1990 Imperial Ignition Switch Replacement

One of the weak points of the 1990 Imperial, and possibly 1991 through 1993 Imperials and other Chrysler cars of the era, is the ignition switch. The root of the issue seems to be excess current passing through the switch that will eventually burn out the contacts.

If your car is exhibiting symptoms of the HVAC system and power windows not working and the Air Bag light lit on the dash, it is possible the culprit is the ignition switch. There is a black wire with a orange tracer that is energized when the ignition is in the RUN position. This wire provides power to the systems listed above.

As you can see by the inside of the switch, the plastic is melted and the contacts are scorched. This switch is less than two years old.

In order to solve this issue, I decided to install a relay under the dash in order to move the high current flow from the ignition switch to the relay. The Black wire with the orange tracer controls the relay and the pink wire provides the power to the circuits. I'll try to include a wiring diagram here to show you how you can fit a relay to your Imperial to help your ignition switch last longer.