Thread: Neutral saftey switch

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My model a has a neutral safety switch on it and it is not working properly. I have to wiggle the gear shift with one hand and turn the ignition with the other to get it to crank. Tonight the the car wouldn't crank at all at one point. I finally kept messing with it and got it to turn over. My question is this. Can I disconnect the two wires from the box and connect them to each other to bypass the switch? Will it harm anything else if I do this? Thanks in advance for replies.

Yes, connecting the two will bypass the switch, no it will not hurt anything, but now it can start in ANY GEAR.

OK thanks guys. I don't plan on drag racin it any so I should be fine there. I'll just have to make sure I'm in neutral when I start it.

Based on your description sounds like it might be mounted to the outside of the column? If so, it could be that the two screws that hold it down are just loose. If that be the case, you may have to rotate the switch assembly slightly to get it adjusted correctly then tighten it back down.

Good info Bob. I will look into that before I choose the disconecting option.

If the old switch is bad, I would replace it.
I would sure hate to see that baby bump in to any thing.
That car is far to nice to take chances with crunching a fender or worse, the grill. Not to mention crushing an admirer of the car.
Which I am sure there are LOTS and LOTS of. Just My 2 cents.

~ Vegas ~

Is it mounted on the steering column? Like a GM? If it is, you can ajust the switch by moving it slightly one click at a time until you have it where it should be. Your car should always have a nuetral safty switch. It never happens to you until it does.
Homer

Is it mounted on the steering column? Like a GM? If it is, you can ajust the switch by moving it slightly one click at a time until you have it where it should be. Your car should always have a nuetral safty switch. It never happens to you until it does.
Homer

It is a GM column, but it is installed underneath the shifter boot in the floor. I have a old style shifter that looks similar to the shifter that would have been in the car in the 30's. It's a 350 turbo tranny.

It messed up on me again today. It appears that the shifter in the area that contacts the switch had something like corrosion or something on it. I took a screwdriver and scrapped the area and it started right away. Is the switch itself suppose to get hot? While I was working on it it was fairly hot.

Its likely hot because the corrosion is causing a high resitance ,
Which will cause it to heat up. If it stays hot after the corrosion is cleaned, the could also be corrosion in the wiring or "the green death"
Nice car by the way.

Thanks hemmer. Looks like I'm your first post. Nice of you to post to help with your first.

From the sounds of this, I would guess you have a Gennie Shifter with the integrated neutral safety switch. These are prone to corrosion as you have apparently found. They are also prone to failure over time. You might want to clean it, simply spray contact cleaner on the switch, or replace it. All are simple fixes once you crawl under to reach it. And once cleaned and adjusted, they offer invaluable protection! (this should only take 10-20 minutes)

As for the advice you are getting about keeping the NS switch, this is some of the best advice you'll get for free. Too many times, cars are started when the owner "knew" the car was in park. Nevertheless, the car jumped out of nowhere and the damage was done before it could be stopped.

These hot rods (and our family & friends who are standing near the cars) are too important to take the unecessary risk. You are making the right call by keeping the NS switch.

This site is really cool. I remember wondering the same "Am I going to hurt this if I disconnect it?" question many years ago. I only wish I could have had a resource like ClubHotrod to seek out the help back then like we do now.

Good advice troy.......thanks.

It messed up on me again today. I really now think the problem is that it is getting too hot. I had driven the car to work and took turns driving people around in it and it started fine everytime. I came back one time turned off the car, went in to get another person and the car would not start. The area was very hot around the shifter. I let it cool down and then the car started right away.

Here are some pics of my shifter and switch. Troy had said it sound like a Gennie Shifter. Does anyone reconize it? Excuse the mess, I made it when I took the boot cover off to gain access....lol.