Diagnosis

Repair

 

heres a much better video.

 

Who wudda think it? I wonder if that was one of the hidden fixes GM came up with so most people would have to take their truck to the dealer?

Spock would have said "Illogical, Captain. No one would design an ignition system that would interfere with something so simple as a transmission." "Aye Mr. Spock. They didna have to add so many functions t' a switch made f'only three!!" Scotty added.

Ted

 

no shyt eh! explains why sometimes it worked when i restarted the truck and or had different symptoms. it had nothing to do with what i was doing but rather the switching mechanism. iv never had an ignition switch fail before so i really had no clue. iv read the 30 common 4L60E and went through actual tech troubleshooting guides. since the tranny was the only thing not working (mostly) I just didnt clue in. n ya a couple 3 times the truck wouldnt start, i just figured bad grounds, so i replaced those n then when it happened once after that i thought maybe its my scanner drawing power or some crap... but by continuing to try to start it, it would eventually and like nothing was wrong. grrrrr. haha

now trying to find the right part that will ship to Canada is a PITA. I dont understand why theres sellers on eBay.ca or amazon.ca that wont ship to Canada, isnt that the damn point for having the Canadian sites LOL. but I have found a few sellers on Ebay.com that do ship here and have a decent price. im looking around $180.

but would you know there are at least 6 different part numbers all different manufacturers and not just one common truck part number. sure makes finding the right one a nightmare and these switches are only for 97's Chevy or GMC Fullsize Trucks.

26061330, D1496C - Ac Delco
US-296 - Standard Motor Products
IS136 - Original Engine Management, (crafty name there eh, these are the cheapest and the one im buying.)
LS931 - Wells
1S6475 - Airtex
CS594 - BWD

 

Real crafty. That's how they can claim to be OEM.

Ted

 

well I called the local you pick junk yard. $30 for the switch n lock cylinder. I'm pretty excited to go see what they have there, shopping for some new rims as well but low on the list. haha I havent been picking through a junk yard since I was a kid.

so I continued to remove the switch from the vehicle to make sure I brought all the tools and that I knew how to do it. its a pain in the arse but I got it done without breaking anything.

the other day I tried to see if I could find and fix the problem... yes n no LOL I opened the mechanical side of the switch to investigate... once you open it 6 tiny springs, 6 swiveling contacts, the tumbler and a big round spring basically go flying. LOL. GOOD LUCK. there were burnt marks on the contacts so I assume after 20 years of functioning n arcing it finally produced enough hmmm carbon dust whatever its called to interfere with the connection. Well I cleaned up the contacts with electrical contact cleaner and attampted for like 4 hours to put it back together. good luck with that. LOL. I could get it back together but I was never confident that the tumbler was in the right spot and aligned properly with the spring so scratch that idea. it was worth a shot I guess, at least to investigate why it failed.

so today I wanted to really take it apart and see if there were any burnt wires or circuitry ect... there is no circuitry at all, its just wires, contacts, springs and the tumbler. crazy. nothing else was burnt anyways. maybe the tumbler was worn as well, its only plastic so prolly.

So Im guna take my chances on the $30 I pick a part ignition switch n roll the dice and order a new one for back up when I have some extra cash. Im heading out to get it in the morning. I hope to come back with good news.

heres some pics.

 

All right so the verdict is in.... junk yards are fun LOL went in for the switch and came out with a bunch of stuff off a 97 sierra rw thats the same color as my truck. so I got the ignition cylinder but not the switch as it was cut up n spliced together. the floor matts, headlight switch, a cargo light switch, the little cubby to replace the cd player, and all that nobs off of the radio n thermostat. I should have grabbed some more things.

I found a good switch after searching through the entire yard looking for all the 97's that still had the steering column. LOL. I also found a brake controller! I think thats everything... $60

I came home n installed it then tested it right away and heck ya it works perfect! so I put everything back together and somehow broke an airbag wire at the connector. so took it back apart n soldered the wire back to the connector with a small jumper and all is well. put it all back together again and go for a spin n everything works perfect. WOOOHOOO Im a happy man. I called the tranny shop n thanked them.

the cylinder works perfectly nice n smooth and wont let me remove the key while the truck is running any more. LOL. that was convenient at times but if you shut it off you couldnt restart it without the key. the truck starts stronger and the interior lights seem brighter but i dont know maybe thats in my head. HAHA

and a bonus... the new key unlocks all the doors but the old one wont turn the ignition. lol. I was even just as pumped about that as I was about the switch.

Sweet Deal. Cheers!
Al

 

I forgot what they call it but if you have the keys with a square black piece of plastic on the key it contains a resistor that must match the lock cylinder. GM did that so they can use the same cut on several keys with the resistor defining which truck it will start.

Ted

 

I dont have one of those keys but came across at least 1 97 with it, the ignition switch harness has an extra plug on it for that aswell. I didnt clue in right away as the key was in the cylinder sitting on the console... I had the column torn apart when I noticed the extra plug, pulled the key out of the cylinder and saw the chip... DAMMIT! that was the second switch I tried to harvest. lots of practice... I think im good at it now. LOL.

so I just got back from a good hour long drive. absolutly no problems whatsoever with the truck! but my stereo stopped producing sound... so gotta figure that out. I suspect the amp whetever that is.... I'll have to do some research n start a new thread.

Beauty eh.... Beauty!!!

have a great day guys!

Al

 

You probably had it cranked up and hit the overload. Turn it off for a few minutes and hopefully it'll be OK.

Years ago you could have ford keys cut to two vehicles. The double cut keys were so the key would work right side up or upside down. Now GM keys have the double cut. But it takes a little more to have them start two vehicles. Get past the key security and you can have one key start two vehicles. You just have to match the second vehicles security to the first.

Ted