Convert: New to Old or Ignition Wiring

   Skip to the bottom to see video of the ignition in action!

 One of the parts I got in a while back was a new old style ignition switch in hopes of converting the ignition back to the original method of starting the car. You turn the switch on and then push a starter button on the dash.
    This switch has three positions. Starting from the far left is the "locked" position (counter clockwise). You would put it here and remove the key to prevent someone from starting the car. The middle position is the start position. You put the key in turn to this position and hit the start button on the dash to start the car. In this position you can remove the key and just turn it to the next position or far right (clockwise) to turn it off. You can go back to start (middle) and start the car without a key.

    The original switch had a little lever that hung down for easy switching. The replacement switch does not have this. I got one from someone online but it turned out to have either the wrong key with it or the key was too worn to work. The seller did not offer a refund so rather than waste more money fixing it I went with the new one I already had.

    Here is what an original looks like ... Note this switch is in the off unlocked position.

WEB PHOTO NOT MINE

Here is what the one I ordered looks like.... 3 terminal with lock cylinder removed.

Next I needed the bracket that holds the switch in the dash. The original was removed by a previous owner to accommodate the new style switch. The new style switch is held in place by a big threaded nut. (One of the reasons I wanted to replace the ugly thing!) ...

Aftermarket 4 terminal universal switch

I found one listed for my year on EBay and purchased it. It turned out to be the wrong one. the mounting holes needed to be further back and spaced further apart. (GRRRRR)
    OK, I just modified this one to work for me. I welded on an extension piece and drilled the lip of the dash to fit the hole spacing.

I "elongated" my holes for adjustments.

The smaller hole (far right) is for a light

Before mounting the switch I had to sand down a bunch of deep scratches and paint chips from where the switch was originally installed (?) or removed and put back several times over the years (?). My paint does nto really match but the pictures realy make it look bad. Not so bad in person and much better than the mess before.

Once I got it mounted in I started on the wiring. After a lot of research and several options, I went with this configuration.

Please note this is not how the factory schematics show it. They have a starter and solenoid wire on the push button. Use these drawings at your own risk. I'll let you know if my car burns to the ground.

My neutral safety was never hooked up so I went ahead and did it right. The rest of the wires stayed the same. I just ran a jumper to the push button switch to complete the circuit.

Lokar shifter neutral safety switch...

When checking continuity for each gear I noticed I would get continuity in the Drive position if I held the shift lever forward. I don't see this being an issue but I may try to adjust it out later. You should only see continuity in the positions you would want to start the car in .. PARK and NEUTRAL.

Here is the stock push button switch...

This takes a special tool to remove the right way. I used a large needle nose pliers with masking tape on the blades to protect the chrome.

In the process of finding wires and cleaning things up a bit, first I had to make a mess!

This got a lot worse LOL

This got a lot better! Half of these wires where not being used so I routed them back inside with the rest of the unused wires.

I found several things that I want to deal with in the wiring later on but I wont go into that now. I got it all back together ....

All you can see is the fuse box at this level

If you bend to seat level you can see a little more but still not much. I plan on doing an extensive wire clean up later on.

I also plan on replacing the battery cables they used for ground straps (2)

Going to loose the white wire wraps too!

Works well! I did notice a couple times when turning from OFF back to ON I would get a slight power surge to the starter (hardly noticeable). It was like current was being stored somewhere in the system and was let loose when switched back to on.

This blog will not be moving at the pace of my last one (35 Ford) but there is plenty to do yet so keep an eye out for updates.