A neutral safety switch is a crucial safety component of your vehicles and first came in the 1980s.
The reason they came was an increasing issue of people leaving their kids alone in their vehicles, and they sometimes crashed their vehicles.
A neutral safety switch is a safety feature in your vehicle that prevents the vehicle from turning on if the gear mode is on for your transmission.
This is a very crucial feature because if you don’t use it, it can hurt your vehicle badly. After all, the underlying transmission suddenly jerks your vehicle.
How to bypass a neutral safety switch?
A wire is there which originates from the neutral safety switch on which lies an external switch mounted on the top of an axle.
Cut the wire to bypass this switch and one other wire on the same color swatches.
PS – It is not a recommendation to bypass the neutral safety switch due to safety issues in an automatic transmission.
Testing the neutral safety switch:
- Begin by depressing the brake pedal by keeping it stationary and shifting the gear to neutral to test for a faulty one.
- Then, use the 1/4th inch tool of the wrench and turn it in an anticlockwise direction to loosen it a bit.
- Third, use a crescent wrench for turning the screw in the clockwise direction.
- Keep doing the above step until the clutch pedal clears off.
- Attach the switch back to the connector and check it with a test light, and if the light fails to illuminate, you know that switch is faulty.
Symptoms of a bad switch:
Before going to symptoms, we must understand that just like any other electrical equipment out there, NSS too can wear out or corrode with time.
Some of the common symptoms are-
- It will misjudge the gearshift position and failure to start the engine.
- This is because this switch is the part that completes the whole circuit when the system is in a park/ neutral.
- Many modern-day NSS have designs that turn off the circuit automatically whenever they have a fault.
Some recommended items,
01. Standard Motor Products, Neutral safety switch- $20.89 to $29.90
- T-Series NSS, 0.15 lbs.
- Easy to install and fits precisely to your vehicle.
- Shift your transmission in neutral and install and then sand the bolt shaft and spray DW40.
- Then, the old part will leave the pry, and shifting will work fine.
- Backup lights will work because, in some models, a faulty NSS is responsible for this.
02. Original Engine Management 8841 Neutral Safety Switch – $40.55 to 55.67
- Fits most forms and models perfectly due to OE manufacturing.
- High-grade material and construction to avoid the failure of related units.
- Peak conductivity round the season.
- Provides multiple ports like backup light activate, gear selector lock.
- Very amazing quality.
Some other questions,
Related questions and Frequently Asked Questions:
Q1. What are some most likely implications if the safety switch fails?
Answer: This will bring some clear symptoms like the engine not cranking on neutral gear.
But engine cranks on the park on the vice-versa side of the spectrum.
This is most probably due to a faulty safety switch or an electric failure.
Lastly, engine cranking only in the park but not on neutral also shows a loose switch hose.
Q2. What are the main functions of a neutral safety switch?
Answer: Prevents jerking of the vehicle by turning it on only when on the neutral model.
A safety device for the automatic system of transmission to ignite the engine in park/ neutral mode only.
Q3. Does the neutral safety switch the feature on every car?
Answer: Yes!
Since the 1980s, some or other sorts of NSS are coming in automatic transmission. They prevent the car from going forward by only switching on the engine when the mode is drive or neutral.
This happened because many complaints came when parents who left their small kids in the car alone started the engine, which caused lots of jerk-related injuries.
Q4. How to tell that the relay is not okay or simply blown away?
Answer: Use a multimeter!
- To do this, first, remove the relay from the fuse box.
- Then, set the multimeter to DC voltage measurement settings and switch it on.
- At the 85th position of the fuse box, check for the voltage, whether it’s 12V, near the relay.
If this does not hold, most probably relay blown.
Q5. Where is this neutral safety switch one can locate?
Answer: On an automatic transmission vehicle, find it right under the shifter across the column.
It plugs directly into the wiring harness of your vehicle.
Q6. Can you get some problems with the bad neutral safety switch?
Answer: Of course!
- Your car can stall when in a reverse gear/ drive.
- The vehicle does not start on gears, excluding the parking/ neutral.
Q7. What are the implications of a bad transmission range sensor?
Answer: Vehicle not starting or not moving.
Transmission showing unusual gears or the car entering limp mode.
These are some of the most common symptoms of a bad TRS.
Q8. What are some implications of a bad starter?
Answer: A clicking noise when we turn on the key or push the start to on is one of the key features of a bad key starter.
The lights are on, but no action is visible.
Some other side symptoms are engine not cranking, smoke coming, and oil soaking your starter.
Q9. Can a faulty neutral safety switch cause some shifting problems?
Answer: Yes!
Because the purpose of neutral safety switch changes when it is faulty, and it stops gears from changing properly.
For instance, it can put the car to stall open when one is engaging the gear on drive/ reverse.
Q10. Can an MPMT be used as a neutral safety switch?
Answer: Not exactly!
An MPMT means multiple poles, a multi-throw switch, which one can use as an NSS on the automatic transmissions only.
And just like all switches have a common control, so is the case with a neutral safety switch.
Q11. How can I change the neutral safety switch on my Ford d150?
Answer: Remove the neutral safety switch.
- Park the Ford f50 on the uniform-level ground.
- Lock the wheels/ choke and let the transmission rest in neutral.
- Install the neutral safety switch, and line up the keyways of the switch with TSS or selector Shafter.
Lastly, turn on the switch by hand.
Q12. Is there any difference between the transmission range sensor and the neutral safety switch?
Answer: Just a little!
Both are simple protection pieces of equipment, which prevent all starter operations across all gearing except parking and neutral.
On the other hand, the TR sensor is a new member of the SCC control circuit and informs about the TCM/ current gear mode.
Q13. Can I keep driving my car with a faulty neutral safety switch in it?
Answer: Yes, but not the best idea.
One can bypass the switch, but it will only lead to more significant issues with your vehicle, like gear shifting issues.
Q14. How much can I expect to pay upfront for the neutral safety switch?
Answer: $100 to $325.
This includes parts and labor as well and also depends on your vehicle’s make and model.
Also, the current working system needs to be taken into clear consideration.
Q15. How long can it take to change the whole neutral safety switch?
Answer: The minimum time for this can easily be 60 minutes to even more.
And the cost of DIY can be around $50 plus.
Q16. Can we begin a car in the drive for automatic?
Answer: Yes! It is better.
This avoids any stress that you might otherwise experience during the start.
Also, on one more plus side, it safeguards your car against many petty things.
Because a car running in neutral is way riskier to drive due to a lot less control.
Final verdict:
A neutral safety switch assists the car to not start its engine in geared transmission for safety purposes and only begin if the same is in neutral.
It was invented during the 1980s when some parents left their kids in the car who then ignited the car, and some crashed it because it was in drive transmission.
If the switch is faulty, the engine can begin as soon as we put the key into the ignition, and a jerk-like position will occur.
And in certain auto models, the reverse lights also operate due to this neutral safety switch only.
The switch has a connection to a solenoid that activates the starter motor and which activates the engine further.
One can bypass it by cutting a wire, but it has never been the recommendation of experts because of the risk involved as there are nine wires in that circuit.
It can also lead to some potential shifting problems and a potential rollway situation that no one ever wants.
One should use a neutral, N sign whenever stopping at the light point for a few seconds and use handbrakes to avoid any mishap later.
For manual transmission, the neutral safety switch is beyond the clutch.
So, use purposefully.
Thanks for Reading!