no reverse lights, prnd.. lights, no power to nss? (1 Viewer)

[lanshark]

'93 fj80; no reverse lights (neither work), no lights on the instrument panel for the gear.

it seems as if all other lights inside and out work as expected.

i checked one of the reverse light bulbs and found no volts but i did find ohms at the plug (according to my skills with that meter with the needle and watnot)

i had two people check for any action at the reverse light while i was changing gears, no luck.

i moved on to the neutral safety switch (? pie shaped on ds of tranny). tried not to strip the screws, took it apart and it looks pretty clean. took one of those light testers and tried to get current from anywhere on the contacts inside the neutral safety switch and got nothing, tried this in different gears too just in case.

removed the dash piece from the shifters and looked around at the mechanism and wiring of the shifter ... was hoping to find the other end of the wiring harness which the neutral safety switch is on ...

have i missed something or done something incorrectly?

where am i going from here?

thanks

 

[CJF]

Focus first on the brakelight issue.

IIRC, NSS is disabled if brakelights are out.

 

[lanshark]

i am not aware that i have any brake light issue, all lights work as expected except both reverse lights and in the middle of the instrument cluster park where it shows reverse, neutral, drive, 1, 2

 

[CJF]

i am not aware that i have any brake light issue, all lights work as expected except both reverse lights and in the middle of the instrument cluster park where it shows reverse, neutral, drive, 1, 2

For some reason my mind processed reverse lights as brake lights; darn senility.

Carry on...

 

[blkprj80]

Isn't there a ground wire at the tail of the transmission? Maybe it broke or rusted off.
I'm sure you checked fuses already.

 

[lanshark]

yes sir, fuses all checked, all good

let me go look at the tail on this tranny ...

 

[lanshark]

yea the tail on that tranny looked nice and tight. a ground wire bolted to the lower ds side of the tranny and running up to a bolt on the ceiling.

 

[aktundra]

seems to me there is some kind of sensor on top of the tranny that runs the rear back-up lights that occasionally gets out of alighnment. Would probably not send current if it thought the shifter was not in reverse. Maybe runs the dash indicator as well?

 

[Daisy 53]

Check right below the PHH. There is a connector there, grey in color, with about 6 or 7 wires going to it. IIRC its round. I had the same problem and that connector was completely corroded and I had a broken wire in there.
Good luck!
Daisy

 

[lanshark]

its my understanding that the lights work off the neutral safety switch; the 1/4 pie shaped box which works from the rectangle shaped shaft off the drivers side of the tranny. the contacts inside of this pie shaped box looked nice and clean and these contacts were tested with a meter while the vehicle was in r with the key on (engine off).

i believe i also read that this box in question ran the prnd12 lights on the instrument panel also worked off this box.

now with all this being said and what was said before, today i drove past a fishing rod on the road, i stopped and threw her in reverse trying to make it to the rod before the people down the road caught up to me. switched to reverse, gave the gas a normal push (soft-ish) and the rig started going back, after applying more aggressive force to the gas it seemed as if the tranny slipped, i then let up a bit and it 'caught' itself. this concerns me, but if i recall correctly there were others with neutral safety switch problems that had these exact same symptoms. i do not remember reading any resolution for this besides cleaning the contacts or replacing the switch.

any help with testing this pie shaped switch or where to go from the switch as i am having difficulty following the wire harness as it goes somewhere high around the starter / tranny stick / fender maybe crossing over towards the ps?

anyway i'll continue my forum search starting tomorrow

enjoy

 

[blkprj80]

Sounds like the linkage might be misadjusted. I'd retry moving the lever from P to N slowly and have someone watch for backup lights.

 

[lanshark]

this was already done and there was no sign of light.

 

[lanshark]

so that nss switch has problems around where it plugs into the wire harness around the firewall / tranny.

ordered one from cdan, hopefully this fixes the problem otherwise the chase continues.

if it continues with additional expense i just might run some manual reverse lights, i don't like to say that but i'm dealing with more pressing issues with the rig at this point in time ...

 

[kybishop]

My 94 has the same exact issues and I have had no luck figuring it out. I have adjusted my neutral safety switch all over the place and it never changed anything. I have a thread started as well but was some months back. Quit chasing it.

I have no reverse lights, no dash lights for my gear indicators and mine slips out of reverse at a higher speed while reversing. Reverses fine otherwise. I only noticed it while reversing fast from the barn to the house. Fast meaning only slightly faster than normal.

My fuses and bulbs all check out fine as well. I haven't had a chance to get back to trouble shooting this.

I will be looking forward to what you find out with the replacement part you ordered.

 

[Timpanogos Slim]

Anyone ever get anywhere with this? I appear to have the same set of symptoms.

real annoying considering how many hours i spent today hooking up a rear view camera.

 

[lanshark]

this is solved, the new switch fixed my problem.

Id suggest opening up that switch and testing the contacts?

 

[Timpanogos Slim]

Yeah. I guess i need some more time on my back under the truck.

 

[lanshark]

checking and even re-installing one of these switches is probably not a job if you have patience and your hands aren't claustrophobic.

the price of a new switch is something better avoided if possible.

good luck, enjoy

 

[Timpanogos Slim]

I have nimble but large hands.

I may need to go to the carwash first. I think i have a leaky seal on the rear main oil pan hump. Everything in that vicinity is pretty filthy and oily.

 

[Iceman1303]

this is solved, the new switch fixed my problem.
Hey

this is solved, the new switch fixed my problem.

Id suggest opening up that switch and testing the contacts?

buddy do you have picture of we're it is locatedim having same problem

checking and even re-installing one of these switches is probably not a job if you have patience and your hands aren't claustrophobic.

the price of a new switch is something better avoided if possible.

good luck, enjoy

Hey buddy do you have pic of were this is on the box I'm having same problem