him !!

I'm VERY interested to hear their explaination as to why they took so long to do the job :shock:

[emax 0]

Thanks again guys. I can confirm that my car is not an auto and it definitely has an adjustable steering column so it has to be the same as other cars. I'm going to be seeing him tomorrow (accompanied with a printout of the instructions) and will get the full story from there.

 

thanks again for all the help/advice.

[Henny 0]

play it cool at first and just build up before you plonk the instructions in front of him or mention trading standards... ;)

 

Good luck! 8)

[emax 0]

Thanks again guys, esp Henny and Stevemac.

 

I picked up the car today and the bill wasn't as bad as I thought. 1.5 hours, still a little high but, not 5 hours high! The junior mechanic panicked me yesterday when he said that they've been working on it for "most of the day".

 

Considering the wallet damage isn't as bad as expected, and everything else that's going on just now (house move, baby on the way) , I don't think I'll persue this any further.

 

Thanks for the advice guys.

[Henny 0]

Glad you got it all sorted emax 8) 1.5hours from a garage isn't too bad, that could be explained away by a damaged screw or similar if it had been replaced in the past...

 

Good luck with it (and the move and baby) sounds like you're gonna be busy in the close future! :lol: :D

[Guest]

i just can't ge to that little screw that holds the switch...is there another method...?? :?

[Henny 0]

it IS a pain in the arse, to be fair... I used a long bent watchmakers screwdriver and plenty of perserverence to get at it, and that worked a treat... I have no idea on how else you could do it though... :|

[stevemac 0]

alom, You're changing just the switch & not the whole lock assy ?

If so - you need the smallest/shortest phillips screwdriver on the planet to remove the screw. Try also moving the steering column height a little to get better access.

[Guest]

yep just the switch.....my mechanic is going to cheesel of the bolt that holds the hole assembly together and then use a special screw afterwards......

i got a switch from gsf which looks white and a bit different, but it works...do you think it should be ok once i get it into place??

[stevemac 0]

When I bought my G60, the switch was held onto the steering lock with a cable tie......... :lol:

 

Worked perfectly well though.. :wink:

[Supercharged Junkie 0]

Yeah i used a cable tie when i did the switch on my G60, only problem i found is that when you switch the ignition off the stereo switches straight off instead of when you pull the key out of the ignition.

So i spend 10mins putting the screw back in, wasnt that bad to be honest, fecking 2days to get the screw out thou :x

 

Gonna do the honda s2000 starter button next, got a richbrook one at mo but it doesn`t work anymore i think because of the current overload after reading the link on the first page of this topic.

Anyone know where to get a cheap honda s2000 or better looking starter button from?

 

Cheers

Ian

[blackcat 0]

Took me 15 minutes from start to finish. 8)

 

15 mins?? VW just charged me £122 labour to change my ignition barrel :bad-words:

[Jimjam 0]

Not exactly cheap, but:Click

[stevemac 0]

Took me 15 minutes from start to finish. 8)

 

15 mins?? VW just charged me £122 labour to change my ignition barrel :bad-words:

Much faster & ultimately cheaper to replace the whole lot - steering lock housing, key barrell & switch.

 

I timed myself from driving into the w/shop until driving out again & the difference was around 17.5 minutes.. :shock:

[the_croft 0]

just had mine done on my g60, cost £100 including fitting.........

how long do u think it will last

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Yeah only problem i found is that when you switch the ignition off the stereo switches straight off instead of when you pull the key out of the ignition.

 

Mine does that too and I've replaced the switch. I know that Corrados should keep the stereo on until you pull the key out. I'm not sure what is broken. I've got a new VW switch to go in and also a new barrel, so hopefully that will sort it!

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Actually, I've just discovered that if you press the key in whilst turning the ignition off, the stereo then stays on until you take the key out.

 

Must be another 'feature'!

[Supercharged 2]

Supercharged Junkie wrote: › Select ›‹ Expand

Yeah only problem i found is that when you switch the ignition off the stereo switches straight off instead of when you pull the key out of the ignition.

 

 

Mine does that too and I've replaced the switch. I know that Corrados should keep the stereo on until you pull the key out. I'm not sure what is broken. I've got a new VW switch to go in and also a new barrel, so hopefully that will sort it!

 

Guys, there is bassically a button at the end of the switch for this which the key pushes on, mine kept sticking and leaving the stereo on after the new GSF switch was fitted but its actually been ok for the last year or so...

 

Kev - I bought your switch at the same time, you might just want to take it back as I think it must be faulty or If you have a VW one to fit give it to me and i'll exchange it so we have a spare between us...

[Kevin Bacon 5]

OK mate, will do. The VW one is black and appears to be much better quality than the GSF one, which as we know is white and feeble looking.

[bigbob 0]

Right then, here you go...

 

I've not done this on a VR before, but I assume it's the same as on a late G60 and 1.8 16V, if not, then I'm sorry to waste any of your time... Ask at your stealer's if the switch is the same, if it is, then the fitting should also be the same.

 

1 ) take out the driver's side seat (one bolt at the front of the runner and a plastic cover at the back of the runners) so that you can lie down in the footwell.

2 ) remove the driver's side under dash

3 ) remove the bottom of the steering cowl.

4 ) unclip all of the multiplug wiring around the steering column. (just helps with visability!)

5 ) place a large cushion over the center seat mount and lie down with your head resting on the brake peddle. With a torch you should be able to see up behind the switch. To the column side of the switch is a small, brass, crosshead screw. You need a thin handled cross head screwdriver to get at this... I used a watchmaker's screwdriver that I bent slightly to get in to the screw. It's quite fiddly, but persevere and you'll get it.

6 ) with the screw out, the switch should just pull out towards the peddles.

7 ) insert new switch and put the screw back in. You'll have noticed that the original screw wasn't mega tight, so it doesn't have to go back in that tightly either!

8 ) remove youself from the footwell (easier said than done by this stage... Glad I told you about the cushion yet?!? :lol: ) and re-connect the multiplugs to the switchgear. Test the switches NOW, before you put everything else back together!

9 ) replace the lower steering cowl and underdash

10 ) replace the seat ensuring that all 3 runners are in the channels properly and that you've replaced the bolt and rear cover.

 

DONE... :D

 

Easy huh? Like I say, it's a bit fiddly, but there's no major engineering qualifications needed or anything daft like that. anyone who can lie down, use both hands at the same time and use a screw driver should be able to do this in about an hour. 8)

 

Very good advice

 

helped me changed my switch over the other night with no problems others than a bumped head on the brake pedal ! :mad:

[Kevin Bacon 5]

You don't need to take the seat out at all.

 

Here's haywire's method:-

 

1) Buy ONLY a VW switch. The GSF one is useless I'm afraid to say, it's no where near VW's standards.

 

2) Remove both halves of the column cowling. You need to take off the column adjuster knob with a 10mm socket. Very easy.

 

3) Remove switch plug.

 

4) Using one of those small chrome screwdrivers (Maplins sell a set of 6 for £1.99!) and looking from above (from the comfort of the seat you don't need to remove) negotiate the driver into the gap between the alloy lock housing and the switch and unscrew the screw.

 

5) Stick new switch in, reinsert screw.

 

6) Reassemble column.

[Henny 0]

ummm, Kev? didn't I write that in a post in here ages ago? The reason I took the seat out was that I wanted full access to the under dash area 'cos I'd never done this before... I've since done a couple without removing the seat, and it is MUCH more comfortable! :lol:

 

Why did you remove the steering column adjuster knob? :?

[MysticBlueStorm 0]

Thanks for the thread - having problems in the last week, having to wiggle the key to get it to start.

After a fiddly job changing the bonnet release cable, looks like I have a fiddlier one this weekend with the ignition.

 

Thanks for the guide Henny - hope it sorts it.

[MysticBlueStorm 0]

Just replaced the switch tonight - took me nearly 2 hours to get the old screw out - did it in the end sitting in the seat - you can see the screw by having your head in the region of the gear stick and I also used the small thin chrome screw driver but had to bend it. Car now has a black switch as there was a white one in there which was faulty (didn't know that was a gsf) - thanks again for all the advice - I would hav been lost without this forum and I've only had the car 3 weeks.

Cheers Lads

[fla 9]

This must rank as THE HARDEST job I've tried to do on the car. Just spent about 3 hours trying to remove the screw but it is just too tight. The switch is white which I guess is a GSF replacement and there is absolutely no way to get any pressure on the head to undo it. Any other suggestions chaps? This has really cheesed me off as i could have been playing with my kids instead of messing around with this little s--t of a job.