ReYnd
15+ Year Contributor
- 400
- 6
- Dec 8, 2009
-
Deep Water,
West Virginia
So, I got the correct shifter cables installed (that was a royal pain, out there in the cold, slipping on ice almost all day). The '90s are laying beside me, I'll let them stay there for a while. Got my Symborski kit installed and everything adjusted correctly... I think.
There's no way I'm going down the hill that's covered in ice for a proper test right now. Went to fire the thing up for a little back and forth test. Try to turn the key, it won't budge. Shake it senseless, nothing. Turn it the other way and then shake again, still nothing. Tried turning it as I inserted the last couple millimeters, nada.
The car has sat for... wow, two to three weeks. The only key I have is a copy, but it has worked fine in the past. Twice has it done this before, but I've been able to force it to turn with just a little more torque. Not happening this time.
I've heard of a few people who have similar problems, but never a great solution. I do want to eventually get a set of keys from Chrysler if I can, the nearest dealership is just too far away for me to care. So what's the deal? Is the switch frozen, broken, or just being a stubborn 17-year-old? I'm not beyond converting it to a universal key (screwdriver) if it keeps this up.
As an aside, other funny behavior includes the occasional lock-back when it's cold. Rare though. But when you lock the car from inside the passenger side, it will always unlock half a second later.
But I can get into my hatch easily, unlike some. It was the only lock cylinder that didn't work satisfactorily, so I took it apart and cleaned it with ...well, Hoppe's No. 9 solvent and then coated everything with WD-40.
There's no way I'm going down the hill that's covered in ice for a proper test right now. Went to fire the thing up for a little back and forth test. Try to turn the key, it won't budge. Shake it senseless, nothing. Turn it the other way and then shake again, still nothing. Tried turning it as I inserted the last couple millimeters, nada.
The car has sat for... wow, two to three weeks. The only key I have is a copy, but it has worked fine in the past. Twice has it done this before, but I've been able to force it to turn with just a little more torque. Not happening this time.
I've heard of a few people who have similar problems, but never a great solution. I do want to eventually get a set of keys from Chrysler if I can, the nearest dealership is just too far away for me to care. So what's the deal? Is the switch frozen, broken, or just being a stubborn 17-year-old? I'm not beyond converting it to a universal key (screwdriver) if it keeps this up.
As an aside, other funny behavior includes the occasional lock-back when it's cold. Rare though. But when you lock the car from inside the passenger side, it will always unlock half a second later.
But I can get into my hatch easily, unlike some. It was the only lock cylinder that didn't work satisfactorily, so I took it apart and cleaned it with ...well, Hoppe's No. 9 solvent and then coated everything with WD-40.
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Just had to wiggle the steering wheel and get it to lock so it would free up the switch. Completely forgot about doing that last night.
