How To Start A Car With A Bad Ignition Switch? Full Guide
Do you want to know how to start a car with a bad ignition switch? The process of starting a car could be failed due to several reasons. Among those, a bad ignition switch can be considered one of the main faults. The initial step followed by a driver after sitting on the driving seat to start the vehicle is turning on the ignition switch with the car key or pushing the start button. It will complete the electronic circuit to activate the starter motor. This procedure could be accomplished only if the ignition switch is working properly to energize relevant starter parts to rotate the first round of the engine crankshaft.
Components Of An Ignition Switch
The ignition lock cylinder is the main component of the ignition switch. In the absence of a properly working ignition cylinder, the key will not rotate smoothly between a few stages.
The ignition switch is the main user interface to control the power supply to components of the vehicle. It consists of several switches or stages to power up the radio and dashboard, ignition switch, and lock the steering wheel. Modern-day cars comprise the starter button, but the key is compulsory to start the vehicle.
Indications Of A Bad Ignition Switch
A faulty ignition switch in a vehicle would show several indications. Hard to turn on the key, no sound of the starter motor and stuck steering wheel, stalling vehicle, sparks coming out from on top of the battery box, blinking dashboard, and other accessories are some of them. It ranges from flickering interior lights to previously noted symptoms.
Hard to Turn the Key
This is caused due to failure of the ignition switch barrel mechanical part. It can be reinstated by replacing the ignition switch.
Blinking Dashboard and Other Accessories
This occurs due to an incomplete circuit. The ignition switch is the part responsible for powering up the vehicle components by completing the circuit. Improperly working ignition switch is the main reason for this kind of symptom.
Stalling Vehicle
The relay attached to the ignition switch is responsible for supplying power to essential parts like the fuel pump and the ignition plugs. Without any of these components, the engine can’t keep working. So your engine may die suddenly. One main reason is due to rusting of the relay and its related parts.
How Bad Is the Ignition Switch Failing the Engine to Start?
A bad ignition switch will fail to supply power to the starter motor, ignition system, and other engine controls, which could prevent the engine from starting. A vehicle is manufactured with electrical and mechanical devices, yet to start the vehicle, electric power is used.
Without a proper power supply to these units, vehicles will fail to start. The ignition switch is the component that powers up relevant components to start the vehicle by completing the electronic circuit. Though it appears the battery is the main component that energizes the starting process to take place that process completing the circuit or the proper ignition switch is a must.
How to Bypass the Ignition Switch to Start the Car?
This process depends mainly on the decade in which your vehicle is manufactured. The technique may differ from vehicle to vehicle as its generation changes. Some of the popular techniques used to start a vehicle with a bad ignition switch are hot-wiring, drill and screwdriver, and jumper cables.
Hot wiring
Most of the cars which were manufactured before the mid-90s are possible to start with this technique. It’s all about completing the circuit by bypassing the ignition switch. There are several steps to be followed. First, you remove the external plastic cover, which protects the internal parts of the steering wheel. It will expose all the necessary parts to you.
Then you recognize the wires which connect the battery, ignition, and starter connectors carefully. This area contains tons of wires which connect to lights and other electronic accessories of the vehicle. Red-colored wires are coming from the battery, and yellow and brown wires associate with ignition.
Finally, connect wires from battery to ignition wire which controls on/off state. Then you’ll recognize electrical parts working. Now you can touch the battery wire with half an inch stripped starter wire to start the vehicle. Now you will see the engine is starting and other components are working in the usual way. It’s a temporary way to overcome a bad ignition switch.
The drill and screwdriver
This is simply another way to overcome a bad ignition switch. Yet you have to be careful when you use this method as it can damage your ignition switch permanently. In this method, first, you have to take a metal drill and drill into the keyhole to the same depth to meet the same size of the key.
In turn, this step will lead to destroying the ignition cylinder. Then take a screwdriver and put it into the keyhole as the key, and turn on the ignition to start up the car. Although we are discussing a few possible tricks to overcome bad ignition switches here with the new generation of vehicles, including hybrid and electric cars, it may differ.
Jumper cables
First, you open the engine compartment and clearly recognize the positive terminal and negative terminal of the battery plus the ignition coil. Then you connect the positive terminal of the battery to the positive side of the coil. This process will power up the dashboard, which is compulsory to start the engine.
Then you have to connect the starter solenoid to the positive terminal of the battery. Now, disconnect the ignition switch wiring from the solenoid. Then with a screwdriver, short the solenoid’s positive terminal to the post where the ignition switch is bound.
These steps would activate the solenoid and will lead to the start-up of the vehicle.
How To Replace A Bad Ignition Switch?
If the ignition switch is not working properly, it’s a must to replace it, even though we discussed a few ways of bypassing the faulty ignition switch. Those are temporary solutions for this kind of problem. Yet it could yield bad effects when we bypass the ignition switch consistently. Therefore it’s good to replace the faulty ignition switch with a new one for the betterment of your vehicle.
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