Well, my car has been a little jerk recently; i bought a new battery, new cables, had the starter checked, alternator checked, new cap, rotor, coil, wires. The car doesnt wanna even turn over. After I pulled the starter yesterday and put it back on, the car started right up. Later that night i went to start it and nothing. There is only a few things going on. For starters, the antenna goes down as im cranking. Two, the fuel pump whines. Three, the little black relay box by the battery, and the est box harness "click" when the key is being turned over. Ive heard about the neutral safety switch, and i used a test light on it. I dont know what to look for, or how to test for proper operation on this one. Plus, i found two harnesses in the space between the engine and the firewall. One of them is a blue three prong connector, the other is a two prong black connector, both of the waterproof style. I cant find a home for either of these, and it appeared that they havent been hooked up in ages. No trouble codes either. Well, sorry for the essay, but my car has stumped me and many other people who have tried to fix it, thanks a lot

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Otherwise stock Lg4
Mods: Intake, K&N filter, Flowmasters, Cat-pipe delete, MSD blaster coil, Open air element, ASCD Big block stinger hood.

 

The neutral safety switch is at the base of the steering column somewhere, depending on whether you have a stick or auto. It has a large yellow and a large purple wire which should make it easy to identify. IIRC in an auto car of some years there is a harness that comes from the shifter in the console, that then plugs into the connector that would go to the switch if it were a manual car.

Once you find the connector with those 2 wires in it, check the yellow one with a test light first, with the key in "Start"; if it has no juice, then the ignition switch is dead. Then check the purple, if the yellow has juice but not the purple then the switch is the problem.

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."
ICON Motorsports

 

okay, ive pretty much checked everything on my car, and heres what ive come up with. The neutral safety switch, which is located on my shifter assembly, has six (or seven) wires going into it. The top two, the yellow and purple wires, both lack power when i tested them. The only wire on the whole safety switch that had power was the third from the bottom, which was blue, which was next to the ground. Is there a way i can jump power to one of the yellow or purple wires? If both show lack of power, what is the culprit? I try to start the car the fuel pump whines as i attempt to start it in park/neutral, but nothing else in any other gears. Another thing, i tried to start the car with the steering column in many positions, all the way down, all the way up to the top. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks-


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Otherwise stock Lg4
Mods: Intake, K&N filter, Flowmasters, Cat-pipe delete, MSD blaster coil, Open air element, ASCD Big block stinger hood.

[This message has been edited by 87 Camaro Z28 (edited December 09, 2001).]

 

So when you tested them, were you testing them with the key in "Start"? The NSS is after the ignition switch and before the starter solenoid, so they won't have power except for when the car is supposed to be starting.

The other wires on that switch have to do with the TCC lockup (only works in certain gears) and the backup lights (only work in reverse, duh). Don't mess with them.

If the yellow wire has no power in "Start", then you need an ignition switch.

Don't "jump" power from one place to another, it's never the right answer. Find the problem and fix it.

The antenna is supposed to go down during cranking. The radio doesn't get power when the key is in "Start", so to the antenna relay, it looks like either the car is off or the radio is off; either way, it's supposed to put the antenna down.

The blue 3-prong connector is for the baro sensor, not all cars have them but they all have the wiring. What color are the wires in the 2-pronger? Where exactly is it?

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."
ICON Motorsports

 

O.k. thats a relief becuase i thought the wiring was messing something up. I thought the baro sensor was next to the est connector by the brake booster. Anyways its a blue three prong harness. The two prong harness is black and resembles a mc selenoid. That connector is a weathertight one and its located down between the firewall and the engine, and its pretty low on the block, in fact its tangled up down the some metal tube that is coming from the oil pressure sending unit. I just found that one the other day and i never have had any troubles with anything in particular so i guess it isnt that important, it too looked like it hadnt been plugged in in forever. But back to the problem, yeah im not getting power to the yellow wire with the key in the "start" position. Would it matter if i cranked it over and then checked for power? Another thing, I really would like to get this fixed sometime soon, and my steering column had always been a bit loose (someone tried to steal it before) and it leaves a little bit of play when i steer but ive gotten used to it. I think that my problem lies in there somewhere, becuase maybe the linkage got f*ed up somewhere in there. I want to take it either to the shop or do it myself, but i need to know if i take it to the shop what should i have them replace and how much would they possibly charge me? If i went to the bone yard and got a steering column off of a car there (seen those, they are in good shape) and replaced it with mine, wouldnt it fix my problems with the play in the column and also the ignition problem? Also, if i went that route, how much work is it to replace a colum with another one? thanks a million-

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Otherwise stock Lg4
Mods: Intake, K&N filter, Flowmasters, Cat-pipe delete, MSD blaster coil, Open air element, ASCD Big block stinger hood.