Cleaning the Ignition Switch

Recently, I replaced my ignition switch due to an intermittent no-response at key insertion/turn. These switches are expensive (currently ~$300), and I wondered if I could repair it instead of replace, but elected not to as this is my daily driver and I didn’t want to (temporarily) brick my car. Another thread prompted me to pull my old switch apart and see if there was a viable option of just cleaning things up. This is the ignition switch out of the car starting to be disassembled. This whole thing is multiple layers of parts being snapped together. The outer box has 10 small snaps around the perimeter holding the front cover to the back cover. I used 2 tools - a small screw driver to gently pry open, and then a spudger/trim tool to hold open as I worked other snaps loose. There are then 4 larger snaps holding the rear cover to the internals Once you get those snaps undone, you see the guts of the ignition switch and the back side of the internals showing the circuit board, which is attached via a small white electrical connector and 4 plastic clips on the sides removing the PCB shows the wiper contact interface With a detailed view of each: I marked the PCB just to get ohm readings and map the pins, but ultimately I don’t think that was a very useful exercise. Anyway, nothing obvious jumped out, and my best guess was some grit and oxidation. So I wiped off the contacts, gently polished with some 2000grit wet/dry sand paper (I’m sure there are better tools for this job), and reapplied some white lithium grease before snapping it all back together. I’m fairly confident this would, at minimum, make the switch more consistent if not completely consistent. It is a low priority for me, but I’ll likely be swapping it back into my car in a couple weeks just to verify the “fix”, but ultimately I’ll just keep the new one and if this one seems good sell it on to someone who doesn’t want to go through the above effort (which really isn’t much effort at all!). I hope that helps someone

Nice writeup! Did you try the cleaned up switch yet?

Studying the 7th photo in the series, there is evidence of wear, or ‘tracking’ where the pins of the switch make contact with the circular interior of the switch. And the oxidation you removed will certainly be a factor in the contacts making up properly when turning the key in the switch. Seems to me like you took the right steps in delving into this, and most likely your actions will have returned this switch to working condition. Keep us posted when you get to test out your workbench surgery on this.

I haven’t, but I’ll throw it back in this weekend. I know have a good baseline of “new switch feel” and reliability, and will judge the cleaned up switch accordingly.

I swapped the old switch in today and got 100% “I’m alive” rate with a few turns of the key. Time will tell on consistency. Here is also a decent video that is mostly related to this issue showing removal and partial disassembly.

A week in and the switch is indistinguishable from the new one. 100% functionality so far which is definitely better than before. I’m going to put the new switch back in, but if anyone needs an ignition switch that is used but works very well, let me know!

Good fix! Love those kinds of results.

I wonder what accounts for some cars having that grime coating the switch contacts. Mine is a 2010 with 96K miles and never had an issue. Car was a daily driver but mostly parked either in a multi-level car park (at work) or in my garage (at home). Most of its life was in Florida so it saw lots of heat and humidity. Home was directly on salt water, so it also was exposed to salty air. Otherwise it probably didn't see much Hydrocarbon pollutants due to sea breeze.

it could be as simple as people hanging heavy keychains and more side load allowing more force to bring the contacts? Or in your case, maybe frequent use continually wipes off oxide layers before they can become problematic? basically - not sure 😂

It’s a nice write up, thanks. I cleaned out all the old white grease and coated the contacts and spring etc. with silicone dielectric grease. That should keep the switch lubricated but also maybe help keep the copper from oxidizing.

Hi Cayman , Great work, and great job documenting what you did. Seeing the I have been contemplating the same repair, but wanted to ask you a question before I attempt it.... When I go to start my new-to-me '06 S, I turn the key, then have to push it in a little bit, to get things to turn on. Based on your new-found expertise at unpacking the switch assembly, do you think it is possible my switch could be coming apart, allowing the "slop" in it? Or, simply could use the dis-assembly and cleaning that you documented so well? I did not think there could be room for things to flex around and cause the issue I have, having to push the key in a little to make electrical contact. However, I've read on this and other forums about other owners that have to push their key in, in a similar manner. But I have not seen any answers as to how they corrected the situation. But, when I saw your photos, a light bulb went off! Thanks much for your thoughts, Steve

Based on how aggressively everything is snapped together, I’d be very surprised if it is coming apart. I think (but can not confirm) that all switches can be pushed in a bit, but you don’t do it unless turning the key doesn’t do what you want. having said that, I don’t know how much your key is moving, how much weight is hanging off the key, etc. I’m selling my 100% functional key switch here on P-9 (since I was too chicken to pull my switch apart since that car is my daily driver), so you can hedge your switch service bet if you want. Overall, though, it is pretty easy to do, with just a bit of patience and light touch on the snaps, it is pretty straightforward to clean up.

Has anyone else ever had to replace your key switch? ever?

Mine was getting intermittent and I replaced it, yes. I cleaned the old one per the video and it's up on the shelf but I don't trust it anymore.

Caylman, I was going to attempt to remove and clean my switch per your method this weekend. Did you have to remove the lower panel below the steering wheel to get the switch assy out? Could you remove it to gain yourself more working room? Thanks, Steve

I did not have to remove that panel, but you certainly could. Switch removal is slightly more difficult than assembly, only because of the lock on the connector. Once you unsnap the key bezel and untwist the lockring, the ignition switch just wants to fall out, and pretty much the only thing preventing it from dropping to the floor is the wiring harness. I found it not too bad to just get on my back and reach up in there, but definitely see why someone would want to remove the lower panel. I have never removed that panel, so I can’t help you there, but it is probably worth a try to just reach up behind there to see if you can unclip the connector that way before more disassembly. You can always punt and take more panels off if you want. Good luck!

Thank you. I'll give it a shot first without removing things, and let you know how it goes. Steve