hey guys so before i start id like to metion that i am an electrical/mechanical engineering major and i can program fairly well in more then one language.

so i am basically an insomiac and dont sleep much 2-3 hours a day and when im not sleeping i am working on something electrical or reading and today it hit me i can up with a pretty simple design(rough/theoredical) for a push button start that involves me completely bypassing the key (electrically) but it hit me that i need to bypass the stearing wheel lock... so my question is- is there a way to bypass it or would i have to use a servo hooked up to a micro controller to disengage it


i have also come up with the schematics for a magnetic on/off switch that will turn on a with the swipe of a magnet and off again with another swipe i use it for my underwater robotics competitions but i though that i could use it as like an emergency lock out protection

im sorry about the lenth of it and thanks in advance

 

You need shut your brain down and get some sleep, you're almost in a manic thought process. Not saying it's a bad idea, but you need some sleep.

 

this was after i woke up i had to go to work super early and i had a couple of minutes before i went out the door

 

Don't think I stand a chance of answering your question without just trying stuff. One thing that did occur to me though, is when I'm adding things to my Jeep, especially electronics, I try to over build everything. I've found that jeeps are rough on wiring, switches, and just about everything else. That and they seem to absorb and assimilate dust and water. I would be concerned about durability/failure with delicate electronics in a jeep! That magnetic switch sounds cool, but I wouldn't want it to bounce to the off position, or have dust pile up and break the circuit while driving on a slippery slope (or wherever)... guess I haven't seen your switch though so hopefully you already planned for that - not tryin to shoot ya down, cuz it does sound like a cool idea!

 

i wrote a reply and it didn't show... i use theses in underwater rov's designed to reach depths of 30-40' they are enclosed in a PVC pipe filled with oil its left out in the sun for days at a time its and its droped and thrown

the best way to protect electrical's are to design and trouble shoot everything out of the project and then when its right you just encase it in resin that will keep the dust and water at bay

 

Wow, that definitely sounds tougher than what's commonly available, that's for sure! With that kind of setup, your ignition idea sounds even better!

I'm no engineer and I've never had a steering column apart more than covers and signal switches, but couldn't you physically eliminate the steering lock mechanism by removing/altering the part that catches instead of just disabling it's function? If you're re-doing the whole ignition function could you remove the keyed ignition assembly with column-lock and replace it with your magnetic-swipe version or a push-button or whatever?

Just tossing around ideas, cuz it sounds cool; and I wanna see what you come up with and what it looks like when you're done!

 

yes that is what i was thinking i thought i might just take the part out and take a grinder to it the put it pack together but i was wondering if anyone out there knew what it looked like or how to get to it

 

It's a metal rod about 2 inches long with gears on one end. It's held in with 1 tiny screw and a spring. In order to get the rod out you have to partially remove the signal light mechanism so you can get at the screw and spring

 

why do you want to delete the key switch its gonna make it real easy to steal Hayley ?????

 

thanks i got the message just i was poking at it i figured it out thanks

the key will still be there im just going to and a seperate way of igniting it im also thinking of placing seperate fuel pump / and starter kill switches and im also considering putting a key pad



i will finish my ignition and the post a write up

 

I have a push button ignition on my jeep, and I've done the same to a friends jeep. And to get around the steering wheel lock, you can take the column apart and remove the lock plate. Very simple.

 

yea i got to that but it was to late to rent a lock plate remover so i just cut the 2" bar that connects to the lock gear that and then put a zip tie around the lock ill post the pictures later yea its quick and dirty but it worked

 

That's all that matters!

 

this is what it looks like





for now

 

Not too bad