Something interesting happened yesterday when I went to start my corolla. The key broke off in the ignition! This has caused my weekend to be considerably less convenient than I would have preferred.
Since the car was free in the frist place and theft is not much of a problem in my sleepy little college town, I was thinkingof just hotwiring it to get to the auto parts store and then rewiring the ignition with a starter button and a runswitch.
Does anyone out there know which wires to cut, splice, etc?
I think I could figure it out myself with some trial and error except that it is it is four degrees farengeight out there (negative sixteen celcius) and i think I might get frost bite before I get it right.
if the entire key is in the ignition just get a knife or somthing similar and turn the ignition with that it should be a heck of alot easier than sitting up under the dash messing with the wires
if the entire key is in the ignition just get a knife or somthing similar and turn the ignition with that it should be a heck of alot easier than sitting up under the dash messing with the wires
No luck there. only the tip broke off. Any other ideas?
the best bet might be to pull the lock cylinder out of the column, then you can either replace it or rig something up. I know how to do this on the 93-97's you turn it to ACC position then theres a pin on the bottom of the cylinder push it in then the cylinder will pull out! if the cylinder wont turn because of the key then you may have to drill out the pin, which is a pain because it is a hardend pin in an aluminum body.
__________________
Ah when she was in her glory, Not so nice anymore 358k 17years old her time is getting short ....
Last edited by 94_Rolla_Guy; 02-19-2006 at 03:59 PM.
Rolla Guy: I cant turn the cylinder to ACC since I dont have the Key. Drilling out a hardened steel pin could take hours and many broken drill bits and would still brobably end up with a poorly rigged ignition.
My father in law gave me some advice- get the key fragment out and take the two pieces to a locksmith. So I did. I managed to fish out the end of the key with som very small tweezers. But the key that they made fropm it will not fit. (wasted two hours and several dollars that way)
Then my all knowing father in law suggested that I should go to a dealership and have them look up the numbers and make a new one to factory standards. Unfortunately it turns out that they would have to take apart the passenger door to get to the key code, and that would cost me more money. (Also I would have to have the car towed there)
I could take the door apart myself, but it is SO cold out there.
All I want is to wire a runswitch and a starter button, ten minutes of work if I just knew which wires to cut. Somebody please help, before I go out there and start randomly cutting wires!
By the way, this is the Carburated version with the 4A-F motor, if that matters.
it will be a pain to hotwire because its not just 3 wires its about 8-10 you would need like 5 switches to properly control the ignition.
the other thing you could try to do is drill out the lock cylinder. if you do mark the bit with tape so you dont go too far and do it slowly! after you get to the bottom and chew all the waffers out of the cylinder you should be able to slide it to the ACC to yank the cylinder out out
__________________
Ah when she was in her glory, Not so nice anymore 358k 17years old her time is getting short ....
but thats just it. I dont need to "properly" controll the ignition switch. All I need to do is drive, and for that all I think all I need is A) to have a switch that powers terminal "IG2" in the ignition switch- that should be what gets power to the ignition coil and all components needed to make the engine run and B) to have a push button that activates terminal ST1 in the switch, which sends power to the starter solenoid.
At worst I figure I will have to patch in IG1into the switch for IG2, since I cant figure out quite what IG1 does (but I am 70% certain that it isnt hot in run....)
Actually I should be able to bypass the starter switch altogether and just splice the wires since I dug up wiring diagrams and now I know what color wires to look for. Maye I am wrong but keep in mind, this is a very basic carbeurated, non california emissions corolla without cruise controll, so it is a whole lot simpler than say, a 94. We shall see, if I muck it up then I will sure be back to wail my lamentations and beg more advice!
same thing happened to me only the tip broke off. I just used 2 small pairs of tweezers and had someone hold a flash light. Took about 5 minutes of work but it fianlly came out
So I took apart the door to get to the number on the door lock cylinder, which is what the dealership needs to make a key. I turns out that you have to take the door COMPLETELY apart and remove the outside door handle and then take THAT apart to get to the lock cylinder.
After all that I took the number and the cylinder to the dealership and they tried twice to make a key that would fit. No luck. The guy there says that the key and the lock often wear over time and that sometimes a new key wont fit in an old lock.
So I am back to getting around the steering wheel lock somehow and hotwiring.
Anybody got any ideas for the steering wheel lock? Will drilling out the lock cylinder work?
Drilling out the lock cylinder should work to defete the steering lock, just be careful how far you drill because you'll go straight through the ignition switch, go slowly taking breaks to check your depth and progress and it will be ok.
if you then remove the cylinder then you can turn the car on with either a flathead screwdriver or a pair of needle nose pliers assuming you wanna use the old ignition switch.
__________________
Ah when she was in her glory, Not so nice anymore 358k 17years old her time is getting short ....
What has happened by the sounds of it, is that the dealer you took it to are morons. Im a locksmith and drilling that ignition out isnt much of an option as where its located. Its very impractical. If they took the code of the door cyl, and they didnt get the key right, its one of two things. They didnt do it with the right code or cut it on the wrong key blank, or, your car had two diofferent keys and then that means the ignition has been changed before and the only thing you can do is to spent a liong time drilling the ignition out.
If yoiu have AAA roadside, they should be able to help you out, as they usua;;y ahve a l;ocksmith.
Dan
The AutoGuide.com network consists of the largest network of enthusiast-owned enthusiast-operated automotive communities.
AutoGuide.com provides the latest car reviews, auto show coverage, new car prices, and automotive news. The AutoGuide network operates more than 100 automotive forums where our users consult peers for shopping information and advice, and share opinions as a community.
ToyotaNation.com is an independent Toyota/Lexus enthusiast website. ToyotaNation.com is not sponsored by or in any way affiliated with Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. The Toyota, Lexus and Scion names and logos are trademarks owned by Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc.
Hotwiring an 89 corolla? Help!!!
Drilling out a hardened steel pin could take hours and many broken drill bits and would still brobably end up with a poorly rigged ignition. 
(Also I would have to have the car towed there) 
All I need to do is drive, and for that all I think all I need is A) to have a switch that powers terminal "IG2" in the ignition switch- that should be what gets power to the ignition coil and all components needed to make the engine run and B) to have a push button that activates terminal ST1 in the switch, which sends power to the starter solenoid. 
Linear Mode
