Vz Ignition Barrel Problems  

From what I was reading on Just Commodores. No real fix to it. It's luck of the draw really. I had mine for 2 years and never had a problem. They just get stuck in place.

21st November 2011 - 05:10 AM  Reply  Quote

There are a couple of issues that happen with them.

First, there is a pin on the back of the barrel that rides on a ramp, because the barrel is made out of crappy die-cast the ramp gets a flat spot and the pin gets stuck.

Second, the shaft on the back of the ignition that goes in to the switch breaks, so the key turns but the car won't start/ turn off.

Also the switch can wear out on these but that is normally on cars prior to VT.

The ignition problem is also common with the Astras/ combos/ vectras ( all the same part)

There is no such thing as a Holden original ignition, they are made by an after market company called NICE, they are crap, if you are replacing it yourself you might be lucky but most the time the barrel is slightly too bit to fit into the housing and needs a bit of material filed off.

21st November 2011 - 06:11 AM  Reply  Quote

Haha i had the exact same thing happen in my ute. Was a small lug on the end of the barrel that snapped and jammed. No warning just went one day. Luckily its a very easy fix and no new remote needed.

21st November 2011 - 06:40 AM  Reply  Quote

check your key blade hasn't worn, also a bit of graphite powder down the barrel into the tumblers now and then helps with wear. Never use spray grease/WD40 to keep the locks smooth.

21st November 2011 - 07:30 PM  Reply  Quote

From to many things on your key ring, the weight might have have something to do with it, very common problem on Daewoo's, perhaps some graphite powder every now and then too

21st November 2011 - 09:59 PM  Reply  Quote

Yeah tried graphite/spare key first, didn't make any difference... after about 10 mins i hit the sweet spot and thought screw it ill pull it out while i can. For some reason the ignition switch was not in the right position when i put the new barrel in though. The barrel would slide all the way in but obviously foul when it hit the actual switch at the back. Ended up getting a hex key in there to manually turn the switch back to the ACC position and the the new barrel slid right in...hopefully this one outlasts the rest of the car now - does seem very hit an miss.

And also just a bit of fuel to feed the fire on the hate for dealerships....barrel cost 40 bucks which i thought was reasonable but the quote to key it up was $150. I just said are you serious mate, he gave me a funny look and I just said don't worry about it. For the record, my local locksmith charged $30 to key it up....It is a shit of a job but certainly not worth $150 haha.

23rd November 2011 - 05:29 PM  Reply  Quote

they're not that hard to code actually. If you remove all the old tumblers from the barrel in order, you'll see each tumbler has a number on it from 1 to 8 as I recall. Then you just take the new tumblers and springs from the barrel kit, match up the numbers and fit them in the order the old ones were removed.

23rd November 2011 - 06:55 PM  Reply  Quote

DO not use graphite, use WD-40 or INOX for locks, but this wouldn't o fixed your problem anyway.

Graphite mixed with grease ( Which comes in locks from the factory) plus all the grit and shit that gets in there over the years, it will go pasty and not work how it is supposed too. you need to flush the crap out of locks to get them working better.

23rd November 2011 - 07:33 PM  Reply  Quote

Just got my daughter a 2004 VZ commodore, it was not used for about 6 months, wouldnt start and was thought to be needing a new battery, got that and still wouldnt go, next step was a new starter motor,still no luck, was told it might be a problem with the key and getting re coded.Have just had this done also but no luck.The car can be hotwired and the key works if stopped and started with in 15 minute, but cant just come out in the morning and start it with the key.any ideas???

14th October 2016 - 10:17 PM  Reply  Quote