Ignition key not turning to ACC

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Joined
Aug 14, 2014
Messages
4,299
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Location
Madison, WI
My Car
1971 Mach 1 w/408C stroker
After 18 months of dealing with rusty floors and other items, I am slowly assembling the interior and dash. I noticed that my key can't turn counterclockwise to ACC. I can't remember if it ever turned. It starts the starter and turns clockwise with no problem, but can't turn it counterclockwise from the OFF position. Will there be something locking the cylinder from rotating to ACC? or could it be that the car has the wrong cylinder in it? Right now I don't have the steering wheel installed and my car has the tilt column. Thoughts?

 
I dug into it last night. I think that gear is not located correctly. I was able to get the switch into ACC by manually moving the switch rod, but not by turning the ignition probably because the gear is a notch off, or so I hope. Unfortunately to get to the gear there is a snap ring at the bottom of the housing which is about 2" deep. My universal snap ring pliers did not go that deep so I need to find a snap ring pliers with a longer nose.

Also, the key does not spring back with enough force after the starter is released. Since I am taking that mechanism out I will regrease the gear and rod. Is there a specific grease called for? I am planing on using regular chassis grease.

 
Done! Bought a $4 snap ring pliers set at Harbor Freight and Frankesteined the pliers so they fit in the cylinder. Got the gear out and it was off by one notch. Cleaned with electrical contact cleaner, dry lubed with Dry Ice (Used for lubing exposed gears on RC cars) and then realigned so the last tooth of the gear matches the last tooth on the rod. Now the ACC works as it should and the cylinder turns better. Still does not spring back the best, but there was a little improvement.

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Last edited by a moderator:
Done! Bought a $4 snap ring pliers set at Harbor Freight and Frankesteined the pliers so they fit in the cylinder. Got the gear out and it was off by one notch. Cleaned with electrical contact cleaner, dry lubed with Dry Ice (Used for lubing exposed gears on RC cars) and then realigned so the last tooth of the gear matches the last tooth on the rod. Now the ACC works as it should and the cylinder turns better. Still does not spring back the best, but there was a little improvement.
I have the similar problem now but my key was stuck in the ignition. The funny thing is that it was working all perfectly fine. The key was moving correctly to ACC, OFF, start and RUN positions. While I was removing my steering wheel something moved the the gear off by one position and this jams the key in the one position after the OFF position. I now cannot move the key to the OFF position to remove the key. The only way to get the key out is to remove the ignition barrel. Do you have any idea what caused the gear to move one position in your case?

 
Done! Bought a $4 snap ring pliers set at Harbor Freight and Frankesteined the pliers so they fit in the cylinder. Got the gear out and it was off by one notch. Cleaned with electrical contact cleaner, dry lubed with Dry Ice (Used for lubing exposed gears on RC cars) and then realigned so the last tooth of the gear matches the last tooth on the rod. Now the ACC works as it should and the cylinder turns better. Still does not spring back the best, but there was a little improvement.
I have the similar problem now but my key was stuck in the ignition. The funny thing is that it was working all perfectly fine. The key was moving correctly to ACC, OFF, start and RUN positions. While I was removing my steering wheel something moved the the gear off by one position and this jams the key in the one position after the OFF position. I now cannot move the key to the OFF position to remove the key. The only way to get the key out is to remove the ignition barrel. Do you have any idea what caused the gear to move one position in your case?
I don't really know what moved the gear's position. I bought my car and it was like that. My assumption was that the key cylinder may have been replaced/serviced and not properly installed.

Could it be that the mechanism is loose or worn, and when the steering wheel was removed the lock rod was pushed and made it go out of position? The rod that locks the steering wheel is engaged to the gears. Is the lock rod sticking out when the key is in the off position? If not, does it stick out when in ACC? If you push the lock rod, does it easily move inwards?

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Done! Bought a $4 snap ring pliers set at Harbor Freight and Frankesteined the pliers so they fit in the cylinder. Got the gear out and it was off by one notch. Cleaned with electrical contact cleaner, dry lubed with Dry Ice (Used for lubing exposed gears on RC cars) and then realigned so the last tooth of the gear matches the last tooth on the rod. Now the ACC works as it should and the cylinder turns better. Still does not spring back the best, but there was a little improvement.
I have the similar problem now but my key was stuck in the ignition. The funny thing is that it was working all perfectly fine. The key was moving correctly to ACC, OFF, start and RUN positions. While I was removing my steering wheel something moved the the gear off by one position and this jams the key in the one position after the OFF position. I now cannot move the key to the OFF position to remove the key. The only way to get the key out is to remove the ignition barrel. Do you have any idea what caused the gear to move one position in your case?
I don't really know what moved the gear's position. I bought my car and it was like that. My assumption was that the key cylinder may have been replaced/serviced and not properly installed.

Could it be that the mechanism is loose or worn, and when the steering wheel was removed the lock rod was pushed and made it go out of position? The rod that locks the steering wheel is engaged to the gears. Is the lock rod sticking out when the key is in the off position? If not, does it stick out when in ACC? If you push the lock rod, does it easily move inwards?
I have good news- after reading a bit on this site I have figured out what happened. There is a collar on the rear side of the steering that rotates both clockwise and counter clockwise. I believe this collar is somehow connected to the trans. I think after I removed the steering I must have turned the collar slightly clockwise and this traps the key past the off position. I simply had to rotate the collar fully counter clockwise and the key goes back to the OFF position and it can release again. Now the key works in OFF, START AND RUN position. For some reason it will not move to the ACC position, but for now I can live with that. Thanks for all the help guys:)

 
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