Started smoking - Not me!

[golfmk2boy]

Yesterday I took the day off to try and get my car finished.

I turned the key to start her up. the lights flashed on and then went off on the dash and then a little bit of smoke came through the dash board.

I then tried turning the key again but nothing happened, no lights, no sounds.... nothing.

I think a  fuse has gone but not sure where.  I checked all of the coloured fuses and they all look fine.

Any ideas?

[mattneck(Beavis)]

I had this and it was the ignition switch, make sure al your earths are hooked up tight, mine near the fornt engine mount on my 1.3 wasnt and blew the switch, cost me aobut £12 for a new one..

it was easy to remvoed as well, apart form ive got a post-90 one so there was an adapter on the column i ahd to spend another 15 quid on, getitng a bearing puller to remove, but basically you take wheel off, adapter if tis there, then take out the barrell etc, careful not to brake any bits luckily i didnt, but apaprently easy done.. and theres a small screw in the back, you upll out the siwtch, plop in the enw conenct it back up put it al back i and hey presto, mine worked that way at least

I should have said Refitting is a reversal of removal 

[golfmk2boy]

Thanks, I dont quite understand what I have to do to change the ignition switch.  Do I have to remove wheel, or can I get to it on the steering column inside the car? 

[rubjonny]

Easist way is to remove the column from the car, theres a screw round the back which is virtually impossible to get to while its on.  Plus late MK2s have a column adaptor which prevents you from removing the ign switch housing from the column, and its a sod to remove!

Remove the driver side dash under tray & bottom ign cover.
Remove the allen bolt holding the ign lock housing to the column bracket
Remove the nut & bolt at the bottom of the column holding it to the universal joint. (important, it wont come off unless you take the bolt out completly!)
Disconnect any electrical connections to the stalks & ing switch, and it should then slip out complete

[mattneck(Beavis)]

Haha, oops, I did it the bearing puller way, by removing the adapter using one, and pulling all the bits off and then the ign. housing.. and jsut undoing the screw and throwing it back on and voila, it was perfect