I have to swap my ignition switch and the steering lock assembly, key and all. The tumblers wore out and when I turn the key, no action from the starter. Swapped the ignition switch and still has the same problem. Any good tutorials on removing the whole assembly? I have another one to replace it. Maybe this has something to do with my erratic tach.

Thanks

 

Removing the entire switch is not that hard.
- remove electrical harness from back of switch
- remove another small 2 wire harness as well
- then from front of dash remove plastic cover around the switch by counter clock-wise rotation
- this step is the hard one, once the plastic cover is off you will then see 2 screws that hold the switch in place but these screws have the heads sheared off, they are security screws that are designed to be tighten then the head breaks off. To get these out I used a real strong needle nose vise grip to grab the head and turn them out. You will need 2 new screws or put them back with same vise-grips.
- Once the screws are out the switch will be loose and will seem like it can be removed but the newer cars (not sure what year they started with) have yet one more allen key set screw at the other end of the switch body near the column (other end of the mechanical switch) it's at the end that locks the wheel in place. This allen screw has a set nut around it as well, you need to first loosen the set nut then the allen screw can be turned out, once turned out enough (but not all the way) the entire switch will now drop out the back of the dash. This allen screw with set nut is yet another security feature added on later model cars, my 84 Carrera has this.

Once you have the switch out separate the electrical portion from the back. Then I sprayed the lock with with carb cleaner straw to clean it up real well, spray insert key turn switch few times - then repeat till it's real clean. Then I sprayed lithium grease into the lock and turn the key a bunch of times. Now the mechanical part of my switch works much smoother.

I also replaced the electrical portion of the switch as well ($50.00 or so).

Hope this helps.

 

Ed, yes it's very possible it's the DME. I have inspected for bad solder joints closely with a magnifying glass and I have re-soldered some spots but still the same. I have another DME but it's a BMW DME that I modified and does run the car but the fuel injector circuit is different, I do plan to try this DME at idle to see how it behaves. I have had the BMW DME installed before and car seems to run fine with it but I'm not comfortable with the different injector drive circuit. However it will be worth while trying the DME once again. First I plan to really watch charge voltage when this issue crops up again.