Is later 300E ignition cable necessary?
 

The PO destroyed the ignition assembly and clamp on the steering column on my '90 300CE. I want to replace them with my '87 parts but it doesn't have the threaded hole for a cable, see pic. What does this cable do and is it necessary?

A cable connects tbetween the ignition lock and the shifter which prevents the ignition key from being removed unless the shifter is in park. Mark

It also prevents the shifter from moving until the key is in/on.

Post the part number, I have one from a 126 with the interlock but don't know if it's the same.

That interlock foiled my wife....I got this frantic upset call from her a couple weeks after we got the 300E.... "My key won't come out, it won't give it back!" So I calmly asked, "is it in park?" Her: "No" (Click). :D :D :D She'll never live it down.

Now she always remembers to put it in park. The thing that gets me in that car is having to press the brake to move the shifter out of park, thats just annoying....I never do it in my SD....I can start it, and put it in reverse/drive, without ever having to touch the brake.

If I bought a car (that I was going to drive regularly) with the interlock I'd probably remove it. Its extra obnoxious when you want to do work on stuff like the brakes, and need it in neutral so you can turn the rear wheels, you have to put the key in to get it to neutral, and leave it because it won't give the key back unless its in park....so it sits there buzzing the whole time. Very annoying.

Yeah but we Americans kill people with pedal misapplication otherwise, remember the Audi "Unintended Acceleration" debacle? This is supposed to prevent it.

#1900.01
I also noticed the housing around the key lock is larger on the '90 vs the '87

Realized mine has the vacuum valve for diesel shutoff, no idea if it's tranferrable:

what's a PO?

PO = Previous Owner, sometimes referred to as DAPO (Dumb A$$ Previous Owner) if the car was abused or neglected. I am too forgiving to use the later but I must say I'm cleaning up alot of damage.:mad:

Some PO carnage: security ring on ignition was cut and the retainer clip removed. Not only that, he broke the aluminum cast part that clamps it to the steering column. This means I have to replace the whole steering column! :mad:

Pretty much bites. Fortunately, it's usually the last part left on the car before crushing, and usually in fine condition. I have one from my '87 300D, not sure if it is the same though. I know the ignition doesn't have the interlock/cable or I would have offered that also.

Was the car ever stolen/recovered?

I wish my CE had this feature. A couple of times, when in a hurry, I've pulled the key out after I backed into the driveway and didn't take the car out of reverse. Each time, I soon heard loads of honking and cursing and, sure enough, when I looked out the window, there was my car, blocking both lanes after rolling down the driveway and into the street. Embarassing.

It wasn't stolen, it was just abused. The key probably got stuck and the PO didn't know how to remove it properly so he hacked at it until he got it off. He then replaced the tumblers and key from another car. I'd revert back to the VIN key but my trunk lock was also destroyed and I have a whole donor car set of locks.

I self-destructed my '87 lock housing assembly after turning the center shaft without the tumbler installed, so I had to purchase a new one. I took the old one apart and probably could have realigned it had I not destroyed the plastic part while trying to disassemble it. I don't know why they designed it to be able to be miss-aligned but there are alot of parts and assembly must have taken some time at the factory.

Here is the new lock housing with the threaded interlock hole and vacuum holes I don't need. I duct taped the vacuum hole. I noticed a rivet that's not on the originals. It's bare so I installed the tumbler, interlock mechanism, and switch / plug. The switch screws holes are not threaded so I had to carefully self tap them with the screws as to not strip the threads.

Also shown is the cracked off steering column that I had to replace with the '87.

Now I can address removing the remote switch the PO installed so I can start the car with the key. He also hacked up the plug housing that I replaced, hopefully with the correct pin orientation. Not looking forward to troubleshooting the wiring...

Tragic consequences for those who have vehicles w/o the interlock... :(

http://www.kbtx.com/home/headlines/41027352.html

"FORT WORTH (March 10, 2009)--A 2-year-old Fort Worth boy is dead after his family's sport-utility vehicle rolled over him after he somehow put it in gear, police say. A Fort Worth police spokesman says Julian Tarin's mother and aunt evidently left him and three other children in the SUV in the family driveway Monday.

Police Sgt. Pedro Criado says the other children told investigators that Julian then climbed into the driver's seat and shifted gears. They say that when the SUV started to roll, Julian got scared, climbed from the car and was run over.

Criado says the woman told police that they'd taken the keys to the SUV into the house with them. Police were investigating Tuesday."