Hi Mike and Ohlgren,

Thanks for the additional information. I will work on getting the ignition switch out this weekend and let you know what I find. I'll even take a deep breath, hold it, and get under the driver's footwell to see what is going on in the steering column. ...of course I'll have to warm-up before the yoga stretch.

Thanks Again,
Gianni

Well...just when I thought it was over...another surprise

I was able to pull the ignition switch out of the steering column after cutting some factory tie raps that were holding the 'pigtail' hanging off the ignition switch. To do this, I had to get under the dash and look up into the steering column. Got my excercise for the day .
The one interesting discovery was that the connectors on the end of the ignition switch were actually soldered...I wonder if that is how they came from the factory? Maybe someone on the forum can confirm.

In any case, my new found problem is that the new Fiat switch I was going to use (and sourced from Isreal) broke ( read: really cheap in quality) and isn't worth the pain of fixing and installing.

Does anyone on the forum have one that they might be willing to part with? or know where I might find an original new one for sale?

Please help...haven't driven the car for some time and it's killing me

Thank you!
Gianni

Mine are soldered as well. I need to replace mine now as well. I will see what I can find.

__________________
1986 Jalpa Twin Turbo
http://www.d2our.com

Mine are not soldered. There were no tie raps. My records indicate that my ignition was "inspected", so someone might have changed things. I see no evidence of soldering on mine and this is the first I have heard of tie raps.

I am very curious to know what original was.

This is a useful link. I followed the process it is not too difficult.

Ignition Switch Repair

__________________
1986 Jalpa Twin Turbo
http://www.d2our.com

I have had my ignition rebuilt twice in less than a year and barely drove the car. This might be an issue with my Jalpa, but I know many others have had ignition trouble. This thread could save the do-it-your-selfers a lot of cash.

I hope to install a relay at some point to take some stress off the ignition contacts. Many thanks for the link!