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Went to shut the car off and the key/ignition wouldn’t turn back. Hubby had to pull the IGN fuse to make the engine stop. Still couldn’t turn the ignition/key and couldn’t restart the car (yes, he put the fuse back in).
Had to disconnect battery to keep radio and DRL from draining it.
After comparing the appearance/design of the ignition switch to that in our ‘97 T/A, it appears the switch may actually be broken though can’t say for sure because the ‘97 is an A4. Never even paid attention to what the switch looked like before this issue.
INFO:
’98 Trans Am WS6 M6 (no shift cable to check)
Checked all fuses and relays - all good
Not throwing any fault codes
VATS/security system not activated
Repair manual says the key has to be removed in order to get the cylinder out and as of now that ain’t happenin’. Any ideas or pointers on how to get the switch to turn back so I can remove the key and ultimately the cylinder? Or perhaps a way around having to take the key out to remove the cylinder? This is a new one to me and it’s got me pretty well stumped.
From: Jacksonville, FL (originally from Toronto Canada)
The problem is that Ford key on the keyring.
The ignition cylinder is not the actual switch. The switch is down the steering column from the ignition cylinder and is activated by a rod that connects the two. Perhaps that rod is jammed and preventing the cylinder from turning. You could try removing the switch from the lower column and freeing the rod to allow the cylinder to turn.
So, got it taken care of Friday evening (7/6/18) and figured I’d post the resolution just in case anyone else should ever run into this. I called my locksmith to see if he’d be able to determine my resistor chip for the new key so I didn’t have to pay the delightful fellas at the GM dealership $50 for the resistor code (had to do it years ago, complete rip-off and they won’t even print the code for you ). While I was asking him about that he asked what was going and why I wanted to change out the lock cylinder. I splained to him what ha’ happened was at which point he threw several fancy shmancy locksmithing words at me that I didn’t hear over his awesome mullet and snake skin boots (not hating on this cat ‘cause he totally pulls it off and is an awesome dude).
Long story short - there’s a little cap on the cylinder that holds the tumblers and springs in place and that had popped off causing the key not to release and preventing it from being turned to the off position. He was able to pull my cylinder out, put the tumblers and springs back where they s’pose to be and pop the cap back on without me having to replace a thing other than the key hubby bent when he tried to pull it out. He also informed us that 90% of the time keys get stuck in ignitions that little cap is the cause. The other 10% is from male Mustang drivers’ hands slipping off the key as they try to turn it because of all the AstroGlide on their fingers.
Resistor chip? I'm glad my '96 ain't got that newfangled technology. When I replaced my cylinder I just swapped the tumblers into the new cylinder and slid it back in. My key is just a metal key.
Resistor chip? I'm glad my '96 ain't got that newfangled technology. When I replaced my cylinder I just swapped the tumblers into the new cylinder and slid it back in. My key is just a metal key.
It's supposed to have a chip in it, someone before you must of bypassed it
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Ignition won’t switch off and key won’t release 
). While I was asking him about that he asked what was going and why I wanted to change out the lock cylinder. I splained to him what ha’ happened was at which point he threw several fancy shmancy locksmithing words at me that I didn’t hear over his awesome mullet and snake skin boots (not hating on this cat ‘cause he totally pulls it off and is an awesome dude). 
