1966 230S Finnie Ignition Question - W111 M180

[Bcollia]

So I've gotten her to start via a mechanic's switch and a "hot-wire" run to the coil, but I just ordered the key from the dealer and get no love when I turn the key. I've narrowed it down to the few locations that it could be. a. the ignition cylinder b. this little block on the inner fender on the driver's side (see picture below).



I've heard it is common for these cars to have ignition cylinder problems. Seem like every one that I looked at before purchasing mine had a bad one. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

[Mustang_man298]

What is the problem of why it won't start with the key? If you can turn the key then the cylinder is ok, if it turns over but won't start, it could be in the switch portion of the ignition or that ballast resistor in your pic. The resistor will be easy to check, remove one wire from it and read across it with an ohmmeter, it will read continuity by resistance in ohms (not sure just how many it will read), if it's bad, it will read open (no continuity or infinity resistance). Have you checked all of your fuses to be sure all of them are in place, correct value, making good connection to the contacts, and good? Don't just assume because you might read 12v at the ignition that they are ok, I've seen lots of cases with a weak connection that it still makes up good enough to read voltage but can't carry the current it needs to.