1996 Grand Am Ignition Key Does Not Seem to Turn Far Enough

Hi Sparky,

I have been working on my daughters Pontiac Grand Am with my father who has been a 

mechanic for about 40 years. The car will not start when key is turned forward, not a

 security issue. We thought it was ignition switch but when we pulled switch out you can 

start car with screw driver in the switch. Have you ever seen internal parts wear in column

 which would cause it to not turn far enough forward to ignite starter wire? It appears to

 turn far enough forward. We tried a new ignition switch but same result as the old one. 

Could the piece that is between the lock cylinder  and the ignition have wear and not be 

engaging far enough? We are both stumped, should we try a column from another vehicle?

Thanks

Brad

Hi Brad,

It is possible to have something broken in the intermediate/lock cylinder housing. I have

 seen it many times on other brands. I cannot remember seeing this condition on a GM 

vehicle of that era though. Looking at a GM break down of the column there are several 

pieces involved. There is the lock cylinder and ignition switch of course but there are two

 other part numbers 26032220 (actuator,ign &start sw) and 26042649 (housing, steering 

column). You might want to Google those number to see if they might help your situation. 

A few of the results have a part breakdown with them.

Sparky