Re: Bart's ignition question/Rosa's Hornet

["Jim Blair" <carnuck@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

A: The tilt and non-tilt switches are reversed. At least in Jeep 
applications. (I swapped columns to tilt from non-tilt and didn't want to 
unplug the wiring, so I left the original in place. When I hooked it all up 
and hooked up the battery, the ignition was on in the lock position and went 
off when I turned it on. Even funnier was it started up when I switched back 
to accessories!)


From: amcnut@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: Bart's ignition question/Rosa's Hornet
To: mail@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Message-ID: <ADVANCES62ednHM3SOl000000e0@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

There is no difference in ignition switches in regards to whether the car is 
an auto or a stick. The difference lies in whether the column is a tilt or a 
non-tilt. You can use the switch off any similar year GM product with no 
problems.

I have used the tilt/non-tilt switches interchangeably. I'm not 100% sure 
what the difference in the two is, but they're similar enough to work. It's 
very seldom that one of these ignition switches gives any trouble--after 
all, it's just copper contacts that slide against each other. But, when they 
do give trouble, it's more likely to be a loose connection than anything 
else.

In regards to Rosa's Hornet--I'd lay odds on the resistor wire being the 
culprit. I had this same problem occur on a Spirit a few years ago--would 
run as long as the ignition was turned to "start" but would die as soon as 
it flipped back to "run". I fixed the problem by opening up the wiring 
harness under the hood, completely removing the resistor wire, and then 
installing a ceramic Mopar-style ignition resistor inline. Worked like a 
charm. Replacing the resistor wire with a similar wire might prove to be a 
challenge--would be hard to know just how much of what kind of wire to buy.

Jeff Reeves
Auburn GA
79 Spirit GT
72 Javelin SST

69 Ambassador DPL