2001 PT Cruiser No Start Troubleshooting

[emily]

My PT Cruiser suddenly won't start. There's no clicking or engine cranking. The battery appears to be fine. It's 3 1/2 years old. I have not officially tested it.

I know it could be a whole host of things, but from reading other forums, I have a hunch that it's the ignition actuator pin. I took off the steering cover, but I'm waiting on a friend to borrow the correct torx bits to disassemble the other ignition components to find out for sure.

When I went to tinker with it today, I found a piece of plastic on the floorboard. (Image attached). Am I on the right track? If so, where's the best (cheapest) place to get a replacement part?

Thanks!

[Handy_Cruiser]

I believe you are on the right track. That might be part of the pin that runs from the key cylinder to the ignition switch. But that pin is usually white. Even if it is not the part you are thinking of, if that piece fell out of the column, chances are it's related. I believe it may be part of the steering wheel lock. But it could still be effecting the ignition.

[VOS]

Originally Posted by emily

My PT Cruiser suddenly won't start. There's no clicking or engine cranking. The battery appears to be fine. It's 3 1/2 years old. I have not officially tested it.

I know it could be a whole host of things, but from reading other forums, I have a hunch that it's the ignition actuator pin. I took off the steering cover, but I'm waiting on a friend to borrow the correct torx bits to disassemble the other ignition components to find out for sure.

When I went to tinker with it today, I found a piece of plastic on the floorboard. (Image attached). Am I on the right track? If so, where's the best (cheapest) place to get a replacement part?

Thanks!

The actuator pin of my '01 is the same color, so it looks like the part that goes into the ignition switch is broken.

Not sure of where your best/cheapest price would be for this: Dorman - OE Solutions Ignition Switch Actuator Pin Part No. 924-704
It looks to be in the $34 to $45 range.

[ptcruisersteve]

Is your security little red light on all the time on the dash?

[emily]

Thanks for the responses so far and taking the time to help me figure this out!

ptcruisersteve, The red light is not staying on.

Also, I checked the codes, and the only number that came up was one indicating that the memory had been cleared (p1684 - I disconnected and cleaned off the battery yesterday, so I think that explains it.)

New development this evening, though...
I can no longer eject the key with the push button release when the car is fully turned off. It's stuck in there. It does come out in the next position, but that leaves all the dome lights on. I ended up disconnecting the battery again.