I just got a Lishi tool to work on MOPAR ignition switches. It’s a slightly modified SC-1, which will work on door locks as well (but not trunk locks, which have a different key way.
For those unfamiliar, a Lishi tool is a modern aid to picking cylinder locks used in doors and most cars. It combines a tensioner with a graphic scale so you can see which cylinder is being picked and how far in the pin is being moved. It’s exactly what a locksmith knows how to do by feel with a pick and tensioner, but much easier to learn. There are countless YouTube videos that teach how to use them.
The problem for us has been that while there was a Lishi tool for newer Chrysler products, the CY24, that was made for the more modern plastic bodied keys, not the older Cryco key or the common Ilco Y156 replacement.
What I did was look for a key which had a similar keyway to the MOPAR key, the cross section formed by the grooves milled along the length of the key. This is why most keys you carry won’t fit into other locks, the key ways are different.
It turns out that the closest keyway was a very common Schlage house key, one of the most common Lishi tools, the SC1 (each Lishi tool has a different keyway). I’d already tried to fit it before but when I tried again it was closer than I thought. A little judicious filing trimmed the Lishi down until it slipped neatly into a MOPAR ignition switch.
What I did was to use a common hasp file, setting it in the bench and rubbing the tool on it to remove material. First I took a little off the back edge, away from the cylinders. The Schlage key is also a bit thicker than a MOPAR key, so I filed a little off each side face of the tool to match. This didn’t touch any of the inner mechanism part of the tool. Soon it slipped into the switch as easily as a normal MOPAR key.
What surprised me is that the cylinder spacing and backspacing of the MOPAR matched the spacing of the Schlage Lishi tool. I’d expected to have to figure it out and maybe tape over and remark my own scale but the existing scale of the tool worked perfectly.
I’m no great skill with the Lishi tool but I’m about ten minutes of fiddling I had the ignition switch open. Inspired by my success, I picked up another switch, and proceeded to spend the rest of the afternoon with no success at all. I was feeling dejected and sorry for myself when I remembered one of the locksmiths on YouTube recommending spraying a lock liberally with lube before using the Lishi tool. I didn’t havr any lock lube but I did have a can of electrical cleaner spray, and I hosed out the switch with that. Five minutes later I had it open with the Lishi.
The point of all this of course is to be able to cut my own keys for project cars who don’t have them, without needing to remove the switch and pay a locksmith. That’s ok for one or two cars but if you have a fleet of rescued orphans or a MOPAR shop this could be a good option. Or if you have a car whose ignition has been changed, this will allow you to read the door lock and cut a door key that works without having to take the door apart to remove the lock.
Since the Lishi has a scale, you can not only open the lock, but write down a five number code that is used to cut the key. I have an old Curtis machine but modern hand key cutters are easy to get on Amazon.
That’s the next step for me, getting the cutter set up so I can cut a key that works. I’ll keep you posted.
BTW, although MOPAR door locks use the same key, they only use four of the five cylinders, so you need to take the reading from the ignition switch. Trunk keys have a different keyway entirely, which is why they don’t fit into each other.
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