new here* prob with ignition. plz help
 

hey all,
just bought my first protege. a red 99 se standard 1.6l. this is my second day driving it and ive noticed a little problem. the car has trouble turning off! i dont know whether its the key (which looks a little worn out) or the ignition. i turn the key and the engine keeps running. ive even pulled the key out of the ignition and the engine is still going. the only way the engine would stop was if i purposely stalled it. i did get copies of the key made and at first it seemed to do the trick but after driving for about 15 minutes, it had trouble turning off again. i was wiggling it around and turning it back and forth and it finally went. does anyone have an idea of what this problem could be? and if u do, is it an expensive problem? should it even have been certified with this problem? please help :(

might sound stupid but sounds like something has gone foul with a sensor, but before you start pulling wires , try a ECU reset first.

I know it sound strange, but thats always worth a try,

for example, if your computer #*$(# up, just hit the reset button lol ;)

how would i do that?

To reset ECU:
1. Disconnect Negative battery terminal
2. Pump the brake, leave disconnected for about 5 minutes
3. Reconnect battery terminal.
4. Remove fingers from engine compartment, close hood.

thx for the info. btw, i think this site is great. ill let u know how it goes.

i tried the ECM thing.. didnt quite work.. if you have time in the morning.. ie 5 min before you head off... The night before remove the negative cable from the battery.. in the morning hook it back up... i did it that was aswell as the pedal thing and it worked...
i donno picky car of mine maybve.. but i had the extra time and it was suggested to me.. just another thuoght..

As i read your post again... It really sounds like the ignition switch itself is bad. New key changed the problem (even a little while) and you don't make it sound like the car is 'lopping'/running-on/'dieseling' - so i don't believe it is the engine/ecu system.

Let us know...

If you have to stall it, to shut it off, make sure you don't walk away with the ignition still powered up, you know, like make sure the dash lights are all out. Sorry, I know that's kind of a "Duh" thing to say, but you never know.

I had a Corsica that wouldn't shut off, i.e. you could turn the key back and forth and nothing would happen. In order to shut the car off we would have to pull the fuse for the fuel pump. Anyway, we found out that the comb switch was bad and needing replacing. The part was not expensive, just the labor!

Let us know what you find out...

hey thanks. ive had it checked out by the local dealer i got it from. we changed some tumblers in the ignition and i have a new key for just the ignition now. i dropped it off in the mornin, went to work. my dad picked it up for me and he said when he got home, it still didnt shut off properly. i havent had many problems with it in the past week or so. so i have to take it to someone else to figure out what the problem exactly is.

I had a Corsica.....

You had a Corsica? Oh...I'm sorry.

Of course! it explains *why* she drives Mazda now! (Me too!)

my dad took a look at it and one of the wires was disconnected sort of. so he put it back on and i havent had any problems with it since.