I pulled an ignition switch with the key from a 2000 Discovery 2 in a local junkyard with the intention of selling it on ebay. The key fob/transponder housing is broken though, with nothing inside. The key blade is fine, it turns the cylinder. My question is, is the ignition switch useless without the "guts" in the key? Is it just a paperweight now?

 

Nope! Key will still work just fine. These trucks do not have any kind of chip in them.

 

It will be more valuable if you also have the door handle with lock cylinder keyed the same as ignition switch. If you didn’t get it the first time you might want to go back and get the handle.

 

That's great news for me.

 

That's definitely true, ignition sets with the handles always bring a little more. But when I factor in the cost of the handles and my time to remove them I generally don't bother. I tried a few places to get a copy made (walmart, Lowes, Home Depot), but apparently the big retail giants aren't allowed to copy modern auto keys if they are damaged. I don't understand the logic behind this, but I think if I try a Mom and Pop hardware store they might do it. Or maybe I'll try to bribe a teenage Wal Mart employee after hours........

 

After a little more research with this particular key set, I do think it's worth my time to get the handle and will do so on my next trip to the yard.

 

Removing a DII door handle is not difficult or all that time consuming, but I have some practice, I guess. Removing the door panel takes more time than removing the handle if you know what you're doing.