88 Marquis Ignition Stuck

Had same problem recently with 93 Probe. The ignition switch, that is the electrical part, had failed and jammed. In my case it also wouldn't release the key. I had to have the electrical ignition switch replaced.

I know people like gadgets in their cars (i'm one of them), digital star trek dashboard made out of lite-brite components, computer-controlled climate control, ABS, Traction Control, automatic height adjusting air suspension, fail safe engine overheat (switches banks of cylinders to prevent damage) on my car. ('99 Grand Marquis)

ANd many other electronic gadgets...

When they begin to break down, it becomes a nightmare...

I remember starting my '79 Tbird *using* (cramming it in) a screwdriver in the carburator, using other innovative and inventive ways of starting/fixing a car...

I remember soldering the ignition box to the frame on my 79 Celica GT, had issues when restarting it while hot.

Today, I would have to change 2 sensors, an electronic module, get it towed to the nearest dealer just to get it to run (my '95 Contour)

If you're lucky, you might just have 18 years worth of crud inside the lock cylinder finally built up enough to prevent the pins from moving into place. I have an 88 Grand Marquis too. In an act of utter stupidity, I once got McD's sweet & sour sauce on my keys (made for a funny story here at the time) and didn't notice until I had shoved the key into the lock, gumming it up good. I sprayed a bunch of PB Blaster (a much better than WD-40 ever thought of being spray penetrating oil you can get at Wallyworld) in there while holding a rag under the column. It came out all BLACK and icky. You need to bang, wiggle, jiggle, push, pull, and whack the thing around until you finally get it to turn to RUN. I had to let the PB soak over night and then flush it again. (Someone else here might have advice about drilling and/or cutting as a very last resort if that doesn't work.) Then you can get the lock cylinder out easily by pressing in the release pin (you need to take the plastic covers off the column to get at the release pin - you should really take them off before spraying stuff in there anyway.) Once you get the lock cylinder out you can see if it's the lock cylinder or the actual switch behind it that's getting stuck. AutoZone has the lock cylinder for $15 with 2 keys and the switch for $12 (you might need some "security" hex or torx bits to get the switch out though. I can't really remember how the switch is held in because I didn't have to remove mine. I remember my '93 Voyager had those silly security screws and I paid more to Sears to get the bits than I paid AZ for the switch itself.)

Good luck!

--= dj =--