Multivan Ignition Barrel

[The_Hawk]

Shifter interlock.

Stops you from pulling the key out unless in P or N.

I'm assuming you mean the solenoid thing, not a huge deal in the grand scheme on things since we don't turn the car off too often when it's moving

So in doing a little more research I managed to find a few videos, they aren't all the right model, but I learned enough, like where those pins go, that I figured I'd pull it out again and have another look and maybe get those pins back in there.

First thing. You can remove the plastic covers on the steering wheel without removing the steering wheel, it's then possible to remove the bolts and get the ignition mechanism out. It was easy enough with hex bolts but would be much harder with the original shear bolts... possible, but very tight.

So I stripped out all the parts and rebuilt the original mechanism with the new parts, pins and all... then it bound up again. I'm not 100% but I think I may have over-rotated the barrel causing one of the pins to fall into a place it shouldn't be. Interestingly the way it felt and the way it looked was much like the original one so I'm wondering if one of the pins came loose originally and cause the initial problems. After much screwing about I managed to strip it all down again.

So of those two pins, the straight one on the right sits in the steering lock mechanism. It appears to lock steering column into the locked position when you remove the key. Without that part it would be possible to manually push that locking post down, but otherwise everything still works as it should.

The pin on the left, the shaped one, appears to simply limit the rotation of the barrel? It doesn't appear to serve any other purpose.

In any case, the original unit is now rebuilt, installed and working sans those two pins.


EDIT: I've tested it today and the interlock is working as it should, can't remove the key when it's in drive.

Videos for reference (although I'm sure there is more):

YouTube

YouTube

YouTube

[gergamel]

Thanks to The_Hawk's notes and video links, I've managed to get mine up and running again. I spent quite a lot of hours trying to rebuild the steering lock barrel and it still wasn't working and the wife cracked the sh*ts, so I ended up calling around for the replacement part (same part as yours). After a couple of quotes for 4 weeks lead from Germany, I got lucky with a large company who had one in a local warehouse and quoted $305 (plus a few more for new shear bolts). The replacement part comes as an assembly including the ignition switch (but no key cylinder), and die markings were 5 years newer (can't remember the revision, but maybe F, like you said). I reckon it only took about 15 minutes to fit and close up the dash (the old part was already removed at this point).

I burnt a lot of time on this and had some issues, but in the end it was super simple. I've got some photos and notes I can probably post, if people are interested. The part is definitely a lesson i over-complicated mechanical design. It is no wonder they fail.

My fault was different from yours. Sometimes, I'd get in the car and could turn the key to ON, but it wouldn't let me turn past that to IGNITION. Initially, I'd just turn to OFF and try again and it would work fine. After some time, it would get stuck in this state. I'd go OFF->ON->OFF->ON and it'd still not let me turn to ignition. This would always when the car was in the sun and hot, which helps support the idea it's some mechanical wear/tolerance issue pushed over the edge by thermal expansion.

I ended up completely stuck at work at 4pm on the last Friday before xmas. Tried over and over, even went away and came back at like 6:30pm and it was still stuck. Came back early the next morning when it was cool and it started first time. Of course everyone was closed so I started pulling the thing apart myself and ended up on this thread.

[The_Hawk]

Glad I could help. I get the feeling those little pins break off and cause a range of issues which can be intermittent as the pin moves about.

I got away really cheaply with a rebuilt unit. I was also lucky enough to have the ability to wait for it to come without being stranded. Even at $300 it's still much cheaper than getting it done elsewhere.

12 months on mine is still going strong, although at 186k little pieces are starting to wear and need replacing. On the upside it gives me fun little projects to tackle.

n a side note, I didn't re-install shear bolts, just standard ones. I assume shear bolts are a security feature so people can't simply unbolt it and steal the car. Of course they still have to get in the car, pull apart the trim and after that there is still an immobiliser in there to defeat too.