Electronic Gremlins - Electrical Problems That Are Driving You Crazy

user777

i guess i'd drive right on over to a auto-supply store like autozone and ask them to perform their free alternator /battery load checks. your battery (if just replaced) should be fine, but if your alternator isn't, they'll know. the dealership should know how to do this, but let's not go there.

say the alternator isn't the issue, but instead some constant current draw while the vehicle is not in use.

you could do some sleuthing by using a multi-meter available at RadioShack or HomeDepot or Lowes and by pulling fuses one at a time to try to isolate the ckt causing the drain. You could do so by either looking at the voltage across the battery (from + to -), or the current draw of the vehicle electronics from the battery (i.e. inline with one of the legs of the battery). i don't want to be too specific here because there are a few ways to approach the problem and you should know how to use a multimeter or you should know someone who does.

can you say your dealership?

some people have even been successful using a 12V bulb in-line with the battery, or even across the battery looking for a change in bulb intensity when the fuse associated with the high draw is pulled.

let's see, in the case of across the battery terminals, a bulb would glow slightly brighter when the fuse associated with the constant draw is pulled (and a multi-meter set to VOLTS reading across the battery would read a higher voltage when the draw is disconnected as its associated fuse is pulled).

if in-line with one of the legs of the battery, a multimeter set to AMPs would indicate less current flowing when the draw is removed as the associated fuse is pulled.

does any of this make sense to you? it should to your dealership. if not them, to an independant wanting to earn your service $$. this shouldn't take them 5 days. 10-30 minutes perhaps.

I don't own a Benz, but in other vehicles I've heard that some people have issues with adjustable seats and their motors drawing current when noone is adjusting them (maybe because of a bad/stuck seat adjustment switch). i'd start with that circuit, or something associated with a moonroof (interesting that they said it might be those circuits), seat warmers or door and mirror motors or the radio. in general, i think it would have to be a circuit which would be operational even if the key weren't in the ignition. follow?

does the benz have any vehicle leveling technology (electric/pneumatic shocks)?

have one person watch the bulb or meter as you pull and replace each fuse in turn. the fuse pulled resulting in the biggest step change in meter reading or bulb intensity is a possible culprit of a constant current draw.

I hope this helps. Good luck.

burdawg

After reading your post it seems the best bet for you is to shell out the money for MB dealer diagnosis and repair, or go searching for a good automotive electrical shop in your area. A MB isn't any more "complex" than anything else today, but electrical problems can be difficult and time-consuming to find.
I don't see any reason you can't get the oil changed at the quick lube place. Again, oil changes are the same as on any other make on the market today. The advantage of having it done at the dealer is that they are aware (or should be anyway) of maintenance and service problems on your specific model and can advise you of possible upcoming service and repairs, but of course there's a price for that type of service.
As for your fuel use, if your really getting only about 140 miles out of a FULL TANK,then there must be something wrong. That model holds 16.2 gallons, and is rated for 19mpg city and 26mpg highway, so you should be doing better. I believe that model should run on 87 octane, but I'm not 100% sure.

cdonovan

So it happened again on 4/12. 5 hours of driving and the car started its everything shuts down for a split second. The only two things the same between all three times this has happened are: 1) Its been a long drive; 2) The nav system has been on for hours.

While I had been instructed after the first time to shut it off immediately to let the computer "reset", I did not on this third time until it had down about a dozen failures over a 30 min period to the point where nothing electrical worked inside, and there were 3 warnings: ABS Failure, Check Engine, and Airbag Servicing. Then I parked it for an hour. Started it up, the warnings were still there but all the electric was back on.

The dealer said: "Brake control module was fried and the battery needed to be replaced."

I can't help but think its another symptom and the real problem has not been found. Does it make sense for a faulty brake module to only act up when your hours into a highway drive?

lrichmond

the battery went dead on my 96 ford exploer the place i had battery tested said it was to small so i had purchased the right batt. a day later the batt. went dead, and so they replaced with a new one. i put it in and started to not charge. so thinking that a wire was loose i grab the neg. side and got a pretty good shock. any answers why? louis

bolivar

Somewhere else on your body you were contacting the positive side of the circuit. Therefore, when you grabbed the negative side, you were shocked.

P.S. You need better mechanics.

user777

when you replace a battery, disconnect the negative first, then the positive. connect the new battery up in the opposite order: positive first, negative last.

i believe the sequence lowers the likelyhood of getting shocked. there may be other reasons...

you could be wearing shorts and hanging over the vehicle and making contact with the body of the vehicle with some other part of your body than a hand.

lrichmond

thanks for answer,but it also was draining the battery. thats why i was asking if their could be a direct short in the wiring. louis

lrichmond

thanks for answering my Q. the only thing i had touched was the neg. cable wire. what i should of asked was how to find a direct short in the electrical system. louis

user777

louis, it's not possible for you to get a shock from touching one leg of the battery and without another path of current flow through your body. the laws of physics cannot be circumvented

think about it, if this weren't the case, then anytime anyone took a wrench to one (either) of the battery terminals to loosen the nut and remove the connector, they would get a shock. this is not the case.

you unknowingly had some path connecting the positive and negative legs of the battery through your body for a current to flow - plain and simple as that.

otherwise, maybe you experienced a "shock" from static charges built up in your body discharging to the vehicle, much like when you get out of your vehicle and touch the body of the car... that is the only thing I can think of here.

now then, yes there is a way to find a short or drain in your electrical system.

you could use a multi-meter set to volts and measure across the battery. as you remove fuses from your fuse holder one at a time and replace them, essentially pulling the fuse from the circuit with the short (or higher than normal parasitic drain) will result in the measurement of the voltage across the battery terminals to make an uptick.

now some ckts like the ECM or other probably always have a little draw through them, but what you are looking for here is a significant step change in voltage across the battery when the faulty circuit is isolated by pulling the associated fuse to that circuit.

another way, is to pull the negative lead from the battery, and use the multimeter in AMP/Current mode with the multimeter in-line with the negative terminal of the battery and the negative cable wire. be careful not to exceed the current ratings of the multi-meter probes.

again, as you pull and replace fuses one at a time, when you pull the fuse associated with the excessive draw/short, you will see the current flow from the battery (measured in amps) take a down-tick as less current flows when the draw is less.

does this make sense to you?

if you believe you got a shock from touching only one leg of the battery without providing a path to the other leg with your body, then this sort of diagnostic exercise might be too troublesome and potentially dangerous for you to perform.

i'm not being flippant or sarcastic. an independant or someone a bit more familiar with basic electronics could help you out here.

a book on the subject or googling the subject might help as well give you the background you need to do this diagnostic work yourself. it isn't rocket science, but you need to do it in a knowlegeable and safe manner.

i hope this helps you.

ryanfiala81

The turn signals on my '97 LeSabre have recently stopped working. When I engage a turn signal, it gets stuck in the "on" position, but the rear tail lamp turn signal does not light up. Stranger still, occasionally the turn signals will return to working properly. My brother thinks that a fuse may be failing, but not fully blown. Any thoughts?

[I doubt it's related, but I also have sporadic trouble with my fuel gauge (apparently) shorting out on me, going all the way to full or empty and settling there for awhile. Additionally, two of my power window switches (front passenger and rear left) only work occasionally.]

lrichmond

thank you that really explained it.Yes it had to be static elec. louis,also iam sorry iam not that smart when it comes too working on automobiles.

rabbit50

1993 Toyota Camry XLE : Wiring burn/caustic smell ie.insulation. Subsequent loss of radio & map lights. Not related to fuses, radio wires, harnesses etc. Unsuccessful diagnostic search of underhood wiring(2hr.$120.00. I'm hopeful that someone may have had similar experience and can point to a more expedinant determinant? Thanks!!

bolivar

Well, if you have 'loss of radio and map lights', you either blew a fuse somewhere or burned a wire completely through. Or burned a wire into another wire. Or burned up a relay, etc.

2 hours 'underhood' was probably the wrong part of the car. It's probably inside, under the dash.

By any chance is this an aftermarket radio? A Best Buy installer back in 1993 might have cut into anything installing that Sonic-Blaster XP1200 radio and amp. And the overloaded wire to the map light finally overheated here 13 years later.

Good luck. But long distance diagnostics are tough on problems like this.

rabbit50

Thanks for the input. Actually, the car had an aftermarket CD player installed. It was pulled and the wiring attached to it and what those wires were attached to looked good. The unit was disconnected until the problem can be resolved. Someone locally szid if the cigarette lighter doesn't work that it could be the culprit. It does not work. I am hoping to further investigate behind the dash to see if anything is obviously the problem. If not, it's back to the drawing board. If you know about the connection between a cigarette lighter that doesn't stay in the 'pushed in' position and how it may relate to the other electrical problems I would love to hear about it. Thanks again! R

user777

look in the cigarette lighter. do you have any little people in the family that might have stuck an object like a coin in there? do you use the lighter: did you push it in and it failed to pop out and perhaps shorted out? perhaps the lighter is now damaged.

Did someone stick something like a coin into the CD player?

get behind the dash if possible, perhaps remove some dash garnish if possible, if not use a makeup mirror and very bright light. look for evidence of heating / melting of insulation.

look on the web or in an auto parts store for an electrical wiring diagram for your vehicle and determine what ckt the MAP lights are attached to..

wiring harness issue, exposed wire making contact with the metal frame, problem at the fuse holder... also possibilities.

did you verify the fuse to ACC (accessories) was good? try another.

myke_c

The Camry has a Sony head unit (CDX-S2210), 2 factory speakers in the front (4", full range) and 2 Pioneer TS-G1340R 5-1/4" 2-way speakers in the back. No amp or anything else besides what's mentioned above.

When I start the car the stereo sounds fine, but after six seconds the bass disappears. What little bass is left distorts at a very low volume. This happens when the car is started; if the key is just put into the accessory position the music starts up sounding like crap instantly, with no 6-second period of full bass.

This is the second aftermarket HU I've installed, and it worked fine in my previous car. I think the issue may be related to the amount of power reaching the HU. The fuse for the radio (in the car's panel, NOT the one in the back of the HU) was originally 7.5, but had been changed to a 10 by the previous owner to accomodate his aftermarket HU.

I'm stumped. Has anyone heard of something like this before?

reny

I have the same car I had the same problem the mechanic I took it to replaced the wiring harness and a few days later the same thing happened again but a freind told me that these kind of cars have a cumputer running all the time and these car need to be driven around to recharge the battery. A battery at the dealer goes for about $150.00 the most. Now I have been using the car alot more and I have no problem for now. I will never buy a MB again.

bolivar

Well, all modern cars have a 'computer' that 'runs all the time'. At least some part of it. And cars are not designed to run down the battery.

A mechanic knowledgable about electronics should at least be able to narrow down the circuit, to one fuse in the fuse box that is causing the drain, very quickly. After that, it might take some time to find the actual problem.

wiseguy_75

The blower motor will sometimes work but for 2 or 3 sec then sguts off and I think only on high. If I turn the ignition key on and off quickly and non stop it will sometims go on for those 2 or 3 sec. Here is what I have tried so far...

My buddy has the same car a 2000 chevrolt cavalier Z24 and so we spent a few hours swapping parts from his car to try to get my heater to work. We changed the blower motor, the heater-A/C controls, the fan blower resistor. There is really nothing much left. I doubt its a loose wire as I pulled and pushed and banged every wire that has to do with the heater.

Anyone have any ideas...

dnscud

hope you can help. i have a 1994 m-b c-220, it sometimes cranks over without starting, if i charge the battery it starts just fine. i was told by the mb dealer that it wasnt cranking over fast enough to start the car and i needed a new battery and battery cable at a 1100.00 tag. the car went home with me at that time. the battery was replaced free of charge at autozone it was only 8 months old. both autozone and the mb dealer said the charging system was good. i bought a small battery charger and once a week top off the battery and it doesent give me any problems, but if i dont top it off it will give me the no start problemsooner or later.

97gpgt

Both do not work in my 97 grand prix gt. was wondering if anyone knew what could be the problem. checked all fuses having to do with radio and/or trip computer with a fuse tester and all were good. what could it be?

nickyj311

I need help, front lights and turn signals not working no running lights no radio , dash works dash clock fades in and out car has backup lights rear turn signals and brake lights check all fuses they are fine alarm is acting up front blinkers will flash when you set alarm any info would be great

cdonovan

I took the car back to the dealer on 4/28 for the fifth time; they have replaced just about every module and relay in the car since they all are fried by the time I limp the car back to them with nothing electrical inside working.

After I threatened them with Lemon Law and called Volvo Customer Service, the mechanic was finally given permission by corporate to driving the car to and from work (50 miles each way). His quote was, " I was cruising along with the nav up listening to the radio, this XC is a really nice drive. Then, WHAM out of no where the car instantanously cut off and then came back up in a split second. It scared the beejesus out of me."

They are searching for wire diagrams, maybe now they will find the root cause or at give me a new car.

lhook

If I am in the wrong group I apologize. When I lock the doors the alarm sounds. It appears that the doors/trunk/gas cap locks. when I open the doors all components unlock and the alarm does not sound. I would like for the alarm system to operate properly but it is important for me to be able to lock the vehicle. Thank you

kreuzer

Need help with my '99 SR5 4Runner. It's a V6/Auto. I'm trying to get my trailer lights to work and am not able to get the driver's side brake and/or turn single light to work on the trailer. Before I re-wired the trailer lights , I had the same problem with the trailer lights not working in the same way. All the lights/turn signals on my Runner work ok and when hooked up to my trailer both driver and passenger lights/turn signals work ok on the Runner. But, when I plug in the trailer, the driver's side part of the trailer doesn't work. The trailer package came with my Runner and I haven't used it until now - only owned my truck for about a year. Any suggestions on what to check and how to go about it? Thanks everyone.

monteroq

I have an '01 montero LTD. The A/T temp light, brake light and battery lights are constantly lit. The turn signals do not work. I found a 10 amp fuse attached to the flashers burnt out. I replaced this fuse and it immediately blew again. Any ideas???

sox_in_04

I have a power window on a 2001 Toyota minivan that will open but will only close about 1/3 of the way then stop working (unable to open or close). Then after about 30 minutes will close to about 2/3 of the way, and stop again. 30 minutes or so later, you can get the window fully closed.
Does this sound like the motor needs to be replaced, or a relay switch of some sort?

geppetto425

Got a 2001 Alero, ALL of the warning lights are on all the time, would be nice not to be seeing them, hard to know when something is really wrong!
Thanks :confuse:

allchevyjim

And it is still running!

kreuzer

Need help with my '99 SR5 4Runner. It's a V6/Auto. I'm trying to get my trailer lights to work and am not able to get the driver's side brake and/or turn single light to work on the trailer. Before I re-wired the trailer lights , I had the same problem with the trailer lights not working in the same way. All the lights/turn signals on my Runner work ok and when hooked up to my trailer both driver and passenger lights/turn signals work ok on the Runner. But, when I plug in the trailer, the driver's side part of the trailer doesn't work. The trailer package came with my Runner and I haven't used it until now - only owned my truck for about a year. Any suggestions on what to check and how to go about it? Thanks everyone.

kskanna

Hi, Of quite a few cars that I have had I love my 94 q the best. Just 2 things bugging me.
1. Cruise control: After I turn the main Cruise control switch the light in the instrument panel (near the tachometer) does not come on and the cruise never works. (the light on the switch itself comes on and changing the switch, fuses did not help)
2. Rear passenger door lock listens to the central lock control switch whenever it wants to! The remotes dont work anymore and the batteries are new and so are the remotes!
Scared to take it to infiniti. Am willing to spend money on it, but how much???
Hope someone can help.
Thanks

painterdave72

Hi all i recently purchased a 94 intrepid from a little old lady.. this car is immaculate with 49k miles on it.. recently though it has been doing this thing where it dies for no reason and takes a minute or two of siting before it will start again.. it will crank and all just fine just wont start till it sits a few.. any suggestions?? Dave..

tentsontrucks

Sounds like the same problem I had a few months ago. Radio off and on. Gauges worked and dont work, AC worked stopped and worked again. About every thing in the vehicle acted up and then worked and a ton of other stuff. Thought I had grimlens. Turns out that the main serpenten belt was bad and would make contact normally at times and slipped real bad at other times. After it was replaced everything works fine. May be worth looking at. Good Luck :confuse:

goose249

I have an intermittent problem with my '99 Suburban. Every so often the ABS light comes on on the dash, the heater/ac/fan quits, as do the rear defroster, cruise control, and 4wd switches. Sometimes the "service 4wd" light goes on and off in the middle of this and when this happens, the transmission shifts funny (indecisively?) coming off a stop. The problem usually fixes itself in minutes, hours or days. The dealer has put it on the computer and has gone so far as to install an on-board computer for a week and it never gave a code. I've pulled a lot of the dash apart and inspected connectors and cleaned the grounds under the dash. No difference. We're leaving for the family road trip in three weeks and we can't be w/o air conditioning, at least that's what my family tells me. Any thoughts out there?

goose249

sounds like we have the same issue (#648). Did you ever get yours figured out? Couldn't find anything in the replies to your messages.

burdawg

Possibly a worn ignition switch, causing intermittent connections for some accessories. Do you tend to have a lot of stuff hanging on the keyring when you drive? I read a technical service bulletin recently (sorry, can't remember where) that having a lot of weight hanging on the ignition switch can be hard on the contacts in the switch.

goose249

I'll give that a try. I was also wondering if it could be an ECM. It used to be that I could wiggle/replace the ECM1 fuse under the hood and the problem would correct. Lately that hasn't fixed the problem

99tahoe44

Hi! I have a '99 Tahoe with the same symptoms. I already spent two full days trying to find the problem. No success. And I have the GM factory book + Snap On MT 2500 Diagnostic scanner. The only thing that I found that in the event of the ABS light coming on the 4wd light coming on and the A/C shut off it seems that these systems seem not to get any power. It this event I can't even get to the ABS and 4WD systems with the diagnostic scanner. The scanner simply says it is not connected. Once the ABS and the 4WD light is off the diagnostic scanner succesfully connects but there are not error codes stored. I started suspecting a faulty ingition switch as well (just as burdawg suggested). But I have not changed the ignition switch yet as it seems to be quite some hassale. So I'm still investigating in some other direction. Should you change the ignition switch and should it solve the problem would you please let me know. Of course if I find the problem first I will share any of my findings with you as well.

jswan3

I just got a new 2006 Honda Accord and I have found the cooling fan or fans running long after the engine has been turned off. The first time was thursday when the fans came on about an hour and 10 minutes after shutdown and then tonight they came on briefly at 10:30 PM after the car had been parked since 12:45 PM which was almost 10 hours latter. I will be taking it in for service next week but was wondering if anyone can shed any light on this problem?

Thanks

burdawg

Before doing any time consuming and expensive repairs, have you checked to see if these subsystems are getting power when they should? A factory wiring diagram would be essential for this I would think.

burdawg

That doesn't sound right to me. After cooling for 10 hours they surely shouldn't be on. Sounds like a faulty temperature sensor to me.

99tahoe44

Thanks. I will check with voltmeter today. To reiterate the exact symptoms (which are intermittent): ABS light comes on. At the same time A/C stopps working and the 4WD light comes on. If I pull the fuse #12 (25Amp HTR-A/C fuse) then AT FIRST everything will work except the A/C of course. But later the ABS light keeps coming on. Then usually the ABS light start flashing intermittently, sometimes even kind of pulsating-dark like it keeps trying to come on but does not. If at this moment I try to e.g. flip the the heated seat switch the ABS light becomes steady on. That's why I think there is power problems or ground problems. If instead the heated seat switch I turn on the rear A/C the same thing happens. And of course the same thing happens if I put the fuse back on. Trying to isolate the problem I have connected and disconncted everything (Relay, HVAC Panel, Blower Motor, Resistor... everything) on the front A/C (while the 25Amp A/C-HTR Fuse#12 was in place) but nothing seemed to make a difference. Only it I pull the 12Amp Fuse#12 the ABS light goes off and then some time later again becomes kind of pulsating. In this condition if the ABS light pulsates the 4WD buttons are not lid and the rear A/C (which is independent of fuse#12) stopps working. It is all very strange. As mentioned I have the GM OEM factory repair book. It is a huge 4 band encyclopedia. But unfortunately there is no reference on the ignition switch wiring. I guess for theft deterrent purposed. The most you see on the wiring diagrams is e.g. HOT on RUN. But where RUN gets its power is not explained. Actually the only reference is in one short diagnostic table. It just says if Ignition Switch is not operating properly replace the switch. And on another chapter there is some pictures how to do it. Burdawg you are my only reference that suggests it may be an igition switch problem. I kind of start beliving that this is the problem as well. But again today I will make some voltage tests. If you have any other ideas please share them. ThanX

99tahoe44

Actually I did find the ignition switch wiring diagram in the factory book. It is in Book 4, Page 8-352 and 8-353. I also checked the voltage in the affected circuits. The affected cirvuits are the switch control circuilts of: RR-AC, HTR-AC, 4WD, Brake and Cruise Contorl. If the problem occurs the Voltage is just below 6V. This circuit gets its power directly from the igigiton switch. 6V is probably not enough for the relais to operate. In the main circuit so on the relais/switched side the Voltage is 12V. There is one catch however. I also discovered that some glorious alarm insalling guy installed an alarm. Guess where. He interrupted the power that comes form the ignition switch and goes to these control circuits. And revired quite a bit. He cut and spliced wires (I hate these useless alarms - unfortunately the previous owner of my car built it in). So the whole problem could come form the alarm too. But the alarm works fine + I did not have the time to investigate in this direction today. This will have to wait for next weekend.

burdawg

Did you mean that the input to the ignition switch for the accessory systems is 12V, and the output is 6V? If so then the switch is a definate suspect, but I would disconnect the aftermarket alarm to make sure it's not loading the circuit down.
If you don't want the alarm then my suggestion would be to remove it and put everything back to original.
6V isn't enough for these circuits to operate on. It's quite possible that this aftermarket alarm is failing and loading the circuit down, or some sort of related problem.
The right way to wire in added systems on modern vehicles is to get power directly of an accessory terminal on the fuse panel or directly from the battery (fused in both of course) and not to tie in to other systems for DC power. Modern vehicles have so many sub-processors running (70+ average today I read) that it's risky to disturb any of them with unknowns.
I always suspect these aftermarket electronic add-on systems since a great many of them are built real cheap.

99tahoe44

Yes, every time the problem occurs there is approx. 6V in the relais operating circuit side measured at the fuses for the affected circuits. And sometimes the voltage drops to even approx. 4V. So yes, I suspect the ignition switch as well. By the way I called my local chevy dealer here in Torrance,CA and they have the switch on stock. It is $190. I won't have time until next weekend to do anything. But I will be sure at the car Saturday at daybeak testing the switch. By the way Burdawg thank you for following up with me on this issue. Your input was already very inspiring and so it helps a lot. By the way the ignition switch is retained by a screw that looks like a T6 inverted Torx. I have never seen anything like that before. I'm trying to get some socket for it by this weekend just in case.">

99tahoe44

Hi! So finally today was circuit testing day. Initially with the AC-HTR Fuse@12 pulled the problem did not occur. In all circuits there was a healthy 12V with engine off and ignition in run position. In particular I probed the wires immidiately before and after the ignition swich as well. There was 12V before and after in all circuits. Initially I was even trying to turn the ignition on and off many times trying to produce a problem in the switch but the result remained always a healthy 12V on both sides of the switch. Then when I inserted the AC-HTR Fuse#12 the circuit after the switch immidiately crashed to 6V. The battery side of the switch remained at 12V. So I went to GM and bought an ignition switch. For just under $190. That is where I'm now. I can't built it in because I can't get the other switch out. It is retained with two torx-MALE-HEAD bolt that loolks like a T10 or T15 tip. And you just can't get to both of them with wise-grips. Also there is the upper plastic steering wheel shroud that has to come off too. But that is retained with two torx-MALE-HEAD bolts that is just like a T20 tip. So again nothing is going to happen until next weekend.

goose249

I'm on that same track, but not from such an extensive search as what you just did. Just in case, I located and cleaned all the grounds - still no fix. In talking to a few other mechanics, it sounds like they've had similar problems that got fixed when the ignition switch was replaced. They did warn me about the specialized socket - I'm thinking of trying the local NAPA. Good Luck!

topflier

i have a problem that is stumping me i have this car and intermitly the power would be loss to everything in the car resetting the clock and odometer locks dont work but when you stick the key back into the ignition everything comes back to life. also i have encountered a problem of every now and then i would drive the car about 8 miles and all of a sudden the car would just shut down like i turned off the ignition and turned back on again all the warning lites would lite up and i can start the car back up with no problem then it would not do it again for some time. any reasonable solutions will be greatly appreciated.
checked all the ground and hot wires even checked the electrical side of the ignition switch all are good.

user777

guesses
bad ignition switch internals (have you got a lot of stuff on the keychain)?

bad smart-key

loose wires to the ignition switch

main / ignition relay

goose249

I replaced the ignition switch tonight. It took a while to find the right tools. You'll need a E5 external torx socket and a "deep" E4 external torx socket. I had some trouble finding the deep E4 until the local CarQuest parts guy looked up specialized tools and found it in the section for GM ignition tools. Their local warehouse had one left.

As for the rest of it, I couldn't figure out how to get the top shroud off without cutting the flange behind the key receptacle with an x-acto knife. Hope you have better luck there. Also, the white nylon two-wire switch that comes off the ignition switch you bought and goes on top of the tumbler mechanism has a tab you need to depress (on the top left) before you rotate it clockwise to get it out. This will make more sense once you get into it.

Took it for a quick test drive and everything looked ok. Good luck!