Hi everybody I need to have the Neutral Safety Switch replaced on my 1990 6 speed manual Corvette. Does anybody have experience with this and is there a video on how to do this on the forum or somewhere else? My car is in excellent condition and we in Chicagoland are just starting to get our cars out for the year. I won’t be doing this I am going to go to the Chevy dealership. I was quoted as low as $75 to as high as $362. Does anybody have any idea how long this would take? I already have the Neutral Safety Switch which I bought from Ecklers for $75. Thanks for your help.

 

An M6 '90 has a clutch operated "safety switch" - there is NO NEUTRAL SAFETY

It does appear that maybe Eckler's does the switch now. Post a link or part number you were sold. Don't take it to a sole yet - no one. The switch is a recent addition maybe.

Some do the install easily, some struggle. I'd maybe want to have a conversation with the tech that would maybe be doing it first. You're interested to know if he ever has. In your area there are several with experience and I'd think you could avoid the dealer and have a much better experience.

I'll PM a guy and ask him to check on the thread!!

Chicagoland is pretty generalized - location might be important - where are you actually located? I know people who claim "Chicagoland" and they're 100+ miles away and have never been there!!!

I've done it once and it wasn't aggravating but I had a pretty good idea where I was going.

I did a search for "clutch safety" from the C4 forum main page that checks all sub-forms and got 250+ hits.

Use the "SEARCH THIS FORUM" button above "threads/posts".

You Tube might get you hits using "corvette c4 clutch safety" - I don't use You Tube.

Switch is located above and behind the hush panel and it's reinforcement under the dash. here's an image of the pedal and switch.



Many struggle with the retainer (#6) and lose it. It might be a wise buy just to have. GM# 3989067 is likely discontinued but on many dealers shelves. There should be same available some parts stores, it's the same as early GM choke rod retainers. Use the GM# as a reference.

 

WVZR-1 thank you for the reply. I am in the city of Chicago right now but I usually have the work done on my Corvette in the Downers Grove area which is 32 miles west of Chicago. I will find the link or the part number and post it when I get home. I had planned to get the Corvette out for the year next week so I have time before I have any work done. The Corvette runs great but I worry that it might not start sometimes but it always does.

 

If it ain't broke leave it alone. Learn how to bypass it here on the forum, make a jumper and if it fails on the road you can get home. I might have more faith in an older OE/GM part than the "NEW" Eckler's.

If you do replace it DO NOT DISCARD THE OLD AND MAKE SURE YOU TELL THE INSTALLER YOU WANT IT BACK UNDAMAGED - JUST REMOVED. Stress doing it right.

You might want to study "starer enable relay" there's by-pass suggestions. Improvement in efficiency/performance by doing some wiring improvements suggestions also. Try to make sure your reads pertain to '90 model. There's many reads ...

 

You might want to rethink that switch. Somebody was having these made,most likely came from China and I wouldn't take one for FREE! And the switch is a total nightmare to get to. When the time comes to replace mine I'll bypass it and I have a new GM switch in the box.

 

You would have to be a surgeon to be able to get at the one I have in my "85". It's is almost impossible to get out. Mine went bad and I just "jumpered" it where the electrical plug attaches to the switch. I just make sure that I have it in neutral or my clutch is depressed to start the car. Just like the old days!

 

If you are not having issues with your switch now, you have time to consider your options. But, as WVZR-1 said it is better to leave it alone than chance getting a Chinese-made piece of junk. And...are you sure there is a problem with the clutch safety switch and not something else in the whole start circuit?

Options:

1. Do nothing - wait until it starts to fail*. (also, verify the START ENABLE RELAY is working. Replace it ONLY if you verify it is not working)
2. By-pass the switch, i.e., removing it from the circuit.
3. Install a relay to shift the starter current load away from the clutch safety switch.
4. Suggest instead of taking it to a sealer, take it to Marc Haibeck in Addison, IL. (Marc is excellent and specializes in the C4 ZR-1, and the starter circuits are (according to my FSM) the same for all 90-92 C4s (at a minimum)).

• Doing nothing - buys time to find a switch made in the USA (not Chinese crap). When the OEM part begins to fail, hopefully you'll have a good switch to replace the old one. Either way, sooner or later they all fail, especially before the circuit design change in the '93+ models.

• Perhaps the easiest fix is to by-pass the switch. By cutting off the clutch switch connector and soldering the two wires together and shrink-wrapping / tie-wrapping the wires securely away, you'll permanently remove the chance that switch will ever leave you stranded. That's the good news. The "bad" news is you loose the safety afforded by to depress the clutch before the starter will turn. (However, by now you're no doubt in the habit of depressing the clutch anyway (AND having the transmission in NEUTRAL). But, if you're like most of us, you'll never know the switch is missing, because the procedure of depressing the clutch is so ingrained in you by now, it isn't an issue.)
  
  
• Install an auxiliary relay to handle the heavy starter current. (This is essentially how the '93+ cars were modified to considerably reduce the clutch switch failure rate.)

Here is the schematic for the 90-92 ZR-1s (which I presume should be identical electrically, if not wire color also).



Here is a schematic of the auxiliary relay circuit I designed that relieves the clutch safety switch of the high starter current. (See Dynomite's Solutions section for more detail.) Note: Although my '90 is a ZR-1, the FSM covering both the base (VIN 8) cars and the ZR-1 (VIN J) makes no distinction between the two, far as this starter circuit goes. You'll have to see for yourself if there is a purple wire connected to the clutch switch.)

• Except for the motor, suspension, and some body panels, the ZR-1 is essentially a C4. Marc Haibec would be my "goto" guy for any work on my C4 ZR-1 I couldn't do myself. You'll be in good hands.

Contact Information
Telephone and FAX
630-458-8427

Shipping Address
430 West Kay Avenue Unit D, Addison, Illinois, 60101-4934 USA
Some postal address systems require the address to be in this format: 430D West Kay Avenue.

When shipping to us via FedEx or UPS. We open at 10:30 am. Select a shipping class that is delivered after 10:30 am. Or use the "signature not required option". Otherwise the package will not be delivered if the shipper arrives before we open.
Electronic Mail
mhaibeck@sbcglobal.net

Hopefully you (or someone) can use this info. Also see SOLUTIONS sticky in this section, and gaze at Marc Haibeck's article on the NO START issue; again keeping in mind some differences exist between the ZR-1 and the base cars.

 

That's what I wanted you to do is maybe give him some install options in the area - I attempted no schematics or other advice - I didn't know his location but it seems Marc is maybe a 25 -30 minute drive. Is that correct?

 

Your are correct, depending on traffic of course. And, virtually all of the "FBI" ZR-1 gang does most of their own wrenching; in the Chicagoland area - is the point - including a couple in Chicago itself. Any of these guys would be happy to lend a hand too.

 

I was having problems with what I thought to be the switch also. I was having to push the clutch farther down all the time to get the car started until finally the clutch lever started contacting the back of the pressure plate and causing a horrible scraping noise. I jumpered the switch which was simple once I got under the dash. I took out the seat and laid on my back with my feet up in the cargo area and it was a lot easier to work. Well, that fixed my starting problem but NOT my scraping sound when I put the clutch down very far.
What was really causing my problem was the pivot ball stud in the bell-housing had come loose and was unscrewing causing the pivot arm to get closer to the pressure plate until it started contacting it when the clutch was depressed.
It's a pain to have to pull everything apart to retighten this pivot ball stud, but it might not really be the switch that is causing the problem after all.

 

WVZR-1 I found the email from Ecklers here is the link to the part: http://www.ecklerscorvette.com/corve...1986-1996.html

This is what I thought I needed so I bought it. After reading your messages and the others I won’t do anything just yet. Thank you for your help.

I am at work now so I will be replying to everybody hopefully before the day is over.

 

The link only opens to Eckler's main page with a "sale" promotion but I'm quite sure you received what they sell that is supposedly correct. To be quite frank, there's NONE OF US that can shout JUNK - NONE OF US - but history tells us it's certainly very likely. Is it? who knows.

Let's see if this is what you bought: 25-341647-1 which is theoretically a replacement for the OE #: 10045822.

 

Hi Z51JEFF I am not changing the switch just yet, that seem to be the consensus here. I won’t do anything just yet.

 

Hi FOURSPEEDVETTE I am not a surgeon so I won’t be attempting the replacement of the switch…LOL I have been doing as you suggest to start the Corvette.

 

Hi Paul Workman everything you have mentioned I have been experiencing and I am trying to buy time for sure. I figured out that I need to pump the clutch a few times to reset everything, it does work. Thanks for all the information you posted I don’t totally understand but I think I have a few friends who will. I also tried to get in contact with a member here that I know because of Corvette Forum via PM but have not gotten a response yet. His user name is Matatk. I was in contact with Marc Hailbeck last year, October 7 & 8 2015 because of my clutch when I was trying to get it fixed right. Three weeks later the original place that worked on my car finally got it to work. Marc was willing to work on the car but they were booked up for about 6 weeks.
How far below I-80 are you? I use to live about 1 mile above I-80 when I lived in South Holland.

 

You are correct without traffic it is about 23 according to Google Maps, to Marc Hailbeck’s shop.

 

Who is the “FBI”? When I raced motocross FBI stood for “Fast Boys from Illinois” who would race against the “Michigan Mafia”. We had talked about doing our own work but don’t have the space, tools or know how.

I had worked in the service department at the local Honda-Yamaha motorcycle but never worked on my own cars after I started working full time. Now I remember very little.

 

Hey Guys thanks for mentioning Marc Hailbeck I had forgotten about him.

 

Hi Bill,

It sounds like you've gotten some very solid advice already. My question would be the following:

What leads you to believe you need a new switch in the first place? What symptoms/signs is the car exhibiting?

Matthew

 

Just a coincidence, but the ZR-1 guys in the Chicagoland - couple dozen +/- also took the tag "FBI" (Fast Boys of Illinois) and race their ZR-1s against all the local Chicagoland Corvette clubs at local drag events as well as just hanging out or gathering for cruises and shows, etc.