REAL TIME HELP- Stuck in "P"

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A

aktundra

10 Year 15 Year
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Hey folks, just went out @ lunch to run an errand. The 80 started fine, steering wheel unlocked, but I could not get the shift lever out of park !

The brake peddle seems to be fine, but the button on the side of the shift lever would not depress.

I tried rocking the rig with my shoulder in the door jam, but that did not seem to help.

Any suggestions? Cause I want to go home after work !
 
you have a brake light out or a brake fuse out. The cruiser will not shift out of park with no brake lights.

happened to me when i hooked up to an old trailer that had a short in it's wiring... shorted out my brake lights. I couldn't put it in drive to move. You can in an emergency pop the little plastic tab off right beside the shifter and push a pen down to trigger the release switch.
 
There is a recessed button forward of the shifter that can be pushed to release the park lock. The problem is most likely related to the brake light circuit, if there is a failure it will be locked in park, so do the brake lights work?
 
I saw the little plastic cover over the release. I will pop that and see if I can at least get home to check out the brake light & brake circuit.

i have had a broken tail light lense since this winter. Maybe enough water & crud got in to foul up the bulb & wiring.

For quite some time, I have had no back-up lights, and the shift indicator on the dash, has been out of sync with the actual position of the shift lever. Any chance this is related to my current dilemma?

Thanks for the input. the forum saves me again !
 
Not likely.
Check your brake fuse, If it is out You are done. Replace it before driving home without any brake lights. That could be kinda dangerous.
FWIW, on my old 92 Some brilliant person had put a pigtail connector on the fuse to run some fog lamps, When I pulled that out is when I ran into the same issue.
Dave
 
I agree w/ the above, you have a brake problem. Not sure on the 80, but on most cars, there is a little switch that is pushed by the pedal up under the dash. They are cheap and easy to replace if that is the problem.
 
A short in yout trailer wiring harness will cause the same problem. Thats how I first encountered the issue. After some heavy flexing the wires got pinched inside the frame. shorted out brake fuse and Walla! No go. Good luck
 
Hey does it lock up with one two or three lights out?? Glad I read this thread.. I can see this happening to me at some point... Guess I should carry an extra bulb.. Always have fuses..
 
Well may as well post up what I found

Blown brake fuse
Blown tail fuse
Blown turn fuse

I have a set of hi/lo beam PIAA;s. They were shorting so I thought I unplugged them until I would have time to see what the problem was. (After they are switched on, then they go hi/lo with the headlight controls.) Apparently I did not un plug them, and at some time they were switched on.

Not sure how so many fuses could be blown at the same time. If it is not cause of the PIAA's I got some nasty electrical gremlins that will need to be chased down
 
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