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Ignition slip ring spring

Hertz Donut

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Gentlemen,

A few days ago I replaced my ignition barrel as it had basically fallen apart, coming out of the housing in 3 pieces. I called a locksmith to do the actual replacement and he ensure it was all working properly. I did the disassembly and reassembly of everything else as I've done it before when changing the ignition switch, but this time I accidentally split open the slip ring housing, which caused the spring to fall out.

I put it all back together and it ran fine for a couple of days before stranding my wife in town. The key would turn and the dash would light up but there was no ignition at all. I drove down in our other car, pulled open the slip ring, wiped around it in case something was gumming it up (the locksmith had used WD40 or something to grease the new lock), put it back together and hey presto, it fired up fine again.

This morning, however, it wouldn't fire again. I rotated the top of the slip ring housing a bit and it fired up. This made me wonder: Does the spring in the slip ring have to be sitting a certain way for it to connect? I noticed there's a small notch in the inner slip ring (could be the face of the barrel), is the end of the spring supposed to sit in this?

I also noticed that a pin near the head of the key slot seems to sit in place and stop the key being inserted if I rotate the slip ring to a certain point.
 

Wozza

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Hi the slip ring needs to be in a position where the upper metal crescent middle is in the 1/2 oclock position and the lower middle is in the 7/8 oclock position (hopefully that makes sense :) )
Another issue is aftermarket barrels allow the ring to sit further away from the key and/or doesn't pull the key far enough in when going to the start position...
if you get stuck just turn the key to start and push in the door lock/unlock button on the fob, the car should start as this bypasses the immobilizer assuming the battery in the fob is fine...
 

Hertz Donut

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Excellent info, thanks very much. :beer:
 

Hertz Donut

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Ugh, kill me. Car failed to start again this morning, this time stranding my wife at my son's school. I got it going again after not really doing anything of great substance - I took the slip ring cover off, letting the spring pop out, then put it back together again. It promptly fell apart again when I got it home but meh.

Is something missing from the ring? It appears to only consist of the outer casing, the metal ring that the key tab touches and the spring. The metal ring appears to be uniform all the way around so nowhere to improve/make a contact point. I've put the spring in with the tighter coil on the inner face (barrel side) as put it facing out (key side) doesn't seem to fit right.

Also, I'm thinking the barrel itself should be springing out a bit when the key comes out, I gave this a few prods with my finger before trying to start it again and it seemed to pop out a tiny bit. Stupidly I did several "fixes" at once so I didn't pinpoint which one solved the issue. The problem is annoyingly intermittent and invariably happens when my wife is out and about. While banning my wife from driving could solve the problem permanently I'd prefer to look at other solutions first.
 

Wozza

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The metal rings have small springs behind them, so if you have lost them the metal wont stick out sufficiently to contact the keyfob nipple...if they are there you can use a tooth pick and carefully pry the metal rings out a bit...what happens is when going to start the barrel pulls the key inward slightly allowing the nipple to contact the rings completing an earth circuit between the key shaft the nipple and the ring...Did you try the door unlock method when starting the car?
Anyway things to check, when you turn the key to start the alarm/immobilizer flashing led will go out if it does and still no start then the transmission lock out switch might be faulty (common fault) wriggle the gear lever in park as you try to start or try starting in neutral...if the alarm led continues flashing then its properly the key/immobilizer ring issue.... Im not sure if these are still available from holden but maybe hit up holden or a local wreckers and get a spare immobilize ring
 

Hertz Donut

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I forgot about the unlock method at the time but I'll try that next time. Flashing immobiliser light is something I didn't look at either, I'll check it if/when it won't start again. The trans lockout thing is a well-known issue with my car and was the first thing I tried but it's been the barrel/slip ring each time so far.

My slip ring has a single large spring in it.
 

Hertz Donut

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Failed again this morning and it turns out the immobiliser's not turning off. Pushed the remote button with the key in start position and it fired up. The slip ring keeps popping open so I might just pick up a replacement. Thanks again for your help.
 
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