'89 ignition lock cylinder staying in start position-- loose internals, spring issue, or?

[Dustin_89BII]

Problem: When I start the truck the key stays in the start position, rather than returning to the run position. This causes the battery to drain and a lot of my electrical accessories to not get power. I have to manually turn the key back to the left a bit to avoid this, but I forget sometimes and then I don't have turn signals, etc.. I want to fix the problem because I assume it's the symptom of a larger issue, or at least something that could deteriorate further, leaving me stranded or whatever.

I was about to just replace the lock cylinder, but while searching the internet on the subject i found that there could be more or different things causing the problem. I wanted to ask you all to see if I'm missing something. Is this likely coming from inside the lock cylinder itself or is there a spring system outside of the lock cylinder perhaps?

Thanks!
Dustin

 

[sgtsandman]

Could be the return spring or the mechanism is gummed up and causing it to stick. I would try cleaning it first and lubricating it with a dry lube and see what happens.

 

[RobbieD]

I haven't had to deal with that one (yet), but I think that the return spring is in the electrical ignition switch part.