Is this normal?

Darkrider_LS

Original poster
Member
Jan 25, 2013
9,332
Ok when I bought my trailblazer I noticed that occasionally when it was cold and sometimes when hot I would just barely turn the key beyond the run position and the truck would start. Most of the time I would need to turn it the normal rotation and this quirk disappeared after the first month. And now it did it again this morning put the key in and barely even turned it and it started up without turning the key fully. Hope this makes sense?
 

CaptainXL

Member
Dec 4, 2011
2,445
Darkrider_LS said:
Ok when I bought my trailblazer I noticed that occasionally when it was cold and sometimes when hot I would just barely turn the key beyond the run position and the truck would start. Most of the time I would need to turn it the normal rotation and this quirk disappeared after the first month. And now it did it again this morning put the key in and barely even turned it and it started up without turning the key fully. Hope this makes sense?

Turn the key to the second detent and just flick it a little. It should crank then start. You shouldnt have to turn the key all the way until it stops. If it acts any other way then you need a new ignition switch.
 

Darkrider_LS

Original poster
Member
Jan 25, 2013
9,332
CaptainXL said:
Turn the key to the second detent and just flick it a little. It should crank then start. You shouldnt have to turn the key all the way until it stops. If it acts any other way then you need a new ignition switch.

Ok so yea its normal lol...yea it just seemed a lil odd that just after i turn it to the second detent and barely touch it after it would spin over. I guess im just used to older vehicles requiring the key to be turned till stop.
 

CaptainXL

Member
Dec 4, 2011
2,445
Darkrider_LS said:
Ok so yea its normal lol...yea it just seemed a lil odd that just after i turn it to the second detent and barely touch it after it would spin over. I guess im just used to older vehicles requiring the key to be turned till stop.

Well you do need to turn it some. Just touching the key while on the second detent would be bad.

And im confused as to your inquiry. Youve had this vehicle and beena member for how long now? If you have noticed any difference in how it worked when you got it until today then its bad. It shouldnt change in any way how it works over time.
 

Darkrider_LS

Original poster
Member
Jan 25, 2013
9,332
CaptainXL said:
Well you do need to turn it some. Just touching the key while on the second detent would be bad.

And im confused as to your inquiry. Youve had this vehicle and beena member for how long now? If you have noticed any difference in how it worked when you got it until today then its bad. It shouldnt change in any way how it works over time.

Ok i will try to explain this a bit better....I bought the truck in november. For about the first week or so i would just barely turn the key past the second detent literally just flick it past it and it would start. Then after a bit it required more of a turn to get it to start. And this morning it just did the flick past the detent start again. It basically alternates between the two...when it does this quirky start it barely has any resistance to my turning the key otherwise there is the normal resistance to it. Neither time do i need to turn the key till it stops to start the vehicle. Just one point it seems like i barely have to touch the key past the detent.
 

CaptainXL

Member
Dec 4, 2011
2,445
Darkrider_LS said:
Ok i will try to explain this a bit better....I bought the truck in november. For about the first week or so i would just barely turn the key past the second detent literally just flick it past it and it would start.Then after a bit it required more of a turn to get it to start. And this morning it just did the flick past the detent start again. It basically alternates between the two...when it does this quirky start it barely has any resistance to my turning the key otherwise there is the normal resistance to it. Neither time do i need to turn the key till it stops to start the vehicle. Just one point it seems like i barely have to touch the key past the detent.

Like I said, any difference in how it works and its bad. From the flick you described when you got it to the "requiring more of a turn" would be classified as different in my book. I would still say you got a bad/sticking ignition switch. And going back to your first post, it shouldnt work any different at anytime no matter if it's cold or hot outside.

Ignition switch failures are relatively common on this board in case you wanted to know.
 

Darkrider_LS

Original poster
Member
Jan 25, 2013
9,332
Im surprised that the GM dealer i bought the truck from didnt notice it...Heck it even did the quick flick of the key style starting when i took it for the test drive.......ok...how much of a PITA is it gonna be to resolve that?
 

CaptainXL

Member
Dec 4, 2011
2,445
Darkrider_LS said:
Im surprised that the GM dealer i bought the truck from didnt notice it...Heck it even did the quick flick of the key style starting when i took it for the test drive.......ok...how much of a PITA is it gonna be to resolve that?

If your not under warranty there are tons of articles on this and the Trailvoy website explaining how to change it. Im not about to go over it and reinvent the wheel. Suffice it to say its an easy job. Just make sure to disconnect the battery before beginning and make sure the teeth are lined up right. There is a tutorial on Trailvoy for changing the ignition switch with pictures on how to align the teeth. Its a fairly large thread.
 

CaptainXL

Member
Dec 4, 2011
2,445
Darkrider_LS said:
Im surprised that the GM dealer i bought the truck from didnt notice it.?

Why would they fix something which is not totally failed and fairly obscure to the custome? The answer is that they wouldnt. A dealer isnt going to do preventative maintenance on used vehicles sitting on the lot. It would be more money out of their pocket.
 

Darkrider_LS

Original poster
Member
Jan 25, 2013
9,332
CaptainXL said:
If your not under warranty there are tons of articles on this and the Trailvoy website explaining how to change it. Im not about to go over it and reinvent the wheel. Suffice it to say its an easy job. Just make sure to disconnect the battery before beginning and make sure the teeth are lined up right. There is a tutorial on Trailvoy for changing the ignition switch with pictures on how to align the teeth. Its a fairly large thread.

Tried to find the thread for it on here will look for it on trailvoy next. However i did see your remark about spraying some non conductive silicone lube into the lock cyl, wonder if that would help.
 

CaptainXL

Member
Dec 4, 2011
2,445
Darkrider_LS said:
Tried to find the thread for it on here will look for it on trailvoy next. However i did see your remark about spraying some non conductive silicone lube into the lock cyl, wonder if that would help.

No it wont. Thats only for freeing up the key cylinder. If you spray anything down the keyhole it could drip into the switch. Presumably this could be the cause of your problem. The dealer probably shot some WD40 or something down the keyhole.. Silicone lube should only be used when the ignition switch is removed.
 

Darkrider_LS

Original poster
Member
Jan 25, 2013
9,332
CaptainXL said:
No it wont. Thats only for freeing up the key cylinder.

Ahhh ok, Figured i would ask and wow...yea that is stupidly easy to fix now that i have found the thread on trailvoy. I have bookmarked it for future reference in case it keeps acting funky enough to cause me to change it. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction for repairing it!
 

Darkrider_LS

Original poster
Member
Jan 25, 2013
9,332
CaptainXL said:
No it wont. Thats only for freeing up the key cylinder. If you spray anything down the keyhole it could drip into the switch. Presumably this could be the cause of your problem. The dealer probably shot some WD40 or aomething down the keyhole.. Silicone lube should only be used when the ingition switch is removed.

Now that i seen the edit...that last part about the dealer possibly spraying wd40 into it i could see happening..makes sense really..one of those seems like a good idea at the time but turns out to bite someone in the backside later things..
 

CaptainXL

Member
Dec 4, 2011
2,445
Darkrider_LS said:
Ahhh ok, Figured i would ask and wow...yea that is stupidly easy to fix now that i have found the thread on trailvoy. I have bookmarked it for future reference in case it keeps acting funky enough to cause me to change it. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction for repairing it!

You actually should replace it asap. It's a known problem with our vehicles. You could get stranded. Dont wait. Its a $20 part.
 

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