it'* a '98 forrester, factory alarm(which im not sure is related)

this morning my dad went to take it out and the just just wouldnt turn, ive tried everything, lock/unlock, lock/unlock w/ remote, steering wheel lock, pressing brakes, pressing internal disarm for alarm, they just wont turn period, any ideas?

I have also posted this on a subaru forum but i figure the more ideas the better

Do you hear a tick when moving the key to "Start"?


If yes: Your battery may have enough juice to run accessories and such, but not enough to start the car.




If no tick: Assuming an autotranny - have you tried:

- Jiggle the shifter in park (and make sure it'* fully situated in park), the car won't start if you're not fully in park. It'* happened to mom'* Altima and the Cressida as well.
- Move it (quickly) through the gates, to "1" (or "L") and back to P again. Hopefully your park/neutral safety start switch is okay, but if not, this might get it temporarily working again (happened in the Cressida) until you get it fixed.

they dont move at all, it goes in and wont turn at all, i disconnected the battery for about an hour, it didnt help, also the car is in park, i have jiggled the stick but if i cant turn the key into any position besides lock i cant get out of park, and yes there is still power going to it, car dings with door open and key in ignition, i tihnk there mgiht actually be too much power, im sure youve all gotten a static shock from getting in and out of a car before but righ tnow its giving huge shocks, like handling the key in the ignition is charging me or something, ok so here is a list fo the things i have tried:
steering wheel lock
making sure its in park
realising/hold e-brake
lock/unlock from remote
lock/unlock from inside
even tried pushing the car a little bit to see ifmovign the wheels a bit would do anything
disconnected battery
tried turning key with battery disconnected
reconnected battery
tried switching between normal/valet mode for alarm
checked all fuses

let me see if i see this straight here. will the key turn at all? im getting mixed signals.

key will turn and nothing happens,

-or-

nothing happens because key will not turn?

please clarify.

nothing can happen because the key will not turn, it goes in the slot, the car recognizes that ther eis a key there, because whent he key is inserted and the door is open it beeps, but the key will not move in any way, and we have 3 copys of the key to the car and tried all of em

bad/stuck ign cylinder in the column? that would be my guess, i however dont know if your key has a chip in it. if not, that might explain some stuff, like why it recognizes it but wont turn.. also i know this sounds retarded... but can you flip the key? (double sided) if so, try that, happend to my aunts old honda....

have you tried holding the brakes to the floor <yes it will be hard>, jiggling the shifter, then trying to turn the key while moving the steering wheel back and forth?