anyone broken thier ignition?

[evlss1]

had an interesting morning this morning. was heading to work when i pulled into the local servo for the days supplies only to return to the car and to find the key would not turn to the start position and engage the starter! i had accessories and all dash lights would come on when in the ON position but no start. after much jiggling around it eventually wouldn't even turn off!

called out the RAA to help me out and he said it is quiet a common issue with the commodores?? i was some what skeptical as i had never heard of this happening. turns out the little cast pin at the bottom of the ignition barrel had broken off. he removed barrel and took solenoid off then knocked up a little brass piece to use as my new but temporary key. 2hrs later and a 15min visit from a mobile locksmith costing me $170 it was fixed but what a pain in the ar$e!

was a good excuse for a day off work anyway!

anyone else had any issues with this?

here is a pic of how he got me home

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j128/EVLSS1/ignition.jpg

[Podge]

Yep, happened in my old VT commy... got out the car, grabbed some stuff, walk back out to the car and same as you described.. ended up with a very similar looking picture to you. I put the key in and turned it so that the steering wheel lock wasnt on, then turned the plastic part with a flat blade until i got home (happened about 500kms from home!).

[abrowne70]

Yeah done a fair few of them at work, vt-z all do it 6's and 8's

[Jimi]

I managed to do it to both my old VT and then the replacement VX within 2 weeks of each other. Sucks that you had to get a mobile locksmith to come out, I ordered barrels from ebay for about $25 each, took them up to a local locksmith and told him I wanted the barrel to match the key, he charged me about $20 if i remember right. took the barrel home, dropped her in and had no troubles since.

It is a little fiddly getting the barrels in and out, but certainly doable at home

[VL Executive]

A workmate had this happen last year in his VZ. Did it right when the window was down and a storm was coming. In a mad panic, he had to race get tarps out to cover the car up because he did not know how to fix it in time.

[evlss1]

good to hear i am not alone here then!

after watching what he done i would be confident in giving it a crack myself next time.

[Jimi]

its fairly simple, from memory, once you have a new barrel, you need to turn you key to the on position (i think it was on) then put a pin in a little hole on the topside of teh barrel, the whole thing should slide out then allowing you to put in the new one. just do the reverse for new barrel. all I needed was a screwdriver for the cover, the key, and a safety pin and it was changed.

[goose202]

I had this (http://www.ls1.com.au/forum/showthread.php?154029-Howto-VX-Lock-barrel-change) happen instead!

[ti0350]

Yep it happen on my VYSS when I had it, my mechanic said he had done 4 the week mine went

[aratic]

I managed to do it to both my old VT and then the replacement VX within 2 weeks of each other. Sucks that you had to get a mobile locksmith to come out, I ordered barrels from ebay for about $25 each, took them up to a local locksmith and told him I wanted the barrel to match the key, he charged me about $20 if i remember right. took the barrel home, dropped her in and had no troubles since.

It is a little fiddly getting the barrels in and out, but certainly doable at home

Old thread but any tips on replacing the ignition barrel? Mine is starting to get a bit tricky so thought I'd replace it before it fails completely

[goose202]

I wrote a howto... two posts up!

[Short_Duration]

I have replaced my mums old vs barrel as well as my girlfriends barina this week. common enough.