Keys out of car and its still running??

applejunkie

Hi All
I ahve a 00 opel zafira(petrol) and today something very strange hapened , the car wouldnt start , wasnt even ticking over but lights were coming on as normal , anyway I got it started on a push and drove it home , when I parked up the car when I got home I took out the key but the car was still running , I mean I could drive it without the key in , I had the fan belt replaced on it 2 weeks ago and nothing else was noticed at the time ,
Does anyone have any idea what it could be as I dont want to go to a mechanic on the blind at least if I have an idea whats wrong first I can see how much it will be on average to get it sorted
Any help appreciated

biko

Did you google it? It can be a few things but most likely *guess* is the fuel pump not shutting off as it should.

wonski

biko wrote: »

Did you google it? It can be a few things but most likely *guess* is the fuel pump not shutting off as it should.

Or an ignition switch? Fuel pump itself wouldn't keep the engine running.
OP had a problem starting the car before it happened - i suspect some electrical fault with ignition switch, or key barrel?.
But it is also a guess.
Never heard of this to be honest, not in petrol anyway...

Jordan537

It is probably the engravement for your key inside the ignition has worn down so much that it will now just slide straight out, happened on my Aunty's car. Just means the car can now be started with anything similar shape to your key.

Bpmull

it must be some kind of electrical problem ignition switch? but never heard of a problem like that before tbh not sure what else it could be.

dgt

If the key comes out while driving without turning the key off it just means the lock is worn. My van does that too, I can choose to leave the steering lock disengaged if I wish due t he nature of the worn lock

thebull09

This happened to one of my mates car a 2000 opel astra. he could take his keys out lock the car and walk away and it would still be running, turned out he had an eletric aeroplane charging of the cig lighter sounds weird and unbelievible but check to see have you any coins or charging aning thing in the cig lighter.

ValerieR

Does your car have an immobiliser ? My car (not a Opel/Zafira) used to do all sorts of weird stuff when the battery was well run down ...
(It might not be but ...)

johnayo

The spindle on the back of the ign switch barrel is broken off. When you turn the key, it is not turning the the electrical part of the switch.

applejunkie

biko wrote: »

Did you google it? It can be a few things but most likely *guess* is the fuel pump not shutting off as it should.

Yeah I did google it but I could only find the problem with diesel cars

applejunkie

Thanks for all your help everyone , I bit the bullet and brought it to a highly recommended mechanic and he is having a look at it for me tomorrow , Ill post back the outcome