Ignition Switch replacement procedure

I recently removed the Key rubber from my tumbler to remove the upper shroud and now my key doesnt work at all. Did i bust the tumbler and need to replace it?.

this problem the ignition module/switch was suggested to me by a moderator about 6 months ago and i had it to a mechanic who had found some bad ground wires....this time it was the ignition switch!

Hey guys, I just wanted to say I read through this thread and determined my 97 Blazer's problem was the ignition switch. About 80% of the time that I started the car it would get stuck in 3rd gear and the Check Engine Light would come on, and then usually the key would be hard to remove from the cylinder after parking. So, I got the ignition switch fixed and so far all has been well **knock on wood**.

Thanks for the information!

man i had this same problem with my 97 blazer 130 thousand miles. no clear item to call the culprit; weird problems stalling and re-starting. when i started to explain it to people i realized this is changing every day. i read here about the weird 97 ig switch (along with the 1000 other potential 3 letter culprits) and decided its a good place to start. if it doesnt solve the problem, well at least it will not cause any more issues.

i replaced the switch 90 bucks pep boys in stock. 2 hours of dash removal and 20 minutes of replacement time and it kicked right over. I WAS BLOWN AWAY... still cautious but it ran amazing well like new! tranny, shifting, even the service engine light went off... it had been blinking for 2 years. no one could ever diagnose it? code there one minute gone the next... yaaa! i can get smogged now and get registration finally stop looking in mirror.

thanks guys

the white connector off is easy break it soooo what its new on the replacement part

man i had this same problem with my 97 blazer 130 thousand miles. no clear item to call the culprit; weird problems stalling and re-starting. when i started to explain it to people i realized this is changing every day. i read here about the weird 97 ig switch (along with the 1000 other potential 3 letter culprits) and decided its a good place to start. if it doesnt solve the problem, well at least it will not cause any more issues.

i replaced the switch 90 bucks pep boys in stock. 2 hours of dash removal and 20 minutes of replacement time and it kicked right over. I WAS BLOWN AWAY... still cautious but it ran amazing well like new! tranny, shifting, even the service engine light went off... it had been blinking for 2 years. no one could ever diagnose it? code there one minute gone the next... yaaa! i can get smogged now and get registration finally stop looking in mirror.

thanks guys

The ignition switch fault will NOT make your vehicle stall. That is a fact. It has exactly zero to do with engine tune.

Now we're knowing what the SES light blinking in the other thread is. It is not blinking. It comes on sometimes, and sometimes it is out. SES lights do not blink. Multiple threads will make HARD diagnosis too.

Maybe what he meant by stall is where you're driving down the road or decelerating and the air bag light comes on, the tach drops to 0 and the engine cuts out but re-starts as has been noted previously . I know what he means about the SES light... mine does it sometimes too... it stays on constantly but has at times begun blinking and the truck runs like crap until it stops doing that.

Mine just started this not starting foolishness unless the dummy lights are on but I've had the SES problem and problems with power windows as others have described here so I'm going to try the ignition switch fix... it sounds like a logical place to start to fix these ills... :smile:


The ignition switch fault will NOT make your vehicle stall. That is a fact. It has exactly zero to do with engine tune.

Now we're knowing what the SES light blinking in the other thread is. It is not blinking. It comes on sometimes, and sometimes it is out. SES lights do not blink. Multiple threads will make HARD diagnosis too.

Before I get myself in over my head and if I read correctly, it won't be necessary to remove the steering wheel... the other stuff I can handle but I don't want to mess with taking the wheel off if I don't need to

thanks,but seems like a pain and timely.what if thats not the problem? any way to test it?? then if you buy new gm spendy part,you will have to get keys recut?.thanks.rascal9094@yahoo.com

autozone sells the entire switch, with harness for less than $70.

it's not to difficult of a job to do.

I just removed and installed an ignition switch on a 97 blazer 4 oor full power. My question is the old one has 3 wires coming from the wire block that hooks up near the fire wall. They grey, blue and orange with a black stripe, they go to a black connector. they were not connected to any thing on the one i removed ? Should the be connected or are they some kind of test terminals?

If they were'nt connected to begin with, leave 'em. Not sure what they're for.

Ok thanks just for peace of mind I had to ask.