The Key to Your Ignition Problems

If your car is having ignition problems, the answer might be dangling from the end of your key chain. Inside the ignition switch are plastic parts that are sensitive to extra weight pulling down on them. According to manufacturers, if you’re carrying around more than four keys, or other types of weight on the same key chain with your ignition keys, you could be damaging these parts. Add to that the constant movement of the keys swinging back and forth when the car is in motion.

The problem is even worse for motorcycles because of the increased movement. The weight of the key chain pulls downward on the ignition key/steering lock, causing the barrels inside the lock to wear down. After a while, the lock becomes unusable and will have to be replaced.

Clean Up Your Key Chain
Pull out your key chain and take a look at what is there. Chances are, you not only have your car keys, house keys, and work keys there, but you might very well have a key or two that you don’t use anymore and may not even recognize. Maybe you have the keys to your spouse’s car there, plus a small tool like nail clippers, a mini-flashlight, and then the key chain itself. Of course, it’s convenient to have the keys you actually need all together on one ring, but in the end it could be costly.

Is This A Gender Issue?
Here’s what happened to one couple. Their van stalled frequently, but only when the wife was driving. She’d start it, back out of the driveway, and it would die. She’d restart it, and seconds later it would stall again. So they took the van to their mechanic and described their concern. After listening, he asked to see both of their key rings, and his suspicions were confirmed. The husband carried his van keys separately, while the wife carried hers on a loaded key chain. The ignition still had to be dismantled and repaired because the damage was done, but solving the key weight problem bought them some time until they could afford the fix.

You Wouldn’t Wear a Bowling Ball Earring
One consumer suggested that the practice of sticking a key in the ignition with a lot of weight dangling from it was something like wearing a bowling ball earring. Try that for a few seconds, and your neck and back and shoulders will be completely out of whack in short order, to say nothing of your ear lobe. Over time, the same thing happens to the plastic parts inside your ignition switch.

Easy Prevention
Prevention is simple if you catch it early enough. More than four keys or other objects on one ring is too much. But manufacturers recommend that you carry your ignition key totally separate from your house and office keys. If you’re worried about losing the single key, keep an extra on your key chain with your house keys, just in case.

Sure, this is one more thing to remember. But the first time your car fails to start, or starts then stalls, you’ll probably wish you had taken this simple, cost-free step while you could.