Ignition switch burnout

I had the classic ignition switch burn out on my jeep before christmas.

Ordered the parts (ignition switch & starter relay) from Rock Auto, waited until the weather was good in o'l London & replaced said components yesterday.
Besides being a pain in the proverbial to replace the switch, everything seemed to go okay. Re-hooked up battery went to start & nothing! ...same as before. I had been starting the jeep with a screwdriver on the old relay by touching the solenoid contact with the battery lead -worked fine. I had also replaced the starter relay yesterday as well.

Also the brown wire to the blue plug seemed fine - the old switch itself had some burn marks on it

The ignition barrel now goes to the lock position & enables the locking of the steering wheel which it could not do before. However, it will not go into the accessories position.

Also this morning the battery was dead flat

Have I goofed somewhere, forgot something, didn't do something correctly?

I've got a spare ignition barrel so will try replacing that today.

Jeep will still start with the screwdriver trick
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1988 Cherokee Laredo 4WD Auto 4.0L (1999 engine block & head) Renix era

check the c101 connector in the firewall. Specifically the two big orange/red wires in the top. Those are where power comes into the ignition switch.

I played this game in the 87, replaced the switch and it would still randomly shut off and not start. Bypassed the connector for those two wires and it was fine.

87manche said:

check the c101 connector in the firewall. Specifically the two big orange/red wires in the top. Those are where power comes into the ignition switch.

I played this game in the 87, replaced the switch and it would still randomly shut off and not start. Bypassed the connector for those two wires and it was fine.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply 87manche.
Well I took another day off work -the sun was shining bright:sunshine:
Pulled everything out again, retraced my steps for the 3rd time...and got lucky! Looking at the chilton's again, I realised I had read the switch arrangement for the rod backwards:doh:
When the ignition was turned off & the steering wheel locked, the rod was in the accessories position on the switch which of cause caused my battery to drain as the circuit was still open!

Now I have another slight problem. The steering feels very weird. Tight & seems to catch ever so slightly as you turn. Not sure if I re-assembled the wheel properly? Couldn't find a picture to confirm - I never disassembled the lock plate but everything up to that point...

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1988 Cherokee Laredo 4WD Auto 4.0L (1999 engine block & head) Renix era