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'94 Acclaim "key jiggle" turns fan and air bag light on/off

1994 Plymouth Acclaim 3.0 (6 cyl)

There must be some kind of loose connection in the housing that my key goes into. Lately when I'm driving down the road with my A/C on, the blower fan will turn off and the "air bag" light will come on. If I jiggle the key a little I can get everything back to normal. Any idea what part I need to fix behind the "key housing" on the steering wheel? Now that the A/C is on more often, I am noticing this problem a lot. More than likely, when the blower fan is intentionally turned off I might not noticed that the air bag is disabled. I wonder what other functions are lost when this happens?

Thanks,

Gary

Reply to
Gary Kaucher
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I saw some postings that implied that the clockspring could be the problem. They indicated that in addition to the "air bag" light coming on, the horn wouldn't work as well. However, in my case, when the blower fan turns off and the "air bag" light comes on, the horn still works.

Gary

Reply to
GWK

The ignition switch may be worn out causing this problem. Take a look under the column to see if the cover is melted. You may want to remove the cover and inspect the switch/connector for signs of excessive heat. Replace switch and repair the connector is any signs of heat are found

Glenn Beasley Chrysler Tech

Reply to
maxpower

Under the column I see a small crack in the cover on the side that is under the switch. Not sure if it is heat related. I got the middle screw out, but I probably don't have the correct driver to remove the adjacent recessed screws. Are they some kind of torx head screw? Any idea on the part number for the switch?

Thanks,

Gary

Reply to
GWK

If you see a crack it is more then likely heat related. you will need a 15 torx screwdriver to remove this cover.

Glenn

Reply to
maxpower

Yes! I removed the cover and on the other side of the crack I could tell that it was heat related.

Upon removing the connector I could see that two adjacent connections (Black with orange stripe & Pink with black stripe)had been slightly "buggered up" by heat. In the process, I noticed an oily substance on the connector. I'm wondering if maybe awhile back I may have sprayed some "Lock-Ease" lubricant into the keyhole and maybe over time it migrated down to the connector and messed up these two connections creating heat. I cleaned them up and dried everything up, but it seems that the problem comes back eventually.

Is the ignition switch held in place by just the one torx screw?

Thanks,

Gary

Reply to
GWK

I believe there are 3 screws

Glenn

Reply to
maxpower

Glenn-

Thanks for your insight. I installed a new ignition switch and it solved the problem completely. As you indicated, I used a Torx 15 screwdriver to remove the 3 screws and get the bottom steering column cover off. After unscrewing the tilt lever, the top cover came off easily. I didn't have access to any shop manuals, but the ignition switch (GP Sorensenthat S139) that I bought came with some directions and pictures that made it easy to remove and install both the ignition switch and lock cylinder. The ignition switch was secured with 3 tamper resistant screws (Torx TX20H).

I've had this problem off and on for two years. Only recently, did it become more bothersome.

Thanks again!

Gary

Reply to
GWK

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