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Peter Ng
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 24, 2002 - 06:36 am: | 
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Hi, I've just bought a '95 disco with the shifter stuck in Park. The brake lights come on fine when the brake pedal is depressed. Does this rules out the brake light switch as a possible culprit? Previous owner mentioned LR dealer diagnosed and wanted $600+ to fix the problem, something about replacing a "cable". Help! |
SoCalJoe
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 24, 2002 - 12:18 pm: |
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Automatic I assume.
Is there tension in the button that you depress in on the shifter lever? If it goes in VERY freely, as if there is NO resistance at all.....the mechanism is either broke or out of wack. If so, pop off the wood trim on top of the shifter and realign the clip/mechanism.
Secondly,it IS VERY possible for the brake light switch to be junk and STILL have your brake lights work. Happened to me.
Better off spending the $35 or so to throw in a new switch to find out. It is sooooo easy, did it in 10 seconds. This switch will go bad anyway, might as well head it off at the pass and eliminate one more DEFINITE problem. It literally pops out of a slot, unplug wires, slide new one in, reattach wires and BOOM, it's done. MUCH easier if you remove the black plastic shield first, much more accessible this way with a flash light. |
offrovn
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 24, 2002 - 04:07 pm: |
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I had the same exact problem happen, at least I think the same as what you are having. Except mine was not in as convenient of a place as my driveway. It was stuck in park and the orange anti lock brake light was on ( the one that comes on and stays on until you start moving). All I remember hearing was it was the brake switch. It cost me between 100.00 and 150.00 to get fixed. The dealership should know of the problem, at least mine did. |
Mike Cox
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 24, 2002 - 10:10 pm: |
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If all the above fails, check the switches in the Shifter assembly.
I have a 95 also and had that same problem, shifter wouldn't come out of Park. If possible, listen real close to the shifter assembly and depress the brake pedal. There is a little piston that comes out and allows the shifter to be moved from park, only when the brake pedal has been depressed.
When the unit is in drive, it comes back out to prevent you from accidentally shifting in to park while driving. There is another "roller" type switch the lets the system know you are in park or some other gear. if these guys are out of alignment, none of it works.
The problem I found with mine is that something or someone had tried to do something fancy and ended up wrapping the microswitch with the roller up like a pretzel. Easily fixed with a $2 part from Radio Shack. I'd hate to think what the dealership would have wanted for the part.
It sounds complicated, but it is more time consuming than anything else.
Mike |
petern12
| | Posted on Thursday, July 25, 2002 - 12:44 am: |
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Guys, thanks for all the great advices. You are so right that it wouldn't hurt giving the brake light switch a try. Even if it turns out not to be the culprit, the old switch will be cheap insurance for a part which can leave you stranded.
I'll put one in first thing tomorrow morning. Mike, I DO NOT hear an audible click or "feel" any action/movement from the shifter boot area when I depress the brake pedal (engine running or key in pos 3). Does the disco make an audible "click"? The reason I'm asking is because I also own a '90 Nissan pickup and a '95 Mercedes S420, both automatic. In the Nissan, stepping on the brake pedal will result in a pretty loud "clack", as the solenoid releases the locking mechanism at the shifter, you can actually "feel" the action taking place with your hand on the shifter. The mercedes on the other hand, also has a shift lock mechanism, but the action/sound is imperceptible.
Mike, where exactly is the "microswitch with the roller" located? And what part from Radio Shack did you get to do the fix? Yeah the thought of throwing myself at the mercy of those sharks at the dealer makes me cringe.... Thanks again guys! |
thechosen1
| | Posted on Thursday, July 25, 2002 - 11:30 am: |
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my advice...check your fuses. This happened to me and my brake light fuse was out. |
petern12
| | Posted on Thursday, July 25, 2002 - 11:58 am: |
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will check, but fuse seems unlikely since brake lights are functional. |
petern12
| | Posted on Thursday, July 25, 2002 - 05:41 pm: |
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Okay, here's the latest: I've replaced the brake light switch, but nothing doing, shifter still stuck in Park. There is plenty of tension in the shifter release button, and I hear a click in the dashboard area whenever it's depressed. No "clicking" however from the shifter assembly area. I'm following Mike's advice and trying to remove the shifter assembly. Got the center console out but now stuck not knowing how to remove the shifter "T-handle" in order to lift the shift indicator cover out. BTW, is there a way to temporarily "unlock" the shifter? I mean once I've got clear access under the shifter, is there a locking mechanism accessible and can be disengaged/removed temporarily? Help!
Peter |
Mike Cox
| | Posted on Friday, July 26, 2002 - 12:05 am: |
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Hi Peter,
You should be hearing a "Click" when the brake is depressed. This is the solenoid opening and closing.
There are, if I recall correctly, two microswitches in the shifter area. The Microswitch I had a problam with was the one that is near the top of the shifter that lets the other switches know that the Gear selector is in a position other than "Park". It had gone out of alignment and when pulled in to gear a few times had coiled up. Take the old microswich down to radio shack and you can find the same size on there for a couple of bucks, The main thing is to remember which wire was connected to "NO" (Normally Open) or "NC" (Normally Closed).
I believe the other microswitch let it know the selector was in the "park" position.
I'm looking in my manuals to see if I can find a picture to send. The Haynes manual gives directions, but minimal pictures. I have the big white one around somewhere, but I think my wife is intentionally hiding it from me.
The actual name for this stuff is the "Gear Selector Interlock Solenoid". I have heard of the solenoid going bad, but I haven't seen one go bad yet.
I'm not sure if you can bypass any of the microswitches, I think they are looking for certain positions before allowing shifting, starting and such.
When we get you back up and running, I have some questions for you about how your Serpentine belt is routed.
Mike |
petern12
| | Posted on Friday, July 26, 2002 - 01:12 am: |
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Mike, here's the latest with my predicament: The good news: I finally managed to get the "T-handle" shifter and shift indicator cover out. The bad news is it was getting dark, so I didn't have time to investigate the various switches you spoke off, but did notice one sitting at the bottom right. I was however able to spot the "safety pin  ", and, by depressing it with a long flat head driver, I was able to get out of Park! It felt great, even though it's just a temporary fix. Since this pin fails to open/close, hence no "clicking" in the shifter area, even though I have replaced the brake light switch, then I wonder if a faulty solenoid is the culprit, but then again, I wonder what "cable" the dealer was referring to when they tried to squeeze $600+ out of the previous owner...I'm contemplating whether I should just get rid of the "safety pin" altogether since its only purpose seems to be locking the shifter in Park until the brake pedal is depressed, it looks like it's the shifter button, which pull up a plunger lock on a ratchet cam type on the other side that prevent accidental shift from Park to reverse, true? It would be great if you could email me a pic of the complete shifter assembly (only if you don't get in trouble with the Mrs. of course.... Thanks again! BTW, would love to help you out with the "serpent" once I'm back on my rubber again... I too plan to replace the belt soon, since the previous owner was a strictly "if it work, don't fix it" kinda guy...I can borrow a digicam and email you a pic of my belt in a few days. Thanks again!
Peter |
Mike Cox
| | Posted on Friday, July 26, 2002 - 08:51 am: |
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Ok! Like I said, once you get in to it,it is pretty easy to see how it works, Play with the switches a little while depressing the brake and see if you get the solenoid to actuate. Maybe it's a little stickey. A previous owner could have spilled a coke or something that dripped on it. It's a pretty simple (robust) design. You might can check with a test light or something to see if your gettng voltage to the solenoid when depressing the brake (Make sure you have the other switches open/closed for this) That will isolate it to that solenoid or not. |
petern12
| | Posted on Saturday, July 27, 2002 - 04:41 am: |
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Mike, you're a genious! It was the microswitch with the roller toggle attached! I would've gunned straight for the solenoid after replacing the brake light switch if it weren't for you. Turning the switch on and off furiously and with my foot on the brake, the solenoid would be actuated intermittently every now and then. There are no visible connections to be cleaned. "Hotwiring" the two wires leading to the switch, the solenoid then started to retract and release the "safety pin" in perfect unison with the brake pedal, never missing a beat. It was the damn switch! So my rig is temporarily fixed now. The only bummer is the solenoid would be actuated EVERY time I step on the brake, instead of only when getting out of Park. The little switch looks to be a bear to replace, as it is riveted to a metal bar with a metal loop through which a bunch of wires runing through every which way. |
Mike Cox
| | Posted on Saturday, July 27, 2002 - 10:03 am: |
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Ahhh, I never said everything would be easy.
Take a good look at the switch. I could have straightened mine out and it would probably have worked fine. I'm just anal retentive about some things. I think mine was in with two screws, so it wasn't that difficult to replace/Adjust.
Another option, if you can get to it, is buy another switch and just exchange the armatures. It has been a while, so I don't recall how much room you have to play in.
Glad I was able to help some.
Mike |
Mike Cox
| | Posted on Saturday, July 27, 2002 - 10:09 am: |
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oops, Forgot to add. Check to make sure the switch, and not the switch adjustment are the problem.
I've seen these switches go bad before in other equpiment, but it is usually the switch armature that has become bent/broken, or the alignment that is off, not always a bad switch. |
petern12
| | Posted on Saturday, July 27, 2002 - 09:03 pm: |
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I'm ahead of you on this one Mike ...I was hoping it was just a misaligned armature, but no such luck. I bent ithe armature further to increase pressure on the switch, I bent it out of the way and tested the switch itself by depressing it with a phillips head. Nothing doing. That switch has gone south for the summer,fall & winter... Darn, how come mine's riveted flush...BTW, I also called the "expert" at Roverconnection during the peak of my frustration and explained my situation. The guy was just stumped after I said I've already replaced the brake light switch. Another compliment to you Mike! Thanks again. |
petern12
| | Posted on Saturday, July 27, 2002 - 09:08 pm: |
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Oops, it was the "expert" at British Atlantic that I'd called, not roverconnection... |
petern12
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 30, 2002 - 01:40 am: |
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Mike, my serpentine belt is routed like this:
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Peter Nguyen (Petern12)
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 30, 2002 - 01:41 am: |
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Mike, my serpentine belt is routed like this:
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