| I've been wanting to create this writeup for awhile now, since the ignition switches seem to be a common fail point on our cars. There is usually a very easy fix to the issue, often without having to replace the ignition switch at all. Also, this writeup will explain how to properly replace the keyed barrel of the ignition switch, should your switch fail or you just want to switch your lock assembly. The problem: your car dings when you open the door as if there is a key in the ignition, but no key is inserted. This will drain your battery quickly! I had searched everywhere for how to take this apart, but could not find any conclusive information. There are 2 pins clearly holding the ignition switch assembly together, and I'd read some places that this can be pushed in to remove the cylinder, other said to drill it. For our cars, they must be drilled. Note: there are several different ignition switch types over the years, a few for manual cars and a few for automatics. On some, the white plastic pieces pictured are black. ALL switches are assembled in a similar fashion and ultimately function the same way. The automatics have a lockout portion, but that unscrews before disassembling the switch, so none of that is affected by this fix. I began by drilling a pilot hole with a tiny drill bit, then followed with a larger big just slightly smaller than the pin itself. At one point, they each began to spin, and I knew I could work them out from there. Once the pins began to spin with the drill bit, I used a pick and tapped on the edge of the pin to get it to pinch a bit, then used the pick to pull them out. They came out with relative ease, so I recommend continuing to use the drill bit until they seem loose enough to work free. 
Locking pin removed on one side, there is an identical pin on the other side:
 Once both pins are removed, the assembly slides out thusly (please note the spring on top, that is loose and will fly out, so beware not to just fling out the assembly and watch for that spring so you don't lose it!):
 This white plastic switch is the usual culprit. Notice how it fits into the assembly above, and in the picture below you can see the metal contact end slips into the white plastic piece to the right. That plastic piece rotates with the key, and moves that metal contact switch indicating when your key is in the ignition:
 
Disassembled to show how it should slip in:
 The culprit! What happens most often is this metal contact slips out of the plastic piece on the right, and forever touches metal, grounding the switch since it is no longer sheathed by the plastic and losing all functionality:
 I am unsure how this happens so often whilst still assembled, but my guess is that the ignition switch is allowed to move just slightly further than the switch can hold, and the tolerances aren't tight enough to keep the contact piece sheathed by the plastic piece:
 To fix the switch, simply realign the metal contact with the plastic piece, and reassemble the ignition switch:
 Make sure it's lined up properly:
 Then press everything back together!
 This is a view of the switch disassembled, to replace the keyed barrel, just tip over the large piece and it should fall right out, then drop in the new one and reassemble everything:
 I reused the original lock pin on the top (since gravity holes it in place), but on the bottom I used a very small screw, tightened it down and sheared the head off with a dremel. This was probably unnecessary, but I didn't want to reuse the pin lest it not be quite tight enough and fall out during driving. Please VTF!
Cheers,
JBrobst "A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more
useful than a life spent doing nothing." George Bernard Shaw |
Nissan ignition switch fix and keyed barrel replacement - 
