Neutral Safety bad?
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 366
Likes: 19
Neutral Safety bad?
Now it is possible my starter woes could be a bad neutral safety switch. I wish I could test that part before swapping it out. I have done everything else to solve the starter problem. 
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 1,697
Likes: 139
From: Syracuse NY
1) Make SURE car is in park.
2) See step 1
3) See step 2
4) pull the plug, take a paper clip and insert it into 2 of the holes. (IIRC, there are 3, put the clip into the first 2. (Its been 20 years since Ive done this, so forgive me)
5) See step 1
6) Crank engine
Or, you could remove the switch and just do a simple continuity test. (pushing the detent ball will close the circuit)...and be aware that when you take out the switch, fluid is going to drain all over the place....put down a lot of newspaper.
2) See step 1
3) See step 2
4) pull the plug, take a paper clip and insert it into 2 of the holes. (IIRC, there are 3, put the clip into the first 2. (Its been 20 years since Ive done this, so forgive me)
5) See step 1
6) Crank engine
Or, you could remove the switch and just do a simple continuity test. (pushing the detent ball will close the circuit)...and be aware that when you take out the switch, fluid is going to drain all over the place....put down a lot of newspaper.
Last edited by Scottd; Mar 19, 2015 at 08:53 PM.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 366
Likes: 19
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 366
Likes: 19
Testing Neutral Safety switch
1) Make SURE car is in park.
2) See step 1
3) See step 2
4) pull the plug, take a paper clip and insert it into 2 of the holes. (IIRC, there are 3, put the clip into the first 2. (Its been 20 years since Ive done this, so forgive me)
5) See step 1
6) Crank engine
Or, you could remove the switch and just do a simple continuity test. (pushing the detent ball will close the circuit)...and be aware that when you take out the switch, fluid is going to drain all over the place....put down a lot of newspaper.
2) See step 1
3) See step 2
4) pull the plug, take a paper clip and insert it into 2 of the holes. (IIRC, there are 3, put the clip into the first 2. (Its been 20 years since Ive done this, so forgive me)
5) See step 1
6) Crank engine
Or, you could remove the switch and just do a simple continuity test. (pushing the detent ball will close the circuit)...and be aware that when you take out the switch, fluid is going to drain all over the place....put down a lot of newspaper.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 11,183
Likes: 3,335
From: North of Toronto - Ontario
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1589170231
Near the bottom of post #1 I check the switch and give the wire checks
HIH
M
Near the bottom of post #1 I check the switch and give the wire checks
HIH
M
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 22,182
Likes: 4,178
From: Kannapolis NC
MAKE SURE THE CAR IS IN PARK if you jump the switch because the car will start in gear with the switch jumped.
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Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 22,182
Likes: 4,178
From: Kannapolis NC
I have a 72 wiring diagram and the neutral portion can be bypassed by jumping the two purple wires. The pink and green wires are for the back up light. There's always the possibility that it's not an electrical problem with the neutral switch, it could be physically broken or misadjusted so that the contacts aren't making when in park or neutral. OR one of the purple wires could be broken or have a bad connection. (check all the way to the starter)
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 2,520
Likes: 11
From: Hinckley OH
The best way to check the neutral safety switch is with an ohm meter. You don't need to have the ignition on to do this check so it is safer than jumping wires. Remove the purple and purple and white wires and connect the ohm meter to the connections where you removed the purple and purple and white wires. You should have continuity between those two terminals when the shifter is in park and neutral only. Sometimes the problem is that the switch just needs to be moved (adjusted) so that when the shift lever is in park or neutral there is continuity between those two terminals.