series 2 ignition switch glitch....whats going on?

[greasyhandsagain]

After a LONG period of trouble free rovering, a problem has cropped up. The ignition switch is getting weird. Seems the power is still flowing when I turn the switch off. I thought last night Id have to pull the battery terminal off to shut the car off, but finally after a lot of attempts, the switch shut the car off.

But, something is wrong here. Any ideas? I see from Teri Anns site she has never been able to rebuild this switch. Are replacements difficult to locate?

[TeriAnn]

After a LONG period of trouble free rovering, a problem has cropped up. The ignition switch is getting weird. Seems the power is still flowing when I turn the switch off. I thought last night Id have to pull the battery terminal off to shut the car off, but finally after a lot of attempts, the switch shut the car off.

But, something is wrong here. Any ideas? I see from Teri Anns site she has never been able to rebuild this switch. Are replacements difficult to locate?

It does sound like your switch has bit the dust. You can try rebuilding one but open it up carefully inside a box least a spring loaded ball tries to escape. I have 3 bad ones sitting around that I intend to try to fix one of these days.

I think new replacements are still available but expect to pay around $100 for a new one. Of course that's only a tank of gas these days.

A big problem with these switches is that they were not designed to carry much power and over a few decades carrying near their peak they give out even with a stock no frills added electrical system.

Last time I bought a new ignition switch (about 12 years ago) I added relays. All the key does now is operate a big relay that powers all the switched 12v electrics. Minimal power draw through the switch. Plus I put high and low beam relays on the headlamp circuits to lower power going through the switch and allow more power to be available to power high wattage headlamps.

All my light switch powers are the parking & tail lights, instrument lamps plus high and low beam relay coils. That's 40+ less watts going though the switch when the lights are on and I get the side benefit of brighter headlamps.

[greasyhandsagain]

Thanks for the reply...and the confirmation that I might as well start sourcing a new switch. Ive left everything stock on the rover, so theres no added voltage draws....but it is a 58 so that switch has done its duty for sure.

I wonder....Ive had this situation with the red charge light, in that it is always glowing a little bit, might this be related to the switch also?