1996 Pontiac Sunfire

[twholladay]

My daughter called me one night and said the steering column was smoking. I found that the ignition had shorted out. I removed the steering column covers and replaced the ignition switch. It worked great for about two weeks, then it would randomly not turn over. All lights were on the dash but when I would turn the key all the way over it would do nothing at all. I replaced the ignition in the column again but that did not fix the problem. Any ideas would be very helpful.

[dizel326]

is your engine light on if so it's probably your crankshaft sensor.can you hear your fuel pump if not check the fuses and relays under hood and the fuses in the car

[SurferMale]

Originally Posted by twholladay

My daughter called me one night and said the steering column was smoking. I found that the ignition had shorted out. I removed the steering column covers and replaced the ignition switch. It worked great for about two weeks, then it would randomly not turn over. All lights were on the dash but when I would turn the key all the way over it would do nothing at all. I replaced the ignition in the column again but that did not fix the problem. Any ideas would be very helpful.

I had this same problem with mine Turned out to be a switch on the Transmission called the Transmission Range switch ...i thought it was the ignition switch or the anti-theft device. which almost made me junk the car.. part runs about 160 bucks.installed at a dealership fixed me right up