Checking ignition switch?

[circut]

Hey guys, In a previous thread I was having problems starting my 02' z28.. I've narrowed it down to 3 possible problems:

#1. Bad ground (not likely since the car sat for a week and everything still seems powered)
#2. Bad ignition switch
#3. VATS system malfunction

On the VATS note, I checked the resistance of the pellets in the keys and they both put out the proper resistance of 958. I'm currently working on getting an engine scanner from a friend of mine to see what sort of errors the engine has thrown since the 'Sevice engine' light is now on.

But while I'm on that, does anyone have some pictures or a good howto on checking / changing the ignion switch? I bought one of the manuals for the camaro but it just says the igntion switch is located under the drivers side dash panels.

Any help on this is greatly appreciated.

Thanks guys!

-Erik

[Joe 1320]

The ignition switch is mounted on the backside of the steering column about 1/3 of the way up the column. To access the switch, you must remove the driver's side lower panels under the dash, unbolt the steering column mount from the dash (two bolts) and drop the column down as far as possible. The ignition switch and high beam switch are mounted together and can be seen on the backside of the column. A couple of small bolts and it's R&R time. I would suggest once the column is dropped, rotate it counter clockwise about 20º or so to get better access to the switch.

[Rob B (shoebox)]

There is a "how to" for changing the ignition switch on my Tech Page.

[circut]

Thanks guys -- but is there any easier way?

First off, thanks for the link to that great tutorial. But is there any easier way to verify that the ignition switch is indeed the problem? This job seems like something easy to screw up, so if I do undertake this repair, I'll want to make sure it fixes the problem..

Does anyone know if this is a common problem on 02 models? Or f-body's in general? I'm still leaving towards VATS being the culprit, but I'm out of ideas for testing it.

Thanks again guys!

-Erik

[Rob B (shoebox)]

I don't know what your symptoms are, but you can check fuses for power that should be powered when the key is ON. If your security light has not been on, it's probably not a VATS problem.