so yesterday i had a alarm put in it. so after i had it put in i come home for about an hour than start going to the store. as i'm going down the road i notice that my theft light is on so i pull over and the key won't turn.so i back home and it still won't turn off. so i pull the fuse and than it shuts off by the key won't turn but my radio stays on.so everytime i won't to turn the caar of i have pull 2 plugs so i can turn the car off and so that i don't kill my battery. any ideas. its 1996 pontiac sunfire se.
If your actually talking about not being physically able to turn the key your tumbler is probably jamed like quicklilcav said.
In the mean-time, don't pull spark plug wires to get the car to shut off, it's not good for the car, you can easely damage the wires by yanking on them, and there's always the off chance you could get shocked, especially by the coil wire.
Instead, just find a fuse under your hood for either the battery, ignition, or fuel injectors and pull that. Make sure you have some spares handy though since doing that likes to make them burn out.
P.S. If you had the tumbler out, it has to be in there just right and all the way for it to operate correctly
Sounds like you need a lock cylinder. Get you r wallet out cause you could easily be in the $200 range for the repair. The cylinder is only available at a dealer, around 100 bucks for that, another 30-40 to key it, $6 for a new key, and the rest in labor to change it and relearn the theft system.
i have never tried to use a used cylinder, i dont even know if that will work.
Never the less, you gotta get it fixed before the key doesnt turn at all. The key MUST be in the ON position in order to remove it from the column. If you cant turn it, you have a problem.
01 cav w/01 3400 gam gt 4t45e
joe malechowski wrote:Sounds like you need a lock cylinder. Get you r wallet out cause you could easily be in the $200 range for the repair. The cylinder is only available at a dealer, around 100 bucks for that, another 30-40 to key it, $6 for a new key, and the rest in labor to change it and relearn the theft system.
i have never tried to use a used cylinder, i dont even know if that will work.
Never the less, you gotta get it fixed before the key doesnt turn at all. The key MUST be in the ON position in order to remove it from the column. If you cant turn it, you have a problem.
Must be in the OFF position to remove it you mean. And about the easiest way to shut off the engine if the key absolutely will not turn is to yank the fuel pump relay thats in the underhood fusebox.
Just in case your wondering... Tumbler and lock cylinder = same thing, just different names for them.
If a new tumbler really does cost as much as joe says, I'd go to the junkyard. Find a J-body or car the uses the same setup, and pull everyting out of that including the door and trunk locks (unless you wan't to use 2 keys). If the yard owner doesn't have the keys for the car, a good locksmith can usually hook you up. Then ther's just the problem of the theft system if it notices you replaced anything.
Nope , it has to be in the on position. If It had to be in the off position, you could just pop it out and steal any ones car without needing keys. Plus I have one right in front of me, just to double chech myself.
Mark if you want this one, I can list it on ebay for you, It seems to work fine. I got it in a tilt column that I installed in my cav.
01 cav w/01 3400 gam gt 4t45e
joe malechowski wrote:Nope , it has to be in the on position. If It had to be in the off position, you could just pop it out and steal any ones car without needing keys. Plus I have one right in front of me, just to double chech myself.
Mark if you want this one, I can list it on ebay for you, It seems to work fine. I got it in a tilt column that I installed in my cav.
Misread it, I thought you meant the key itself, not the whole lock cylinder.
