Key out engine still running??

fearruanua

folks, a friend of mine took the key out of the ignition in her car and noticed that the car was still running. any ideas of what this might be. she put the key in again and turned it and back again and the car turned off. i've never seen this before.

99 astra

frn

alias no.9

Was it a white car by any chance with a dublin registration?

fearruanua

no sorry.

alias no.9

The gardai do a modification to their cars to allow the engines to stay running with the keys out of the ignition so that the lights can be left on even if the car is unmanned. When and where did she buy the car? Does she know anything about previous owners? It could have been an unmarked car, are there any holes in the dashboard?

fearruanua

sorry alias its def not an old unmarked squad. no holes in the dash

ART6

Sounds like something is worn in the drive between the lock barrel and the switch on the end of the ignition lock. It's fixable but would need an auto electrician unless you or your friend are capable of working on such things. The greatest danger is that the symptom might one day work in reverse -- ie won't start the engine either.

The other possibility, although less likely, is that it is continuing to run on its sump oil, but if that was the case she should notice that she's using a lot of oil.

Skatedude

is it a turbo by any chance? some turbo cars will keep the engine running for a few mins to allow the turbo to cool down, not sure about an astra

Marcus.Aurelius

squad cars have only had run lock since 06 afaik. Handy for checkpoints, so the lights don't run down the battery.

OP, sounds like a key barrel failure, but I can't for the life of me figure out why. Does the radio still turn on if the key is not in normally? Does it turn on now? What about light buzzers?

The Real B-man

alias no.9 wrote: »

The gardai do a modification to their cars to allow the engines to stay running with the keys out of the ignition so that the lights can be left on even if the car is unmanned. When and where did she buy the car? Does she know anything about previous owners? It could have been an unmarked car, are there any holes in the dashboard?

aigh its the phoenix system take the keys out lights and engine still runs let down the handbrake and its kills the engine ambulance & fire service have same systems.

cashmni1

If it is a diesel, the stop soloniod could be stuck. Happened me in a Peugeot 405 years ago. Easy fix, cheap part from a scrappy.
TBH, sounds like a barrel issue alright, espically if it works the second time.

cornbb

ART6 wrote: »

Sounds like something is worn in the drive between the lock barrel and the switch on the end of the ignition lock. It's fixable but would need an auto electrician unless you or your friend are capable of working on such things. The greatest danger is that the symptom might one day work in reverse -- ie won't start the engine either.

+1, this is probably what's going on. I once had an old Corolla, the key fell out of the ignition once and the engine kept running. All of the pins in the lock must have worn away or something. I also discovered that I could start the car using a flat screwdriver, or my house key :rolleyes:

fearruanua

Thanks for all the info guys. i'll send her in the direction of an auto electrician so.

thanks again

frn

mickdw

cashmni1 wrote: »

If it is a diesel, the stop soloniod could be stuck. Happened me in a Peugeot 405 years ago. Easy fix, cheap part from a scrappy.
TBH, sounds like a barrel issue alright, espically if it works the second time.

Yes if diesel, I would be thinking stop solenoid (if modern models still use that system).
If it were to happen again, A good check would be to see if everything was switched off except for the engine.

Puncell

could be a turbo timer....but probobly not!!

Lucifer

Most likely a worn barrell or ignition contact. They do go a bit in the astras. Wouldnt need an auto electrican to sort. If you can find out which you can replace the contact or order a barrell from a dealer to your key number.

One other possiblity is a bulb in the wrong way. Have seen it happen on a corsa but cant think if it happens with the astra. If you fit a brake light bulb (stop and tail bulb) the wrong way round on some cars, if you leave the lights on and take the key out current from the lights can keep the ignition on through the brake circuit and keep the engine running, until the lights are turned off. Its unlikely as I have only seen it once or twice where as I have replaced quite a few barrell and contacts. They usually also cause the starter to run on sometimes when you crank the engine.

Let me know a bit more details and I will try to help you more.

Hal1

cashmni1 wrote: »

If it is a diesel, the stop soloniod could be stuck. Happened me in a Peugeot 405 years ago. Easy fix, cheap part from a scrappy.
TBH, sounds like a barrel issue alright, espically if it works the second time.

Woah your old :P. Any joy with this OP, wonder if the igition needs a spray of wd40?:p I dunno but it solves alot of things like this.

timmywex

As others said, there is a system called a run lock, but you have to press a button to activate that.

More than likely an electrical fault in the ignition system, or contacts fuked or hte ilk

BostonB

I had a fiesta that did this. Its was an bad earth. Used to have stall it to stop it.

Zonda999

A friend of mine's car can do this. Its a mid nineties Toyota Carina. Not sure if its diesel(I suspect it is, though). Crucially its white. Does this mean its an ex cop car??