Any Mechanics in the house !!

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Perfectionist

Joined
Jul 30, 2004
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I use a LM Charge as a keychain and was told by the guy servicing my car that the kind of weight the Charge puts on the car key when in the ignition can actually cause damage to the Ignition/Lock mechanism ??

Is this true ???
 
Perfectionist said:
I use a LM Charge as a keychain and was told by the guy servicing my car that the kind of weight the Charge puts on the car key when in the ignition can actually cause damage to the Ignition/Lock mechanism ??

Is this true ???
Click to expand...

Yes, this is very true. My Mom use to carry way to many keys on her keychain and it weighed enough to eventually mess up the ignition/lock and we got stranded at the beach. We ended up having to pay someone 50 dollars to come and fix it. Even with the number of keys she had on it I doubt it added up to how much a Charge weighs so I would think it would be a good idea to take it off when your keys are in the ignition.
 
Perfectionist said:
I use a LM Charge as a keychain and was told by the guy servicing my car that the kind of weight the Charge puts on the car key when in the ignition can actually cause damage to the Ignition/Lock mechanism ??

Is this true ???
Click to expand...

You actually hang a Charge on your keychain? Is THIS true?

But in fact, much less weight than that on a keychain stresses the ignition lock. In most cases, the damage takes a long time to develop, but even so I wouldn't hang so much as a Squirt on my ignition lock. In fact, I carry two sets of keys so that only the car key winds up there, not that it does much good. My wife's bundle of keys is humungous and she doesn't care about what I have to say on the subject. Drives me nuts.
 
DANG !!

I was hoping the guy was full of **** !!

Guess I'm gonna have to put my keys onto the the Charge's quick release :)
 
I DOUBT this would ever cause any damage. Beyond the anecdotal evidence presented here (ignitions break for other reasons, too), it is a cylinder lock which is very strong, think of your doorknob. Exact same stuff.
Ignitions take a lot of abuse. The stress that weight of a keychain puts on an ignition is laughable compared to what you do to it everyday jamming your key in there, turning it back and forth.
I wouldn't worry about it at all. If you are worried, borrow a manual and find out which wires to cross just in case ;).
Secondly, I've seen some of the worst keychain weight violators in the world (we're talking over a pound here), and they still drive their beaters every day. While we're throwing around stories :p

Your mechanic could be right, but this sounds like BS to me, who takes everything (including cars and locks) apart pretty often.

_z
 
My dad told me that those humongous keychains with all those doodads can cause problems in the ignition. It's like having your keys hanging from your mouth; choosing between the heavy fobs and the fobless...
 
z537z said:
I DOUBT this would ever cause any damage. Beyond the anecdotal evidence presented here (ignitions break for other reasons, too), it is a cylinder lock which is very strong, think of your doorknob. Exact same stuff.
Ignitions take a lot of abuse. The stress that weight of a keychain puts on an ignition is laughable compared to what you do to it everyday jamming your key in there, turning it back and forth.
I wouldn't worry about it at all. If you are worried, borrow a manual and find out which wires to cross just in case ;).
Secondly, I've seen some of the worst keychain weight violators in the world (we're talking over a pound here), and they still drive their beaters every day. While we're throwing around stories :p

Your mechanic could be right, but this sounds like BS to me, who takes everything (including cars and locks) apart pretty often.

_z
Click to expand...

Well, dang! Maybe this topic falls under the category of "common knowledge," which means maybe true, maybe not. I don't know anybody who has had official word on keyed ignition locks, including me. I got my mechanic training in the army, where NONE of the vehicles I worked on (trucks, bulldozers, APCs) were equipped with key locks. Over years, however, I have come in contact with lots of mechanics, pro and otherwise, who have warned in no uncertain terms of the long term damage heavy keychains can cause.

As a quick check I phoned a couple of local shop mechanics today. I've known these guys for decades, they know their stuff. One assured me the problem is real and he has repaired several switches damaged that way. The other was skeptical, said he doubted that anything short of serious poundage would affect the ignition switch badly. So we live in an uncertain world, after all.

Thanks a lot.
:confused:
 
I worked as a GM technician for 13 years. Extra weight on a key chain is hard on an ignition switch and is not recommended. With that said, I have seen some pretty heavy key chains and apparently they didn't have problems. It may be a factor of how long you keep the car.

Tom
 
My keys are quite heavy, I have to use a split type key chain/holder when off roading so I don't get beaten to death. My ignition lock did finally go after 17 years of hard abuse.

It was a 10 minute job to replace it, and I'm not a mechanic. Paid about $100 for parts, and once I got the cover off, a long small allen wrench, and the whole works just pops right out. I have an old Toyota pickup.

YMMV!
 
I think it took about 5 years of my Mom's ridiculously heavy keys before her ignition lock finally failed on her 88 Oldsmobile.
 
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