Hi

I have a TS Magna, which recently got broken into. The guy destroyed my ignition, in an attempt to hotwire the vehicle. I managed to rebuild, and install the ignition barrel, and it worked fine for the first few attempts. However, it doesn't do it now.

The car kicks into life, and runs, but I have to hold the key in the "Start" position. The moment I let it go, the engine cuts itself off instantly. It's not stalling, it's an electronic failure, as I think I have managed to fry something in the starter circuit. The little relay behind the battery no longer works, either, but the problem arose before that.

If you have any advice, I'd be very grateful to hear it, as auto electricians will not go near the car

Behind and attached to the ignition barrel is the actual ignition switch. Behind that again is the immobiliser unit, if you are unfortunate to have one. The immobiliser is white plastic, with 4 thin wires coming from it.

Either the immobiliser unit has activated, or the ignition switch is defective.

No immobiliser: You can disconnect the ignition switch and work it with a screwdriver to see what it is doing. It can be removed off the car and opened up to see what the contacts are doing. If badly damaged replace it with one from a wreckers.

With immobiliser: let me know if you have one and I will run through the steps to fix it. (There was a writeup about the TS immobiliser a few years back but it seems to be missing in action . . . )

UPDATE: This is from an old thread and may be useful if you do have the immobiliser:

How to fix:

"Pull the immobiliser off the car - involves dropping the lower shroud and the steering wheel (not really necessary, but gives you better access). Use a pin punch and hammer to undo the snap off bolts that hold the steering lock in place. Pull the whole lock with immobiliser and barrel out of the car - don't forget the wiring connectors. Put the key in the lock, turn it to acc and push the pin on the side - the barrel comes off easily.
Now the tricky part - use a small hacksaw to cut open the locking sections of the immobiliser. When you pull the barrel, a spring pushes a white plastic plate off the shaft. This normally rotates and cuts a light beam on/off as you start the car, but with the white plastic pushed off the shaft the ECU thinks some thief has ripped the ignition lock out and is trying to steal your car. Remove the spring and push the white plastic disc back in place. Glue it down if you want to, but I didn't bother. Put the immobiliser body back together, and wrap masking tape around it to hold it together. Reassemble in reverse - the break off bolts can be reused or use ordinary 12 mm head bolts like I did.