My wife just called me saying she couldn't turn the '89 Iroc off.

I met her and checked it out. The cylinder won't turn to the OFF position. It stays in the RUN position, but will turn freelly to the START position.... just not back to OFF.

I had to pull the coil plug to shut the car off.


Can anyone help?

 

try wiggling the shifter, it may not be clicking into park all the way. That's what happens with my other car.
I imagine you jiggled the key and whatnot...

After that it gets into the hard stuff.

 

This is a 5-spd car. .... and I did a bunch of jiggle'in.

 

oops, guess I coulda noticed that...

I don't think there's a safety thing to keep the key in or anything then... Might be just a toasted ignition cylinder.... (ugly smiley goes here...)

 

It can also be the ignition switch at the bottom of the column.. comes off with a couple of bolts and has a rod attached that goes up to the lock cylinder. you can shut the car off by unplugging the ignition switch until you find the problem.

 

Ok, I didn't know there was a rod going down the column. Is that switch/rod readily accessible, or will I have to take things apart?

 

You'll have to drop the column down, involves removing the plastic panel and two 14mm hexnuts.

Do you have a tilt column? Could be the rod itself.

 

Yes, it's tilt

 

as Chevy Mustle says .. drop the plastic cover and take off the two bolts that hold the column up, when you drop the column you'll see the ignition switch about 2/3 down between the tilt lever and the bottom of the column .. all of your primary wires connect to it and it is adjustable so if you remove it note where it was before you loosen it.

 

FIXED NOW

I was the ignition cylinder. I got a new one from the dealer and it works fine now. PITA to get the wires down the column though!

 

Congrats.