Car wont start, turn ignition and all dashlight/electrics go out

[mr299ron]

Have you checked the wiring for the ignition? Maybe replace the ignition barrel?

[Kongaroo]

Now here's a weird one, that hopefully someone has had before or can answer.
Had a bit of spare time today so decided to do a bit of investigation.
First checked all the earths in engine bay all seemed ok.
Next nipped up to my mates and borrowed a crumper of a battery and a set of heavy duty jump leads he uses when he's out recovering lorries.
Checked my battery and whilst i was checking the earths, popped the charger on and just topped it back up from when i was trying to get the car going last,checked the engine wasnt seized by turning by hand.

Then got in and tried ignition, same thing all dash lights and clock go out accompanied with a clunk/thud noise.
Then for some reason i tried piddling around with the key, now and again i got a bit of response.
eventually car fired up!!

So of course i then shut it down and tried to start again, once again no dice.
Eventually i found the following out, but am slightly baffled/confused.
If I turn the ignition key all the way round to the end so i cant turn it any further, all the dash lights go out+clock and you get the clunk noise from engine bay.
However if i turn the key partially between position 3 and 4 and then gently progress the key towards 4 the car fires up easy as anything
What the fudge is going on?? and more to the point how do i sort it.
Very weird, if I hadnt seen it with my own eyes I wouldnt have believed it.

Does that key trick work all time or is it random when it works/doesn't work?

I had something very similar (ie. dash lights went out when trying to crank car) that turned out to be due to an immobiliser issue due to an old TOAD Ai606 alarm that came with the car.

[masterbateson]

The alarm/immobiliser on the car looks to be a right load of old poo I doubt it is a decent brand one its like some cheap looking white plastic Horn shaped thing

I am thinking its either probably a worn ignition barrel or key maybe or is my starter motor possibly on its way out or bad connections as said earlier?

makes me think its not the starter motor tho, as it will fire up every time if I use my trick and don't turn the key all the way.

Any alarm guys on here? what happens if you completely remove power from alarm/immobiliser or disconnect it to test?

[markstevieandmads]

That sounds like the ignition barrel to me. I'd be replacing that first.

Don't forget this is a switch that is used continuously throughout the cars life so bound to get worn.

[masterbateson]

whilst trawling the net for a few tips/ideas I found another thread off of here.
Anyway matey in question said one of the things he had tried was getting a new key cut.

And I thought even if that was the case, its never going to work because if you go and get a key cut generally you take along your original key, so all you would end up doing is replicating(cutting) another worn key.

[masterbateson]

Might have a go at rebuilding my barrel tho, as I found I how to on that. prob is I will need to find another donor barrel 1st.

One thing which is a bonus is I now have an additional free immobilizer, because if any one jumped in the car now and tried to start it they wouldn't be going anywhere

[Draven]

Might have a go at rebuilding my barrel tho, as I found I how to on that. prob is I will need to find another donor barrel 1st.

One thing which is a bonus is I now have an additional free immobilizer, because if any one jumped in the car now and tried to start it they wouldn't be going anywhere

loving the optimism

[murf]

I had similar issues on an Accord Type R, it would do all sorts of odd things, wouldn't start randomly and even cut out while driving!

I traced it to the ignition switch that is attached to the back of the ignition barrel, the contacts were gunked up. I opened it and cleaned the contacts with fine sandpaper and re-aligned them at it was fine after that.

[masterbateson]

I had similar issues on an Accord Type R, it would do all sorts of odd things, wouldn't start randomly and even cut out while driving!

I traced it to the ignition switch that is attached to the back of the ignition barrel, the contacts were gunked up. I opened it and cleaned the contacts with fine sandpaper and re-aligned them at it was fine after that.

I'm liking the sound of this

If something like this sorts it I will be well pleased.

I'll still have my ABS problem tho