Hi - I am kind of new here so forgive me if I'm posting in an inappropriate thread, or manner. I say 'kind of' new, since I joined in 2014, but the old girl has been thankfully quite reliable since then and a great runner - short of a number of non insurmountable electrical gremlins (like the alarm (pre-disconnection!) draining the battery, all the doors locking when the passenger door-open pull is pulled, the drivers window not closing properly unless physically pushed up for the last bit, the wife melting the central locking fob on the woodburner  etc etc). 

 

However a day or two ago, something disastrous happened. We'd been out in the morning and all was fine. On attempting to go out again in the afternoon, I turned the key in the ignition, and nothing happened. Well, not nothing, ... it happily turns to position I, all the lights come on (including the airbag warning light, which truth be told has been on ever since I bought it - how did I not notice that bit of black insulation tape 'hiding' it (installed by the crafty old bugger I bought it from). But, although I hear the usual reassuring click of a relay in the passenger footwell, the key will not turn to position II to crank the starter. 

 

I'm a little rusty at motor mechanics, (and was never very good, even with the old Hillman Imp), but I set about checking fuses, wiggling wires, squirting a little WD40 down the ignition barrel, and possibly most importantly, trawling through this forum for 'known issues'. On about page 18 of a search under 'barrel' I came across a post from a bloke with some ignition issues on his similar aged 1.8 Felicity diesel. (Mine is a 1999 1.3, petrol (gas converted) by the way, I cannot specify it any better than that) . He mentioned " failed ignition switch/barrel " and how he has a push button fitted, to presumably bypass this last required turn of the key, which is probably due to the said  "failed ignition switch/barrel". So rather than set about trying to fix it myself, ineptly (my first attempt at a repair was to hit the starter motor to free a possibly jammed solenoid with a heavy steel bar - that's about as good as my mechanicking gets) I thought I would run my theory past this forum. 

 

My theory is that I too am suffering from " failed ignition switch/barrel ", - something's gone wrong within my ignition barrel preventing it making this last move,  which cranks the starter - and my best hope at a solution is to have such bypass push button starter fitted - I fear for the cost and/or availability of a replacement ignition barrel - not to mention the fitting of same (I am in Bulgaria, where such things may be harder to find than the UK, and my grasp of the language, though slowly improving,. is passable at best. 

 

According to this theory it should also start with a push, which I am going to go and try now. 

 

Theory number two is that the -unusually heavy - rain we have had here of late may have leaked some water into some computerised unit, and cauised such malfunction. It could fix itself when the normal high temperatures and sunshine return.., But I fear I may be clutching at straws with that one. 

 

Any suggestions or advice gratefully received,. !! 

 

John 

 

That sounds very much like a mechanical problem with the lock barrel yes.

 

However, my experience is that the ignition lock is normally numbered 0 (off; key can be removed), I (or 1; accessories are powered, but ignition circuit and heavy current items such as HRW aren't), II (or 2; ignition circuit, HRW etc are powered) and III (or 3; Starter is activated; all other circuits except sidelights and ignition are temporarily disabled).

 

In which case, if your description is accurate, a push button ignition switch won't work, because you can't switch the ignition on!

Hi Ken and thanks/ 

 

Oh bugger. ! 

 

However this barrel only appears to be marked with I and II, and the key will not turn past I. Maybe 'III' isn't marked. 

 

Further research required then ! 

PS, it starts with a push start, so the ignition circuit must be on, somehow ? Or am I showing my ignorance here ? 

 

As usual, Generic Ken has no idea how things are and work on Felicia. The ignition barrel is marked Stop, 0, I, and II (see photo). logicaljohn said clearly that he can turn the key to 'ignition on' position. But who has eyes to read?

 

@logicaljohn

You were right when you said your 'motor' mechanics is rusty. Luckily we'll fix that.

• you never (!) hit the starter motor with a heavy steel bar
• rain has nothing to do with your problem
• airbag light on means that the airbag(s) will not deploy in case of an accident

Now, before condemning definitively the ignition barrel, let me ask you this: how old is your battery? Is it well charged? Is there proper contact to battery posts and starter/solenoid terminals?

 

Can you record a video showing the issue and post it online?

Thanks for input Ricardo 

 

I've taken a video - not sure how useful - of the key not turning. I've checked the battery, which is about 3 years old (the car had a faulty voltage regulator when I first got it, which effectively boiled the previous battery on its maiden long-ish journey. So this was replaced then. I recall that when I returned to Bulgaria from the UK in March 2016 the alarm appeared to have drained the battery (I was away for 3 months or so) so I disconnected the alarm and fully recharged the battery over a couple of days, the car has been fine and done a number of longish trips since then 2 -300 kms. I was away to the UK again for 6 weeks this winter and since the start of Feb have made a number of trips in it (our local biggish shopping centres are both 20 km away, and visited every few days, so I would have thought that - alternator problems notwithstanding - the battery should be being topped up. However, this battery has a charge indicator which seems to say 'recharge' (may need to borrow that battery charger again), also, perhaps significantly the winter was particularly hard this year, with temperatures of -12 to -18 for up to a few weeks. The car lived outside, was used a few times by our house sitter/guest, but it was, by all accounts, bloody cold. And snowy etc. Much more so than normal for these parts. 

I've tested the battery - cold 12.45v. with engine running 14.5 v and with the engine revving 14.3/ Trouble is I am not sure what these readings mean but my suspicion is that they indicate the battery is ok. Also I checked connections to battery, starter, and block. all seem good. The fact that it starts with a relatively light push also indicated battery (relative) health to me. 

 

I'm off to consult with a mechanic about it, will report back later. Cannot post the video right now, its 20 times too big. I basically shows the lights coming on with one turn of the key, then not much else ! 

 

 

 

I've asked for the video to hear myself "the usual reassuring click of a relay in the passenger footwell" when you try to start the engine. If that will not reveal anything useful, you have two options:

• repair the ignition barrel 
• use a push button to start the engine (see schematic)

Thanks again Ricardo.

 

I took it to my regular Mechanic Ilya and we went for option 2. The fact it started so easily on a push indicated the health of the general electrics. See below for definition of health. 

 

I'm kind of reassured at the advice I can find here and may, take a deep breath, focus,  gird my loins,  and attempt, ...  to make a list of the numerous electrical gremlins plaguing my car (in a small way).

 

I may even attempt to fix some of them. 

 

If I can squeeze the time in between trying to learn why this video-resizing program keeps voluntarily re-orienting my vidos as well. It's taken an hour or so already as, as you can see, no success whatever. Clearly I am not parked at 90 degrees. 

 

 

starter1.mp4

Well done! 

You opted for the easiest, fastest solution. I have to admit that repairing the ignition barrel, while not an impossible job, it is not a straight job for DIYers.

 

2 hours ago, logicaljohn said:

Clearly I am not parked at 90 degrees. 

 I know... sometimes it's hard to find the 'rotate 90 deg. clockwise' button in a video editor.

 

2 hours ago, logicaljohn said:

, ...  to make a list of the numerous electrical gremlins plaguing my car (in a small way).

 

I may even attempt to fix some of them. 

Advice will come if you create a new topic for those nasty gremlins.

On 09/03/2017 at 21:54, RicardoM said:

As usual, Generic Ken has no idea how things are and work on Felicia.

Nice.