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Have a 1932 ignition switch for which I am trying to get a key made. The locksmith told me the pins are froze, and he has been spraying WD-40 in the keyway for two weeks without luck. Could I soak the switch without damage? Any ideas would be appreciated. This site has been a great help to me. Thank you.

Good luck! As an ongoing test I have been soaking three 1932 Electrolock lock cylinders in some deep breathing penetrating fluid for over a year now to see if the "wafers" will free up. The lock cylinders have keys, but as of yet, none of them have become unfrozen.

Yes, you can soak the lock cylinder end of your Electrolock without any damage.

If the internal cylinder is frozen to the outside cylinder good luck. Chances are good that you will never get it apart without breaking something. If the internal cylinder will rotate any amount at all then there is hope. It is not just the front cover but the entire cylinder.

Based on my experience WD-40 or other solvent based penetrants will never free a stuck internal cylinder. You can send it to one of a couple of people with experience in rebuilding but chances are good that they will not be able to save it either.

Email me if you need more information.

Has anyone tried using heat? My 31 pass door lock was hopelessly frozen. I used a mapp gas torch and pinpointed heat to the lock cyl then applied MMO, repeating several times until it finally started to free up. Never tried doing it on an electrolock or ign switch, but it might be an option!! :) :) :)

No two locks would respond the same.Depends as to how badly the tumblers are "stuck" The problem is when the key is inserted it is only pushing one way against the tumblers and the return spring behind the tumblers is not strong enough to return them.Usually removing lock cylinder and "helping " them to move may work (if its even possible to remove cyl. with stuck tumblers).A good locksmith may be the best way to go to avoid damaging the lock cylinderm using improper methods.

Heat on an Electrolock lock cylinder is totally out!!!!! Both the lock cylinder plug (the part that contains the wafers and the springs) and the lock cylinder housing are made of pot metal, and pot metal and heat do not mix! Same is true on any lock that contains pot metal as well. :eek: :eek:

It is actually not the tumblers that are normally stuck. It is the swelling of the two die-cast (pot or white metal). They both increase their size and lock together. There are a few tricks that sometimes work. Heating with a torch is not one of them. Neither is soaking with any known solvent or lubricant.

Sounds like the die cast (which is like the block to an engine) is shot. Is it possible to buy a new die cast with wafers and key, or do you have to buy the whole electrolock with cable and all?

New pot metal lock cylinders for the Electrolocks haven't been available for years. Either a good useable lock cylinder or a used Electrolock with a good lock cylinder would have to be found.

try soaking in brake fluid

I may have done the unthinkable, but after reading your responses, I held little hope to free the wafers. Looking at the back of the switch I noted it was crimped to hold the guts inside. I ground off the shoulder and removed the electrical portion. Then I could see the retainer clip and removed the cylinder. The wafers were not froze. Why the locksmith thought so is unknown to me. Anyway, my plan is to get a key made and JB weld the back side. Any reason this should not work?

Sounds like you have an aftermarket electrolock, or a later electrolock and not the stock Delco-Remy pop-out electrolock for 1932. If you do have an aftermarket electrolock, it is not correct for your car, and aftermarket electrolocks are also a dime a dozen. It would be easier just to purchase a new aftermarket unit if that's the way you want to go. The aftermarket electrolocks are on eBay fairly often.

Also, on the aftermarket units, you don't have to grind anything, because they can be uncrimped to remove the electrical parts inside. :eek: :eek: :eek:

By the way, as you are finding out, very few "locksmiths" (and I use that term loosely) have a clue as to what they are doing with the older locks or lock cylinders in general.

One more stupid question concerning the electrolock. The lead from the electrolock is threaded into the original coil. The coil I will buy at the filling station or local NAPA will, I assume, have a terminal that will fasten this lead with a nut and post. If I do buy the NAPA coil, do I want to stick with the electrolock, or should I replace with a "modern" switch? I am at a crossroads on why I should strive for original when the car is for my enjoyment, and if I do ever sell it, the buyer will likely be unwilling to pay for "original".

The 1932 electrolock (which is the year that you mentioned in your first posting) does not go to the coil.....it goes to the side of the distributor. The 1933 electrolock was the first year to go to the top of the coil.

The next time you have a problem with something sticking, go to your local Pep Boys store and buy a can of their "PB Blaster". This stuff seems to work on anything. I had a VCR remote that was giving me a lot of trouble and since the Blaster is good on electronics, I sprayed some in the remote. I let it set for a couple of minutes and then blew out the excess with my compressor. The remote works great now! I have had much more luck with it on my old car and with frozen bolts, etc., than I had with WD40 although I keep lots of that around also for the less challenging projects.

Junkyard Dog, you have demonstrated great knowledge on this site, and far be it for me to argue, but my coil mounts on the fire wall, and the electrolock cable screws into the top side. The title and engine casting numbers all agree to a 1932.

Sorry, you have a 1933 or later coil and electrolock, not a 1932! As I stated above, 1933 was the first year for the electrolock to go to the top of the coil. All of the electrolocks from 1929 (which was the first year for the electrolock) thru 1932 went to the side of the distributor and there was a threaded stud on the end of the electrolock that engaged the point arm inside of the distributor. From 1933 and up, the electrolock was connected to the top of the coil, not the distributor.

The electrolocks for 1933 and up used a thinner armored cable than the one used in 1932 and the 1933 and later electrolock cables had a cap on the end that covered the top of the coil where the wire from the electrolock was connected.

The coil for 1932 was also mounted on the firewall like 1933, but the 1932 coil had two studs on the bottom of the coil and the wires that were connected to these two studs (positive and negative) both went to the side of the 1932 electrolock. The 1933 and up coils had one stud on top of the coil (where the electrolock and and cap were connected) and one stud on the bottom. By the way, this coil is no longer available, but the 1932 replacement coils are.

On the lock cylinders for the electrolocks, from 1929 thru early 1933 all of the lock cylinders were "pop-outs" except for the aftermarket replacement electrolocks which used the "off-on" type of lock cylinder. From mid-1933 and up all of the factory electrolock lock cyliners were "off-on".

Also, check your distributor. It should be a Model 633 J. If it is, look on the side of it towards the firewall and you will probably see an insulated threaded stud in the hole. This hole is where the correct 1932 electrolock (and the aftermarket replacement as well) originally connected to your distributor. If you see an insulated stud on the side of the distributor and the distributor is a Model 633 J, then someone has installed the insulated stud so that a wire can be connected from the stud on the distributor to the 1933 or later coil that is on your firewall to make the ignition system work with your setup.

My distributor is a Model 633 J. It does have and insulated stud for wire connection. Now what (besides tearing up my pictures of the connections)? So the electrolock wire on a 1932 is somewhat longer than a 1933, and therefore the electrolock I have is useless since the coil is no longer available? The electrolock wire screws into the distributor right? I saw a recent posting on bay but it did not appear to have the male end for the distributor.

The 1932 electrolock is longer than the later electrolocks that connected to the top of the later coil. At the end of the 1932 electrolock is a threaded stud that is part of the electrolock assembly. That threaded stud, through insulators and etc. goes into the side of the 633 J distributor and the point arm connects to the threaded stud. There is actually more to it than that, however, that will give you the basics. You can either use the correct electrolock, if you can find a good one, or you can do some minor rewiring and use the electrolock/coil setup that you currently have in place. Myself, I would put the ignition system back the way that it came from the factory.

Junkyard Dog, could you please go to Ebay and look at the electrolock that is currently posted. Would this be complete and what I want? My concern is that I don't know for sure what the end that hooks to the distributor should look like. I would like to go directly from electrolock to distributor if that is the original setup. I would reference Ebay item for you but am new to forum and don't know how. I appreciate your help.

Give me the item number and I will be glad to look it up on eBay for you.

What is the Ebay item number?

Hey Chipper Dipper.....I already asked that question. ha ha!

At any rate, I found the electrolock on eBay that you are asking about. It is an aftermarket electrolock, (it is an "off-on" and not a Delco-Remy pop-out) and it is complete except for the terminal cup and and all of the insulators. The terminal stud that connects to the distributor is on the electrolock, but you would need the other parts to complete the assembly. The electrolocks did not come with the terminal cups or the insulators. Those parts are needed to make a complete insulated hookup to the distributor.

Are the terminal cups and insulators available, or should I wait for a complete electrolock. Also, I am curious what you mean by pop-out and "off-on".

The terminal cups and insulators are not available. You can make the insulators, but you would have to find a terminal cup on an electrolock or make a metal terminal cup.

The original Delco-Remy electrolock was a "pop-out", which means that when you turned the key to the right, the lock cylinder actually popped out of the housing towards you to activate the electrolock and distributor. To turn the electrolock off, the lock cylinder was pushed in and the key was turned back to the left to the locked position.

The aftermarket "off-on" type, or the later "off-on" type of electrolocks were just that.......off and on. That is to say that when the key was turned to the right the electrolock was in the on position. When the key was turned back to the left, the electrolock was in the off position.