Multivan Ignition Barrel

[The_Hawk]

So the Multivan key spun around and around the other day (so says the wife), apparently some helpful dad at kinder jiggled it until it clicked back into place and has kept on working without issue.

After being given a $700+ quote to have it repaired I looked up the parts in ETKA and figured it looked easy enough to swap out and I really do miss tinkering with things.

Part no: 6R0 905 851 *

I did read that the ‘B’ variant was replaced in 2010 but when I stumbled across a B for about $60 delivered for a rebuilt unit I figured it was worth a gamble. As it turns out the current one is a ‘F’ version… so I’m going backwards.

Getting the old one out was pretty straight forward, I had everything but the M12 spline drive socket for the steering wheel (which I now have). Getting out the shear bolts was easy enough (I grabbed a set of bolts to use when re-installing).

So the part was removed and I noticed the reco part doesn’t have the solenoid looking part the one in the van has.

Part:



Solendoid?



I had a few thoughts, one was to just put it back in but it seems to have bound up completely after being removed and no amount of tinkering saw it come good.

Plan B: rebuild the old one with all the reco parts. Seems that the electronic ignition bit is not removable, even after stripping the insides from the reco one… also I couldn’t get all the parts out of the original one.


In the end I put the new reco one back together and have put that in. I did have an extra part when I was finished rebuilding it. There appears to be a small locking pin inside the mechanism…. I’m not sure what it does (either locking something open or closed?) but it appears to work just fine without it in there.

The circled one is the one I pulled from the reco part, the other one has mysteriously appeared (even though I never got that deep on the original one…

Extra Pins:




In any case, it’s halfway back in, seems to start OK, it will shift into gear and the key can’t be removed unless you turn it off (I figured that pin might lock the key in).


So can anyone tell me what that little solenoid thing does? Something for an Auto? Something else entirely?

Also that locking PIN? Anything important I haven’t found out yet?


I might look into finding another newer variant and throwing that in which should be much much quicker now that I know how it all goes together. Anyone know where I might find another cheap one?

[Umai Naa!!]

Same as 6R Polo, so shouldn't be too hard to track down parts.

Not the first time I've seen and read issues with these. Most seem to have problems with them jamming up though, which suggests poor assembly and lack of sufficient lubrication. Under warranty, we were just throwing complete pre-coded (off the VIN) ignition lock assemblies at them.

[jets]

What year & mileage? Do you think it was strained, worn out or just broke. During your ownership, did you ever lube it? I know the T4 needs a replacement switch at some stage, but I haven't read about barrels needing replacement. The'01 Polo I used to own,[145000km] wore out the switch which I replaced but the barrel was also starting to get dodgy so I just lubed it as the car was soon to be replaced. A guy on an American forum who works as a mechanic has an opinion that the manufacturers are doing a good job of reducing the life of parts to get you out of your car & into a new one.
Good work for tackling that job. The Polo I worked on caused me a few headaches with the airbag light that wouldn't go off. It was also fortunate that I own the special puller that the dealers use.

[The_Hawk]

I've still got no clue on why the original one is now binding up, it was still working near perfectly in the car (notchy sometimes). Maybe toying with it was the last straw that knocked some internal part loose. I've had it since new in 2010, first of the T5GP/T5.1, 165k on the clock. I've never lubed it and I doubt anyone else has either, it's not exactly "regular maintenance" easy to get at.

The old one doesn't look that bad inside, clearly a few worn bits, but I didn't see parts fall out of it (although that pin with the spring must have come out at some point because it wasn't from the new one.

The job is easy enough, as with many of these jobs, half the challenge is having the balls to give it a bash

[Sunny43.5]

We had ours in our T5.1 play up a couple of times like The Hawks wife experienced , the key would just spin around in the barrel with no resistance at all . If I removed the key and reinserted it it was then normal again . Its is all good now as it has not done it for a couple of years now , fingers crossed .
Oh and everyone have a Merry Christmas .

[jets]

I've never lubed it and I doubt anyone else has either, it's not exactly "regular maintenance" easy to get at.

I squirt a small amount of Teflon gun lube in the slot & then move the key in & out a couple of times, turning as well to move the lube around.
The brand I use is Remington & before I have used Tri-Flow. It's very thin & doesn't leave a residue like WD40 but only Teflon.

AND, as Sunny has said, Have a Merry Christmas everyone.

[Umai Naa!!]

WD-40 breaks down whatever grease is in there, making it worse.

Locksmiths recommend graphite powder.

[Transporter]

....and if you don't have a graphite powder, make some by running a pencil on some fine sandpaper.

[The_Hawk]

So does anyone know what that little solenoid does?
Or what that pin on the inside does?

[Umai Naa!!]

Shifter interlock.

Stops you from pulling the key out unless in P or N.

[The_Hawk]

Shifter interlock.

Stops you from pulling the key out unless in P or N.

I'm assuming you mean the solenoid thing, not a huge deal in the grand scheme on things since we don't turn the car off too often when it's moving

So in doing a little more research I managed to find a few videos, they aren't all the right model, but I learned enough, like where those pins go, that I figured I'd pull it out again and have another look and maybe get those pins back in there.

First thing. You can remove the plastic covers on the steering wheel without removing the steering wheel, it's then possible to remove the bolts and get the ignition mechanism out. It was easy enough with hex bolts but would be much harder with the original shear bolts... possible, but very tight.

So I stripped out all the parts and rebuilt the original mechanism with the new parts, pins and all... then it bound up again. I'm not 100% but I think I may have over-rotated the barrel causing one of the pins to fall into a place it shouldn't be. Interestingly the way it felt and the way it looked was much like the original one so I'm wondering if one of the pins came loose originally and cause the initial problems. After much screwing about I managed to strip it all down again.

So of those two pins, the straight one on the right sits in the steering lock mechanism. It appears to lock steering column into the locked position when you remove the key. Without that part it would be possible to manually push that locking post down, but otherwise everything still works as it should.

The pin on the left, the shaped one, appears to simply limit the rotation of the barrel? It doesn't appear to serve any other purpose.

In any case, the original unit is now rebuilt, installed and working sans those two pins.


EDIT: I've tested it today and the interlock is working as it should, can't remove the key when it's in drive.

Videos for reference (although I'm sure there is more):

YouTube

YouTube

YouTube

[gergamel]

Thanks to The_Hawk's notes and video links, I've managed to get mine up and running again. I spent quite a lot of hours trying to rebuild the steering lock barrel and it still wasn't working and the wife cracked the sh*ts, so I ended up calling around for the replacement part (same part as yours). After a couple of quotes for 4 weeks lead from Germany, I got lucky with a large company who had one in a local warehouse and quoted $305 (plus a few more for new shear bolts). The replacement part comes as an assembly including the ignition switch (but no key cylinder), and die markings were 5 years newer (can't remember the revision, but maybe F, like you said). I reckon it only took about 15 minutes to fit and close up the dash (the old part was already removed at this point).

I burnt a lot of time on this and had some issues, but in the end it was super simple. I've got some photos and notes I can probably post, if people are interested. The part is definitely a lesson i over-complicated mechanical design. It is no wonder they fail.

My fault was different from yours. Sometimes, I'd get in the car and could turn the key to ON, but it wouldn't let me turn past that to IGNITION. Initially, I'd just turn to OFF and try again and it would work fine. After some time, it would get stuck in this state. I'd go OFF->ON->OFF->ON and it'd still not let me turn to ignition. This would always when the car was in the sun and hot, which helps support the idea it's some mechanical wear/tolerance issue pushed over the edge by thermal expansion.

I ended up completely stuck at work at 4pm on the last Friday before xmas. Tried over and over, even went away and came back at like 6:30pm and it was still stuck. Came back early the next morning when it was cool and it started first time. Of course everyone was closed so I started pulling the thing apart myself and ended up on this thread.

[The_Hawk]

Glad I could help. I get the feeling those little pins break off and cause a range of issues which can be intermittent as the pin moves about.

I got away really cheaply with a rebuilt unit. I was also lucky enough to have the ability to wait for it to come without being stranded. Even at $300 it's still much cheaper than getting it done elsewhere.

12 months on mine is still going strong, although at 186k little pieces are starting to wear and need replacing. On the upside it gives me fun little projects to tackle.

n a side note, I didn't re-install shear bolts, just standard ones. I assume shear bolts are a security feature so people can't simply unbolt it and steal the car. Of course they still have to get in the car, pull apart the trim and after that there is still an immobiliser in there to defeat too.