How do you replace the ignition switch on a 1994 Honda Accord?

Answer 1

I'm answering this question because I had absolutely no help on this, and I could not find any place that told me how to do it. The answer on Wikianswers for replacing an ignition switch on a 1995 Accord is sort of close, but it didn't touch on the difficult situation you'll run into. You need to remove the cowl around the steering wheel column. Six recessed screws will need to be removed from the bottom, and then it has some snaps that hold it together which you can just gently pull apart. Next, use a small flathead screwdriver to pop out the electronic connectors for the headlight/turn signal and window wiper switches. Now, for the trouble. It'll be one of the first things you'll notice when you pop the cowl off the steering wheel column. You will see two domed and rounded heads to the bolts that connect through a metal cuff over the top of the steering wheel column into the ignition switch. What's more, the edge of that cuff flares up so that it's impossible to get underneath the heads of those bolts (as if there was any room to do that anyway). To fix this, you will need to acquire a dremel, or similar tool. First, get the wiring to the headlight and windshield wiper switches out of the way. Next, get a thin grinding disc for the dremel, and fit it in at the most level angle you can over the head of the first bolt you are working on, and grind out a thin slot. Do the same to the second bold. Now, get a short-handled flathead screwdriver (I used the one on my Gerber multi-tool in conjunction with my "Wonder Bar" which is like a tiny crowbar, because my Gerber was too wide to fit into the slot in the bolt on the left side of the steering column), and unscrew the bolts. This will release the ignition switch from the cuff. From here, there are two ways to proceed. One is to follow the wiring to the source and unplug them, then run the wiring from the new switch to there and plug it in. The other is to unplug the wiring from the new and old switches and then just switch the mechanical lock and tumblers out. I went this route because someone had installed a remote based anti-theft and auto-starting system, which meant disassembling one of the plug ends of the wires running from the ignition switch. So, it just meant unplugging the green set and unscrewing (three small screws) the blue electronic switch, and then reconnecting them to the new mechanical switch. If it's not seating properly, put the key in the new switch and turn it until the blue switch sits flush against it. Then, put it all back together. I sure hope this helps someone else. This represents about a day and a half's worth of work, which included finding a place I could buy the part, getting the column apart, diagnosing the issues I was facing, and figuring out how to get it all apart. It was a real pain.