Why won't the key ignition switch start my outboard motor?

Would a ignition switch cause the key to not turn all the way off?

• I have a 2002 malibu, i had the problem with the theft system light blinking, and have been doing the 10-15 minute wait and then it would start ok. Well now i guess i let it go too long and as of last week, the key will not turn all the way off, the car can be turned off but it will not go back that last click to turn off the battery and everything., so basically the radio would stay on if i dont manually turn it off by hitting the button, so my battery dies until about two days ago i got smart and started disconnecting the battery ,haha. Anyway, see i was told that it was most likely the ignition cylinder and would have to be re-programmed and everythingbut i want to know if this could be caused by a bad ignition 'switch', not cylinder, wishfull thinking most likely but i was kinda hoping it would be caused by the switch rather than the cylinder because i can do the switch by myself instead of paying somebody 300 dollars to do the cylinder for me.Its rediculous how much they charge you for little things like that, im sick of this crap, i truly believe that CHEVY themselves should fix crap like that being that they have many faults in there malibu's and knew about most of them. I swear i will never EVER buy another malibu unless i can get a brand new one from like 2008-2009 with a warranty from a dealership, cause then i wont get screwed with a chevy lemon which most people do that buy a little older chevy cars. I bought this car about 6 or 7 months ago, when i got it it ran good , and didnt notice any light sor anything on the dash.. The next day the engine light, and brake light was on. I live in Maryland and Maryland has one of the strictest inspections in the US of A, no bullsh..t. So anyway, we had to get both front wheel-barons fixed to get the friggin brake light off ok, then come to find out, the engine light is on because the catylic converter is bad. Now the IAT snesor code is coming up on the diagnostic tester. I changed the sensor and didnt take the code off, so now i am gonna have to get the connection to the IAT sensor fixed and that could be bad anywhere on that wire, So prolly another few hundered bucks. We have put appoximately 13-1,400 bucks into this car since we got it. After almost 2 months of driving it we got it through inspeection, i got the light to come off for that at the moment, but afterwards the guy told me my intake-gasket was bad and it would be ok for right now most likely but it would most deff need to be fixed as soon as i could get it fixed. Well i let it go for about another month, maybe a month and a half and by that time, the antifreeze in the excess tank where you pour it in at was completely black like oil, i mean if you stuck your finger in there your finger was black with oil, apparently the oil was leaking into the anitfreeze, which was a good thing because usually the anitfreeze leaks into the oil but it was other way around, if it did do the other thing we would have had a head-gasket go also. Well we had got it fixed and got a great deal from a friend of a friend and payed 400 dollars instead of the usual 700-900. I had to get 2 tires, new battery before we could even drive the first time, but like i said before it seemed great when we first got it, but i also did not know how assinine maryland inspection was either. New windshield-wipers, new hazard switch, one of the door switches still dont work, fixed one of them, had to fix the windshield washer fluid motor thingy underneath the resevoir. Got a new coil-pack cause one of the plugs was rusted and worn down to nothing basically, and a couple little minor things like tale light, shifter internal light bulb, and that was a pain in the *** people , getting to that damn thing, lol. This is just a little summary of what i have gone through with this car since we have had it, but my fiance will not sell the damn thing, grrrrrr. Anybody with a solution or advice for me on my first question up top would be most appreciated. Any feed-back period would be great, thanks everybody. RJ

• Answer:

  Now you know why you should always have the vehicle inspected by a qualified mechanic before buying it. As far as the ignition problem, have you checked the park indicator in the transmission? If it does not fully engage in park, the key will not turn completely off. Can you remove the key from the ignition? If so, it is an electrical issue, not a mechanical issue.