Neutral safety switch got me stranded for a minute

[Dino]

I was running an errand this morning and when I left the place the car didn't budge as I turned the key.  This happens sometimes if I don't slam that warped gear shifter forward enough but that didn't work this time.  That and no action in neutral means usually one thing: the good old nss.

So I crawl under the car, careful not to touch the exhaust.  The front end sits pretty low so I can't actually see the switch but 5 seconds of feeling around turned my hand black with grime.  I found the switch, and pulled it off with zero effort so it seemed obvious a bunch of grime got inside the switch cap.  I used a hand wipe to clean up the prongs and after that the car started right up.

This has happened in the past so I guess there's oil and grime getting in there.  The car is always wet underneath.

So is this common when the switch cap is worn or something?  Should I get a new one or just clean it all up and add some rtv around the cap to seal it to the switch?

[Mopar Nut]

Replace it, I replaced mine with a new one, cheap. Could be leaking from the shifter shaft seal right above it too.

[Plumcrazy]

I would replace the switch and connector. A new connector should keep most of the contaminents out, I don't like the rtv idea. 

It's also a good idea to keep an old screwdriver in the car and know how to use it to jump the starter relay.

[John_Kunkel]

  The connector, when new, is self-sealing but after many years it gets hard and shrinks so the sealing ability is lost.

If you're ever in that situation again, be sure it's in Park, turn the switch to Run and then jump the terminals at the starter relay (bypass the NSS). Avoids crawling under.

[Dino]

Thanks guys I'll get a new switch and will do some cleaning under the car.

I didn't even have a screwdriver with me, in fact I don't have a single tool or spare part in the car so I'll get some small emergency kit or something.

[b5blue]

I made a short wire with a connector on one end and an screw eyelet on the other. The eyelet goes to a mounting screw at the relay and supply's ground. Any issue with the NSS and just unplug it's connector and clip in the bypass. (It just feeds ground to the relay.) 

[John_Kunkel]

Thanks guys I'll get a new switch and will do some cleaning under the car

You don't need a new switch, you need a new connector.

I didn't even have a screwdriver with me, in fact I don't have a single tool

You could jump the switch with anything metallic like the trunk key.

[MaximRecoil]

I made a short wire with a connector on one end and an screw eyelet on the other. The eyelet goes to a mounting screw at the relay and supply's ground. Any issue with the NSS and just unplug it's connector and clip in the bypass. (It just feeds ground to the relay.) 

I've been planning to do the same thing with my car (it only takes a few minutes to do). My NSS sometimes screws up, but whenever it happens it has always worked by putting the shifter in neutral, and then it usually goes a few weeks or more before it acts up again. I wish there was a way to bypass the NSS without disabling the reverse lights in the process, because if there was, I'd just leave it bypassed.

[John_Kunkel]

Failure to start in Park but starts in Neutral (or vice versa) is usually a linkage problem, not a switch problem. Worn/missing plastic bushings will allow enough slop in the linkage to make gear selection inconsistent...or it could be simple linkage maladjustment.

It's simple to bypass the NSS and leave the BU lights functioning...just ground the "G" terminal on the starter relay. Not wise IMHO.

[MaximRecoil]

It's simple to bypass the NSS and leave the BU lights functioning...just ground the "G" terminal on the starter relay.

I just went out and tested this, and you're right, it works. I was under the impression that the reverse lights wouldn't work if the NSS was bypassed because when I first started working on my car several years ago, the NSS was already bypassed, and the reverse lights didn't work until I hooked up the NSS properly. But now that I think about it, the NSS wasn't even hooked up at all back then (the NSS was screwed into the transmission, but no wiring was connected to it), and of course the reverse lights won't work that way.

Not wise IMHO.

Why's that? Because of the possibility of starting it in gear? If so, I'm not concerned about that at all. Not once in my life have I accidentally tried to start an automatic in gear. I always put it in park when I turn the engine off, and it is still in park the next time I start it. I've had manual transmission vehicles that would start in gear without pressing the clutch pedal too, and that was never a problem either. I'm about as likely to try to start a car in gear as I am to put my shoes on the wrong feet.

[MaximRecoil]

Failure to start in Park but starts in Neutral (or vice versa) is usually a linkage problem, not a switch problem. Worn/missing plastic bushings will allow enough slop in the linkage to make gear selection inconsistent...or it could be simple linkage maladjustment.

I noticed recently that I can make it happen most every time by putting it in park on a hill, chocking the wheels, putting it in neutral to let it roll back against the wheel chocks, and when I put it back in park, it usually won't start, but it will start in neutral every time. Does that sound like a shifter linkage issue?

[John_Kunkel]

Anybody can have a moment of forgetfulness (sometimes aided by foreign substances) so, even though you've never had an episode, your day may be coming. Best to have a functioning NSS.

Only way to check the linkage is under the car, have somebody run through the gears while you observe the linkage...look for slop and/or lost motion in the various linkage parts; plastic bushings in particular.

[nascarxx29]

I had this problem with the floor shifter removed top plate and seen bushing popping out of place.That was held by weak g clip .Went over and changed out all the clips