When you change it, I strongly recommend securing it with wire ties to prevent rotation.

 

I have the switch and since I've had the switch she has refused to act up. So, that was an easy fix. It may be that it did it only on very hot days.

 

With about a month on the new ignition switch in the heat of summer, I have not had a hitch with starting the car at all. So far, the new switch w/ zip tie modification has solved all of my starting problems.

 

Hello!

Great information on here. I was wondering if anyone has the dimensions of the one screw that holds the switch in place? I seem to have misplaced mine.

Thanks!

 

It was another hot day here and my car acted up again so I replaced the ignition switch. The replacement switch came from Advance Auto and it fit! I glued a paper shim around the boss where the screw goes in in an effort to limit movement. Time will tell.

Another thing I did was shoot a bunch of WD40 into the lock. Now my key comes out black every time I insert it - lots of grime in there.

Edit: More hot weather and now a couple days short of a month = no further hiccups.

 

I have this issue. Mostly happens on a very hot day too!

 

I wired in the HD relay today, so we'll see how it works out for me over the next few days.

Quick question though: just in case it doesn't, can I still start it with the jumper wire by bridging the stock relays pin #5 to batt+? Even with the HD relay wired in?

 

had this problem,
subscribe on this...
follow the OP procedure without changing the ignition switch,
Its been 2 weeks now without a problem in starting

cheers to the OP for finding the real root cause of this problem
I would suggest that before changing the ignition switch try to follow the procedure first.

 

It has been over two weeks since I wired in the HD relay. The car has started every single time since.

Thanks Ted B!!!

 

Thanks everyone who has contributed to this thread, It's been a great help.


I've had this challenge on my high mileage (120k) evo9 for the last several months. Every time hooking up my mini Jump Starter resulted in the starter engaging on first try. I did the initial zip tie trick and saw some improvement in the symptom, but recently, it started happening more often again. Not one to take half measures, I looked around for a good deal on and collected a new key switch, a new starter relay, and a new starter. Well, yesterday I got in my car to make a quick trip to the store and @&^$^$% no start. Perfect timing - I immediately tore the steering column apart and switched in the new ignition switch. 10 mins. later I was done with attempt #1.

Bingo! - the car immediately fired up on the first try. - Curious what the internals of a 120k+ starter switch looked like, I disassembled the switch and found some pretty good wear (big groove) and carbon buildup on the contacts. (see picture below)

Given the wear/carbon on the switch, it's a pretty good bet that the relay had some similar issues, so I swapped the relay out and sliced the old one open to again find lots of carbon buildup on the contacts.

Both of these discoveries fit with the 'not enough current to engage starter solenoid' theories.

My guess is that the starter solenoid also has lots of carbon buildup. So far I haven't replaced the starter. If I have another no-start event, I'll swap in the new starter and disassemble the solenoid to see what's what.

I found really good deals for all parts on Amazon, the second picture has the part numbers I used.


Another observation - the switch is easily disassembled and would probably work for a bit longer if the carbon buildup is scraped off. I'd guess that this would only be a short-term fix as I believe the real culprit is the wear groove in combination with the switch rocking.

Ignition Switch Mitsu Part# MN113754
Starter Relay BWD part# R6182 (it has a mitsu part# MR515994 embossed on the relay)

John-

 

Very interesting, sounds like my problem.

Sometimes the Evo starts at first try. Then it takes 2-20 tries and all i hear is a click from the engine bay but no crank. Then suddenly it works like nothing happened

I´ll try it! Thank you!

 

Im still having issues with mine i replaced the ignition switch a while ago it was good for a lil while then issue since came back. For a while the car would start with no issues then it would take me like 20 turns of the key to turn it on. Believe it or not yesterday 9-14-16 it took me 20mins to start it. I was playing with it so much that i got a SES light so I cleared the code and as soon as i did that car turned on. Not saying that that's the issue but it was the first time that it took me so long to start it up. This issue is getting really annoying. I'll try adjusting the switch again maybe screw got loose or tie wires got loose either way ill chime in again.

 

Just keep in mind that your issue may be more than the switch, as we've discussed throughout this discussion. Dismount the switch and see if you can get the issue to reappear in a manner whereby the switch is held steady. In my case, I had a problem with the switch rotation slightly, and also with the weak trigger that necessitated an upgrade to the trigger relay circuit.

 

Ok ill check thank you.

 

Edit: ill be doing heavy duty relay this weekend.