Honda Car Forum

You're right about that, WD-40 will eventually dries out and leaves
the contact surfaces even dryer. But it was all i had at the time.

i'm using ATF for lubricating my locks. It's lighter than motor oil
but i'm not spinning my key at 3000 rpm!!!. And i think ATF contains
friction modifiers that work just like graphite, and yet it's not
conductive in case the fluid finds its way to the electrical portion
of the switch. Silicon lubricant is excellent, but i'm cheep

On my 89 accord LX-i a few months ago, i had intermittent non-starting
problem when the engine was hot. All warning lights on, but starter
would not engage. Top suspects were the starter solenoid, or the main
relay, or the ignition switch. But they cost close a hundred dollars
each and a PITA to replace. So i took my chance and replaced my 3 year
old Duralast battery with a cheapo Walmart battery ($35) and it
completely solved the problem!! Still, the key can get very hot
sometimes. I am sure my ignition swich is failling.

I hate tow trucks as much as farmers hate weeds. So i just did a
little reasearch and now i know how to limp home on a malfunction
ignition switch and a plan to fix (mod) it with just a little money
(with a toggle swich and a push botton switch). i'm anxious to see how
the mod works but too lazy to do and most of all it ain't broken
yet!




On Nov 17, 9:00 pm, motsco_ <mots...@interbaun.com> wrote:

>
> Lock-Ease is a good lube for ignitionswitchlocks. I spray all five
> locks on both of my Hondas twice a year. I got it at a locksmith shop
> and they warned me to NEVER spray WD-40 in a lock unless it was an
> emergency (like a seized lock).
>
> 'Curly'

On 11/19/07 7:51 PM, in article
960017e2-d39a-48e4-8ea3-25baf4d211cc...oglegroups.com,
"bi241@scn.org" <bi241@scn.org> wrote:

> You're right about that, WD-40 will eventually dries out and leaves
> the contact surfaces even dryer. But it was all i had at the time.
>
> i'm using ATF for lubricating my locks. It's lighter than motor oil
> but i'm not spinning my key at 3000 rpm!!!. And i think ATF contains
> friction modifiers that work just like graphite, and yet it's not
> conductive in case the fluid finds its way to the electrical portion
> of the switch. Silicon lubricant is excellent, but i'm cheep
>
> On my 89 accord LX-i a few months ago, i had intermittent non-starting
> problem when the engine was hot. All warning lights on, but starter
> would not engage. Top suspects were the starter solenoid, or the main
> relay, or the ignition switch. But they cost close a hundred dollars
> each and a PITA to replace. So i took my chance and replaced my 3 year
> old Duralast battery with a cheapo Walmart battery ($35) and it
> completely solved the problem!! Still, the key can get very hot
> sometimes. I am sure my ignition swich is failling.
>
> I hate tow trucks as much as farmers hate weeds. So i just did a
> little reasearch and now i know how to limp home on a malfunction
> ignition switch and a plan to fix (mod) it with just a little money
> (with a toggle swich and a push botton switch). i'm anxious to see how
> the mod works but too lazy to do and most of all it ain't broken
> yet!
>
>

Before you start hack up your car with toggle switches & push buttons, you
might want to double check the price of the ignition switch. You don't need
the lock cylinder, just the switch. Last time I got one for a mid-90's
Honda, it was $30 & took all of 10 minutes to change.

You might also try taking it out, popping it open and cleaning it up. What
you will likely find is burnt contacts because the spring(s) that hold
pressure on them are not moving freely, allowing arcing. Sometimes its
fixable.

>
>
> On Nov 17, 9:00 pm, motsco_ <mots...@interbaun.com> wrote:
>
>>
>> Lock-Ease is a good lube for ignitionswitchlocks. I spray all five
>> locks on both of my Hondas twice a year. I got it at a locksmith shop
>> and they warned me to NEVER spray WD-40 in a lock unless it was an
>> emergency (like a seized lock).
>>
>> 'Curly'
>

In article <C3686221.2A958%epmeyer50@msn.com>,
E Meyer <epmeyer50@msn.com> wrote:
>You might also try taking it out, popping it open and cleaning it up. What
>you will likely find is burnt contacts because the spring(s) that hold
>pressure on them are not moving freely, allowing arcing. Sometimes its
>fixable.

Or the grease in the switch has hardened, which is what happened in our 92
Acura Legend. The car would start, but as soon as you let go of the key it
would turn off, with no lights on the dash. I pulled the switch off the
back of the key cylinder, opened it up and cleaned it, and it worked fine.


--
Mike Iglesias Email: iglesias@uci.edu
University of California, Irvine phone: 949-824-6926
Network & Academic Computing Services FAX: 949-824-2069

i planned to give my ignition switch it a good cleaning, as i always
recommend cleaning prior to replacing malfunction electrical parts.
but after doing my research, i just learned that ignition switches are
designed for convenience, not reliability or performance. What can be
good when filmsy little pieces of copper moving back and forth trying
to estalbish contacts and becomes a little furnace in doing so? A
conventional ignition switch will rob the current until there's no
current at all!!! Separate and stationary switches will do the job
much better. The modified set up might look ugly, but i don't care.
It's a 20 year-old car anyways.

autozone quoted me $108 for a Beck-Arnley switch, NAPA had it for $58,
Echlin brand. Junk yards are not my options when it comes to
electrical parts. But i can have a toggle & a push button switch at
pepboys for $19 total!!!

when i am eventually forced to disassemble my iginiton switch
(electrical switch), it's got to be hacked, fer sho!! :-)


On Nov 20, 11:06 am, E Meyer <epmeye...@msn.com> wrote:
> On 11/19/07 7:51 PM, in article
> 960017e2-d39a-48e4-8ea3-25baf4d21...@b40g2000prf.googlegroups.com,
>
>
> Before you start hack up your car with toggle switches & push buttons, you
> might want to double check the price of the ignition switch. You don't need
> the lock cylinder, just the switch. Last time I got one for a mid-90's
> Honda, it was $30 & took all of 10 minutes to change.
>
> You might also try taking it out, popping it open and cleaning it up. What
> you will likely find is burnt contacts because the spring(s) that hold
> pressure on them are not moving freely, allowing arcing. Sometimes its
> fixable.
>
>
>