HELP!! keyed iginition keeps "burning up"

hi everyone i have a 1950 buick with the original stright 8. it was changed to 12v before i got the car 7 years ago(it was a basket case) and have had no electrical problems outher than trying to figure out what someone else did. this past winter i had the original starter rebuilt and changed to 12v . some say you dont need to have starter at 12v 6v will work and it did i only had it rebuilt beacuse the drive gear was going. the shop that did the work said the same thing and they been around sence 1932 all they do is starters and alterners ect. but annyway after i reinstaled it all was good. a month passes and i pick up a new alternator beacuse i dont know how old it was it worked fine just preventive measures and all was good. a few hundred miles pass snd the dam thing wouldent start in my garage. so im all pissed off thinking its the starter but traced it to the iginition key it was a cheep one mind you so off to the local auto parts store and all they had was ths the same iginiton key set up so i got it and put it in and all was good about 300 miles latter (last thursday) same dam thing so i go pick up the same (cheep) keyed iginition (maybe the problem?) put it in started up and drove 1 or 2 miles pan parked it all happy now i can go to a show on sat. whell saturday morn no dice same thing the f-er wont start. so what do you guys think the deal is? to much power gitting in the iginition? cheep iginition? i did look is their supposed to be a relay? their is not one. if so why all the problem all of a sudden? and everytime it breaks in my garage w.t.f.? not two hours from home. any help ? im a carpenter not a real auto mechanic i know just enuf to act cool. thanks



if i dont respond asap and you did keep a eye on me if you can i have a 2 month old and not much time to get on the computer.
and if i do its wacken time you know
thanks

 

Was the key hot to the touch ever?

 

Its the cheap switch, run a relay. does it have a solanoid like a sbc starter? A 30 amp relay {good quality} should do the trick. Or get a good Ign. switch.

 

It might just be as simple as it being a cheap POS. Most of my buddies cars started off with a cheap Auto Zone or CSK switch and I'm pretty sure they all ended up in the trash by now. I myself remember putting more than one on the same car within an hour because they had the keyed part attached to the switch with a brittle piece of plastic that broke the first time you turned the key. See if you can find a dealer that carries Cole Hershee products or get one from a marine shop, speed shop, etc.

 

I have the same question that "jaws" had. was the key itself hot to the touch? if so, you may need to ground the ignition switch , could be a bad ground from the dash to the frame.

 

Is the wire in the above diagram from the + side of the coil to the I post on the Ford solenoid correct? I thought the I post was only used to apply 12 volts to the coil when the key was turned to the start position, when using a ballast resistor. After the switch returns to the run position, I thought there was no power to the I post. I may be wrong...been wrong before...today.

 

thanks for the reply .
the key was never hot or warm

 

440roadrunner's recommendation and schematic is a darned good one.

I've been running that setup in my 462" Buick powered Deuce roadster for 15 years with no probs.

Fwiw - 77-78 Ford pickup ignition switches are excellent ones.
Cylinders are still available as are US made switches.
Double sided keys.
Not too large underneath.

There are two different ones available - perhaps more.
One is for a basic truck, the other for one with more accessories.

Be sure you get the plug and wiring from the donor vehicle.

If you don't, you can still use it by using female spade terminals and sliding them on individually.

Here's a pic that will give you a general idea of what they look like.



Here's a better pic of the one in my 32 roadster.



Easily removed by careful use of screwdriver and hammer.

 

thanks everyone i am going to try 440 roedrunner's idea and get a ford solenoid and fullblast and landseaandair's ides to get a good ing. switch. has any one used one of thoes ron francis switches?

 

I had the same continuing problem with my cheapo chinese made keyed switches that I bought at the Auto Parts stores. Went through three of them! Finally picked up a good quality one from a Marine Supply place and haven't (knock on wood) had any probs since. Everything about it feels more solid than the ones I burned out earlier.

 

Lucky444
was it hard for you to find a marine supply shop? just kidding. tell me are you running a solenoid.cuse i'm not and just now haveing problems after 7 years

 

Yeah go figure, after I gave up on the auto parts stores, I had marine supply stores coming out of my ears! The quality on those marine ignitions are waaaay better. And no, I don't have a solenoid in line like the diagram from 440roadrunner.

 

How about like '50 Chevy style - separate key switch / push button starter switch

 

yo shortbed;
ya i thought about that but i just picked up a ron francis switch. butt i wanted to comment about your garbage pal kid icon i havent seen thoes in 20 years. thats some good s#it.