Im Having Ignition/Car Problems..

I have an 1982 caprice classic...Saturday after pumping gas into it, I  got in the car to start it and it would not start or even make a cranking sound. When the key was turned into the on position my cd player was getting power on the inside, and the battery light was lit up. I put the car in neutral pushed it into a parking space. Turned the car off but even when the key was in the off position my cd player was still getting power to it. I got fed up and just left the car parked, came back about 1hr or 2hrs later, tried starting the car again, but this time when I turned the key in the ignition, the tumbler felt a little too loose and there was NO power getting into the car, no battery life, no power to the cd player. And when the tow truck driver tried to put the car in neutral this morning he was unable to throw it into gear. Does anyone know what might be wrong with my car?

Thanks in advance..  

tilt column.. or straight column...

i would bet that the rack that moves the ignition switch rod has broken...

when this happens..  the car cannot be started... and sometimes. do to the design.. it won't come out of park...


when you turn the key to the crank position.. can you feel the spring pushing back when you get the lock turned all the way forward...

warning.. many shops will try to sell you a complete column...     it is totally repairable..  

i would think when you walked away.. and left things turned on.. the battery was discharged... time to have it recharged...    

it is possible ... if the column lock parts all seem to work.. that your starter could have just gone bad.. but when you said it would not let the shifter move... that really tells me that you have a broken part in the column..

there are about 10 different articles with photos on tearing down the columns.. none that i have seen go directly into your exact problem....

there are also videos on repairing the columns ...

tilt and non tilt columns come apart the same way.. but have a few different parts inside..  

it is a tilt column..my car has been in the shop since this morning but I still havent received a diagnose for whats wrong with it,and yes when i turn it all the way forward (towards me and the lock position) I do feel some type of spring push back, but when i turn it to the start posistion thats when it starts feeling loose,it doesnt feel right

hope that this isn't an expensive fix, btw would electrical problems have something to do with the ignition? from time to time my cd player will cut off then turn itself back on while I'm driving as if  I have an electrical shortage somewhere.  

ok my mechanic just told me i need a new steering column, are these hard to find for an 82 caprice or can i just go into the local auto zone or advance auto and just purchase it? sorry for all of the questions, im a female so cars arent really my thing  

Wayne called it.  But unless you are going to repair it yourself you are stuck to the whim of the shop.  You might get lucky to request what exactly in the column is wrong and get them to fix that.  
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The Silver Buick- '77 Skylark coupe w/ a Fuel Injected Buick 455&TKO-600, '72 Centurion Conv't - 455w/TH400, '67 T-bird 4Dr (suicide) w/428&C6. Needing to replace a '69 Firebird 400.

http://www.bangshift.com/forum/index.php?topic=6189.0

it's OK silver buick...   nobody ever reads all of the information i post...  they just go its that guy again..

i wish that shops would be labeled...  repair shops... or replacement shops...    places that actually repair items.. that are normally repaired...

or places that replace everything that is normally repaired by trained mechanics.. and everybody else who knows how to turn a screw driver...


if the original fellow reads this...     find another shop....   look for steering column repair specialists...

many are located at junk yards...  

I read what he posted and it made sense, but I just came back from a junkyard and purchased a steering column for $125, took it to my mechanic and he is going to install it for $150..  

be sure that you get the old one back..   along with all the extra parts...   they are easily fixed and resold..  lot of people want them...  

thanks ill make sure to do that, maybe i can sell it to a junkyard as is  

oh wayne, just cause you're wordy doesn't mean we skip half of your posts

agree totally with replace/repair shops  
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the red-headed step-child of the mailing list

fuzzy dice, air shocks & N50's rule

IF you have a few tools...you can tell where the column bolts up by looking at the one in your hand...it is SOOOO easy to do and save yourself some money also...
and a little grease under your fingernails won't scare off the decent guys  
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the red-headed step-child of the mailing list

fuzzy dice, air shocks & N50's rule