Car starts without key!

Sounds to me like the switch is AFU

I would pull the switch connector and make some continuity tests. For tests like this, it is better to use a "big" lamp which will put a certain amount of load on the contacts. That is in comparison to an ohmeter, which draws a tiny amount of current, and can be "fooled" by a "somewhat" switch contact.

What I like to use is an old stop / tail light. I actually have an old stop/ tail socket, so I can hook the bulb up several ways......

1---Using the stop wire and the tail wire, this puts the two bulb filaments in series, draws the "least" amount of current

2---Use the tail wire and the socket ground draws somewhat more current

3---Use the stop wire and the socket ground draws more current yet

4---Wire both stop and tail wires together as one, and use socket ground, and so not you have both bulb filaments in parallel to draw "the most" current.

This old socket and bulb is VERY handy for a lot of this kind of "stuff."

You can also use this socket to act as a resistor, when using a 6-10 amp battery charger to charge a tiny trailer brake or bike battery.


ANY.........HOW................

So take your "big" test bulb, making sure everything is safe, and haywire it to battery +, and hook a good solid clip lead to a good ground. So now you have the ground clip in one hand and the bulb socket connection in the other. Touch them together, the bulb should light.

NOW you can use those same two electrical points to hook to the ignition switch

Hook one of these to the large red (battery in) and move the other to each other color, depending on where the key "is."

'OFF' the red should not be continuous to anything else

both "run" and "accessory" the red should be continuous to the large black

In "run" the red should be continuous to "dark blue"

In "start" the red should be continuous to yellow


and red also should be continuous to brown.

OK I think I got it, please tell me if I'm wrong. What I did was:

Found a old style dual filament bulb, soldered a wire to each contact on the bottom of the bulb. Removed the in switch from column. Hooked up battery and back probed Big Red wire at ignition switch connection one of the soldered wires. The other soldered wire got moved to each color and was tested in each hey state. These are the results:

With ballast disconnected:

Blue: bulb lit every key position except Run.

Yellow: Nothing All positions

Black: Nothing All positions

Brown Nothing All positions

With ballast connected:

Blue: Off and acc bulb lit

Yellow: Nothing

Black: when switching from acc to run: small flicker dim light.

Brown: off and acc bulb lit

Looks to me that the sign switch is bad, especially since getting nothing at Yellow now, which is what was making the starter go.

Any input?