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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.
Another pic from the side.
Here is a pic of a replacement switch that was given to me in a box of extra stuff when I bought the car. It has different connections, but that is no big deal.
Your easiest option right now is to swap switches.
If you have an ohmeter and can find the other ends of the wires , check the resistance in the circuit.( with the batery disconected).
Sometimes easier said then done I guess.
If It didin't Start when you wiggled the shifter I'dve said your starter was getting too hot.Is there a small block under the hood?
Yeah it's a 350.
If its got headers they realy like to heat up starters, and will do the same thing..Wont start when they get hot. then Start when they cool.
Seen it lots of times.
Very intersting. I'll switch the switch and if it continues, then that could be the answer. Anyway to keep the heat from it?
Starter blankets or header wrap. I would use the starter blanket because because I have heard things about header wrap causing the header to crack. That may not be true, but the starter blanket is easier to put on and will get the job done.
youther:
You definetly have a Gennie shifter. And they really are good shifters so rest easy on that part. As for difficulty starting, to test which is the culprit? is very simple. Especially since you can access the switch from the interior. NS switches are nothing more than a pass-through connection when they are in neutral or park. The connection is broken when forward or reverse gears are in use. So to test if it is the starter or the switch, take a continuity tester and see if both posts are passing continuity?
If so and the car wont start, then I would certainly hold the starter solenoid as suspect. If not, then your nuetral safety switch is not passing the current through the contacts and the starter has no knowledge you are wanting to burn fuel.
If you end up with starter issues, I would recommend installing a remote solenoid (like from a Ford) so the heat doesnt keep you from going when you are ready. Just so you know what is causing this (if it is indeed the case) is the engine/header heat causes the solenoid or wiring to the solenoid to overheat and wont allow the contacts or wire to carry the necessary voltage to turn the starter. If you can eliminate the heat (which is hard to do unless you coat your headers, build a shield, or move the solenoid to a cooler location like mentioned above) then you can solve the famous Chevy solenoid problems.
Hope this helps!
It is defienately not the neutral switch. I started it several times today while it was cold and no problems at all. I then ran it out for about 45 minutes and turned it off, and no starty start. Between Hemmer, Troy, and 76GMC you guys nailed it on the head. So is it most likely the solenoid or the starter that would most likely be the culprit?
Youther:
If you do not have issues starting until the engine is hot, then I would say it is the heat not letting the solenoid work. You can either install a heat shield, or like I mentioned above you can install a Ford type remote solenoid. I will dig around and try to locate instructions for you.
Do you have a large type starter? Or one of the smaller Gear Reduction starters? The gear reduction units seem to be better able to stand the heat. I would imagine it has a lot to do with the quality.
I would guess you have an older "large" type which came stock from GM. Typically exhaust was not routed close to the stock starter due to ample room in the engine bay. But in a '32 you simply dont have this luxury. So by the time the exhaust/headers are "shoe-horned" right up next to the starter...presto----you have starter problems when the engine bay is hot.
By remote mounting the solenoid, you will eliminate this problem going forward. Since this is several long hours of work to complete, I might suggest seeing if you can protect the solenoid from the heat as it seems to be working fine when it is not hot.
Let me know how it works out for you.
Here you go...
http://www.novaresource.org/starter.htm
http://www.catpep.com/catproducts/mo...heatshield.asp
http://www.speedwaymotors.com/prod_l...tSearch_id=225
http://www.buicks.net/techref/ftecref4.html
http://www.h-body.org/library/hbodyfaq/hbodyfaq-8.html
http://www.paceparts.com/index.asp?P...S&Category=213
Hope this helps!
Great links and info troy. Looks like the blanket is the fastest way to attempt to correct the problem. I think I will try that first. I like the remote ford thing next. Your'e a great help!!!
And if all of the above doesn't work increase the guage size on both cables. I had a'63 cad once that had 4 foot positive battery cable. Had the same problem you're having. Cured it with a length of 0000 cable. Made the ends from 1/2 inch copper tubing.