ignition key won't go passed Pos 1

[vapour]

Originally Posted by Jim314

There is a coil spring which sits on the inside top surface of the hardened steel plate and presses on something above it. If you remove the steel plate, then this spring would have to be removed too. So this spring is not necessary to the full function of the lock?

I think Volvo over designed this lock, probably to thwart car thieves, but the result was failures of the mechanism.

It doesn't affect mine (so far) and I have used it for 2 days without it being fitted. I did refit it again today and put the plate back in place but could not get it to fit in tightly so I just left it lose, if it comes out it appears it won't be in the way and the function of the lock won't be compromised.
Yes, the whole mechanism seems to be somewhat overdone.

[Jim314]

Originally Posted by vapour

Hi Jim314, I thought I read that the steel plate could be left off altogether, I have just removed mine completely with the intention of not refitting it, I think somebody determined that it unnecessary?

When you removed the steel plate did a broken off piece of pot metal fall out? One of the US threads on the subject of this lock failure shows pictures of a broken off pot metal tab which is what jams the lock.

In the case of my wife's XC90 when I pried down the steel plate I was able to hook out this exact shaped tab using a bent length of wire (or a bent nail, can't remember) so I got to thinking that this was invariably the failure mode, but of course there could be other failure modes than the breaking off of this particular tab.

[Jim314]

Removed.

[vapour]

[QUOTE=Jim314;2193698]When you removed the steel plate did a broken off piece of pot metal fall out? One of the US threads on the subject of this lock failure shows pictures of a broken off pot metal tab which is what jams the lock.

Yes, a small piece of aluminium came out, about 5mm X 3mm as described by another member.

[Guy Incognito]

Our S60 2004 model has just decided to jam outside a friend's house. I have scoured Youtube to see the metal plate that needs to be pried down to release the broken tab. is it a weird fat L shaped bit?

[awdv70]

I have had this happen on two of my V70's euro4's. I found you do not need to pry down the plate, if you hammer on the top left side/quarter and listen very carefuly after each hammer, you should hear a little tinkle as the metal tab comes unstuck and rolls down the plate(it is quite a robust plate but shouldnt need to bray it senseless). My first one is still going 38 months later. If direct hammering does not work, try hammering a screwdriver around/against the plate edge/seem to try and get a lateral shake on the plate. You may feel like giving up after a few minutes, just have a cupa and try again, you maybe lucky.

[pyroloxley]

Had this happen on 2007 xc70 in Tescos car park, about 18months ago. arrived back at car, ignition would not turn beyond pos 1, phoned AA - quoted about 4hrs.
So, took off cowis, disconnected contact switch from end of mechanical switch, and was able to start car with screwdriver. Can’t remember if that allowed me to drive home, or if I had to remove mechanical switch from steering wheel then or later, (2 anti theft screws removed with small chisel and hammer).
Used car several days with screwdriver switch, with key in close proximity. In meantime decided to try taking switch apart before ordering new one from Volvo. Loosened back plate, fiddled around, removed broken lug, oiled reassembled, and fitted all back together.
Still in use with no more problems 18 months later.

[mcjordan]

Had the same problem as other people. Removed the cowels around steering wheel tapped the silver plate just below lock. Found that after several attempts I could turn the key all the way. Happy days. Posted a picture of the silver plate to tap.

[mcjordan]

Also have a look at this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQOx...&feature=share

[bboiardi]

Originally Posted by Jim314

This is a known fault with the ignition lock. A small tab of metal breaks off internally and jams the lock so it won't go past Position I. This happened on my wife's 2007 XC90. I got it going by loosening the heavy steel plate (about 4 cm x 5 cm) on the bottom of the ignition lock and this freed the lock. (This plate will not come fully free without disassembling the entire lock.)

I was able to fish out the broken tab and this allowed me to tap the plate back into place and the thing has worked for the six months since. But one could just leave the plate loose. Search the XC90 forum for this long thread. Go to the end of the thread and work backwards.

The professional repair is to replace the ignition lock with a factory ordered one which takes the original key.

See post #41 page 5 http://volvoforums.org.uk/showthread...osition&page=5

Addition in editing

The lock in my wife's XC90 jammed in our driveway so it was convenient to work on it. I spend a day of tinkering and reading about the repair on the internet to arrive at my solution.

Thanks for the post. This saved the day and a ton of money.