All Shift Indicator lights intermittent (1 Viewer)

[gbell210]

OK, I know all the bulbs in the PRND2L indicators on the dash are good because they are all new or checked with an ohm meter.. and all other dash/illumination lights work, so.. where is the next place to look. I’m assuming some sort of switch that indicates what gear you are in, possibly on the transmission? I checked under the plastic by the shift lever, there doesn’t appear to be any switch for indicating what gear it is in.
I looked in the FSM, and I’m leaning towards the Park/Neutral Position Switch. But the name seems misleading, since its not ONLY the park and neutral position. In the 94 FSM page AT-40 shows the connector pinout for testing, but I can't find a good picture of where this switch/connector is. Has anyone that has taken this switch apart to clean and repair it give any pointers?

Mine does not work when the rig is cold started, but after some driving (heated up), the lights finally come on when I’m not paying attention. Later on after stop/restarting they’ll all be off again. This is only the lights that circle what gear you are in, nothing else.
Thanks for any help guys.

 

[619TOY]

I could be wrong but I believe that the switch is on the tranny itself. Where the linkage enters the tranny. I'm only basing this on my 4Runner tranny which I had down about a month ago. But as far as the problem goes, don't forget that it could be anywhere else in the circuit path they (all the bulbs) share a common 12v or ground (plug on the cluster, etc.).

 

[gbell210]

OK.. I got to the park/neutral position switch today.. sorta. Its on the drivers side, not the tranny linkage side. easy to get off, 2-12mm bolts and a 22mm nut.

The pain is the @$$ part is getting the harness free. There were 3 zip ties, 2 easy ones, and 1 thats on top of the tranny pretty much, near the front. So I had to cut that one, then the harness plugs are right above the starter, under the PHH and they don't like to pull apart easy either.

After getting it all out. I found that the plug had corrosion in it, and while cleaning the pins, I broke 2 of them (they were too fragile). I think the corrosion is due to a combination of 2 years in Ohio and also, coolant dripping from the previously untouched PHH.

I'm not sure what the Yellow wire does, marked LL and the FSM in this section doesn't show it. Maybe someday I'll check in the electrical part, unless anyone else knows off hand?
Does anyone know where I can just get just the metal pin connectors?

So I also opened it up to see if there was any corrosion inside.

There didn't appear to be any, so I regreased it and put it back together. With the clean pins, i tested the operation with an Ohm meter. All positions worked as per the FSM. I also tested the harness side with a jumper wire and turning the LC to the "on" position. I verified each indicator light shows up now.

So I'm just waiting on where to get either the whole switch side connector, or even just the pins so I could solder/crimp the wire to them. Any Ideas?
-Gary

 

[tarbe]

When I did my first RavenTai temp guage mod, I did not have my D light upon first putting everything back together. I went back in and the connector in the center of the gauge cluster (essentially right behind the gear indicator letters) was not pushed in all the way.

A little more umph seated it all the way and the light worked again.

Just in case....

 

[gbell210]

Thanks Tarbe, I started with that last week though, and rechecked all the bulbs to make sure none were burnt out. I did find my Climate control plug wasn't clicked into the socket, but everything on it worked. So it wasn't a total waste pulling the dash all apart again

 

[gbell210]

OK.. its all fixed for now. Seems as though the actual switch was fine. My dad mailed me some metal pins from his old '87 4runner park/neutral position switch. I just soildered on the tip leads of the broken ones, and everything was checking out with the ohm meter.

Installing was a different story. The harness side plug also had some corrosion on the leads, so I just sprayed some PB Blaster in there for the rust, and used a small knife or screwdriver to scrape what I could (since you can't pull it further than about 1-2inchs. I bent the pins on the switch side some to make sure they pressed against the contacts on the harness side.

After about 6-10 attempts of re-adjusting pins, all the PRND2L lights are working. Bad thing is the plastic retaining clip on the harness side is busted so they are held together by friction and grease.

BTW:
If your PHH has been oozing for a while, this plug connector is underneath it and could start corroding like mine, since the wires are only covered by a cheap rubber boot.
I changed my PHH about a year ago, then 4 mo. ago my starter. This plug is in the same area as both, and probably also get knocked around a little when trying to get to either one.

EDIT: To get to the connector, it was just like the PHH.. I removed the wheel.

 

[MaddBaggins]

Good info. I've been having the intermitent thing for a long time. Actually mine are usually off, then once in a whil out of no where, one will light up for a while.
I just changed my PHH a couple months ago, wonder if I knocked anything around or have any corrosion. I'll check.

 

[GeoRoss]

Good info. I've been having the intermitent thing for a long time. Actually mine are usually off, then once in a whil out of no where, one will light up for a while.
I just changed my PHH a couple months ago, wonder if I knocked anything around or have any corrosion. I'll check.

I told you so Alvin ;p . You should learn to listen to me

Ross

ps, sears has a screaming deal on multi-meters. Otherwise swing by the house and get mine, I'm home trying not to cough up a lung /cough/hack/wheeze/!

 

[gbell210]

Thought I should update this...
The new pins solved my problem for about a week. Then I lost low gear. "L" would not light up, and it wouldn't stay in low gear. The harness side plug was also corroded, and some of the female pins it in also busted off.
So I went all out and cut off both male and female sides of the plug and soldered on an 8pin plug (only 7 are needed) from a plug I cut off a car in the salvage yard. More details here:
https://forum.ih8mud.com/showpost.php?p=1422857&postcount=31

 

[338Lapua]

Thought I should update this...
The new pins solved my problem for about a week. Then I lost low gear. "L" would not light up, and it wouldn't stay in low gear. The harness side plug was also corroded, and some of the female pins it in also busted off.
So I went all out and cut off both male and female sides of the plug and soldered on an 8pin plug (only 7 are needed) from a plug I cut off a car in the salvage yard. More details here:
A442F 1st gear lockout?

Is there any reason you couldnt just bypass the plug and solder the wires together ?

 

[gbell210]

Is there any reason you couldnt just bypass the plug and solder the wires together ?

You could do that.

But if you ever need to work in that area you may have to fight the wiring harness rather than simply unplugging and moving it, or the component at the end of the harness fails, you’ll need to cut/splice again.

Like I said the PHH is in that general area, so if that hasn’t been changed it would be a good time to tackle that before hardwiring.

 

[338Lapua]

You could do that.

But if you ever need to work in that area you may have to fight the wiring harness rather than simply unplugging and moving it, or the component at the end of the harness fails, you’ll need to cut/splice again.

Like I said the PHH is in that general area, so if that hasn’t been changed it would be a good time to tackle that before hardwiring.

Well this is happening right after I installed a new long block and took care of everything that I saw I could do including the PHH! I was just able to source a new NSS but cant get the harness end connectors so may spend time wiring and soldering directly in there