Has anyone experienced a bad ignition switch?

Mine seems to not let the Engine blower come on, which in turn doesn't let the ac condensor fan work, which in turn won't engage the ac clutch, which in turn won't let my heater/ac interior fans work. I'm not sure if that is the exact order of circumstances, but the bottom line is that I get no ac or heat .

I happened to juggle the key (luckily) after checking all the applicable fuses and the ac started working.

I turned the car off and restarted it and I could duplicate the symptoms and the fix.

Anyone else with a similiar situation? and is the ignition switch easy to change?

TIA,
Colin

 

I seem to remember reading (Adrian's book? Somewhere here?) that the switches give out, especially if they've been burdened by a too-heavy keychain. It prompted me to change to just the P key on a simple leather fob. Can't remember much about the replacement, although the surround ring can be a challenge to remove, IIRC.

 

Mine died. I got out of the car one day and noticed that although I'd removed the keys, all the warning lights were on.

I didn't change it myself - and the mechanics had a slightly bent screwdriver which was needed to remove one of the screws. But I've seen posts on here since which say it isn't all that hard.

 

I've heard of this before as well - happend to the PO of my car. 15 years of so of having a key swinging around can wear the switch out, meaning that the contacts lose, well, contact ;-) Hence jiggling it around can fix it. Replacing the barrel is the easiest and most reliable fix.