The front micro switch does a little more that tells the car that the lever is in park. It also shuts down the power to the park lock solenoid so it does not over heat the thermal fuse to wear it out once the lever is out of the park postion.

So if he is not getting the shift to part to shut the car down, then the front micro switch is fine. So this leave the park lock solenoid, and as stated, after enough times of the solenoid left in a energized state (waiting for you to take the car out of park so the micro switch to tell the car that the car is out of park and can de-energize the lock solenoid, it thermal fuse has just giving up the ghost, and not either allowing any current, or limited current to the solenoid wires to energize it instead.

Also, another part of the math, being you have to have your foot on the brake pedal so the brake pedal sensor (calibrated correctly) can send the needed information to the ECM to active the park solenoid as well.

So he is the basic run down, lever all the way forward, pushes on the micro switch to hold it in the closed position. You start the car, press down on the brake, and the park solenoid will energize, you take the car out of park, it breaks the contact on the micro switch, and this breaks the contact on the micro switch to de-einergize the solenoid.

I bring this up, since if you have to push the shift lever forward, before the park solenoid will energize and you can take it out of park, the problem is the micro switch arm lever needs to be tweaked in a more open position. Hence you pushing the lever forward to shut off the car is enough to make the needed contact on the micro-switch, but when you put your foot on the brake to take the car out of park the micro switch is not in a closed contact to begin with, or long enough to leave the solenoid energized long enough for the lock arm to stay released from the catch notch.

So see if this is really the problem (micro switch arm needing to be tweaked/bent more open), then just start the car, use something to hold the micro switch closed/arm lever forward as you are pulling the shift lever out of park with your foot on the brake.

 

I have been hunting for that switch as well. Many threads have folks bypassing all sorts of electrical and mechanical stuff, but with my '05 C6 A4 Trans, this little microswitch is stealing all the power that is intended for the solenoid. Here's a schematic that I reverse engineered ...



In the picture below, the Meter is reading over 300 ohms when it should be (ideally) a dead short. This is why the Solenoid doesn't have enough power to energize. Depending on how hard I pushed/deformed the lever, I could get over 1000 ohms. It's not your battery. It's this little switch that is keeping us all stuck in park. (the other microswitch, without my finger on it, is not directly involved in this circuit)



I haven't taken the switch apart to clean it yet, but if I can't find a new one, that might be my only hope.

My switch has some markings on it ... Burgess ... V4NCSE

A little googling shows it as an SAIA micro-switch ... I found some catalogs but nothing with an exact match. There is a special part number for the solder-tabs vs. wires. CLICKY

I took some closeup pics of the switch. I can post them if y'all want to see them.

 

I'm cross posting this across the dozen or so threads I have found about this problem with the '05 C6 A4 being stuck in park.

That little microswitch is the culprit. It should go from open-circuit to short when activated. Mine is all over the place. It either needs to be replaced or cleaned.

 

My stuck in park situations never were accompanied by any message on the DIC.

 

I ordered a switch from eBay Based on the part numbers are found from pictures on this thread.... it came from China and I got 2 of them because my neighbors Corvette has the same problem only the switch looks too small! I'm afraid to take the console apart for nothing. I need that exact switch! Does someone out there know the part number?? I went to the dealer to take a shifter appart at the parts department.. the guy at the parts counter brought it up and we attempted to take it apart be but he did not want to because it would require cutting a tywrap band to view the switch to see if it was indeed the correct one... Dealer wants $784! For the shifter.... my c6 is a 2008 in my neighbors is a 2005. the switch is may be different.. It's now occurred to me that this week we shifters look slightly different and so the switch may not be the same! Help help I don't wanna pay the dealer a $1000 for $5 part. I have been a bench technician at Radio Shack for about 5 years and at Heathkit too so I am quite capable troubleshooting and fixing things like this... I am very good with a soldering iron ... all I need is the damn switch!! Does someone out there know the part number? I'm afraid to take the console apart more than once because the plastic pieces appear to be easy to break I don't want to double the chances of that happening especially for fixing my neighbors 2005. I'm sure mine will be the Guinea pig and I'll do his next however.

These are the ones I paid 50 bucks for for 2 on eBay ...forget mouser at digi key it's impossible to select them from the thousands of criteria with their silly charts

 

I was about to replace my switches when I discovered a bad battery. DVM showing just 6-7 volts DC.

This is as basic as it gets, but once I replaced the battery and tightened the cable clamp for the negative terminal, all is good now!!

 

So, you bought the one you needed?
i bought 4 when I ordered them for my 05. I’ve never soldered before and figured a would at least screw one up, which I didn’t.
Do you still need them?

 

Great informative thread.
Post 16 show how to disassembly the switch and clean it.
I see no thread that indicates an exact replacement part available.
Again great thread.

 

Hi, just want to check in with anyone that did this microswitch replacement - how is the repair holding up? Was that a longterm fix?

Also, did you cut the OEM wires to the old solenoid, and then solder them to the new solenoid?

 

In the end, I kept asking myself 'How much faith do I have in this repair - knowing I could be 198 miles from no where if my efforts proved not to be up to the challenge. So, I ended up just replacing the entire shifter assembly. About $280. It comes with all the electric components already on it. And has only one plug that connects it to the vehicle's wiring once it's installed.

I did try replacing just the microswitches first. But there's not a lot of room to work. You are working just a few inches away from interior pieces that could get melted. And unless you've been doing little projects that involve soldering and already have the right equipment, it really was a lot more difficult than I was up for.

 

Hi, I replaced the micro switch last summer and have been very happy since then. The job does seem daunting at first, but I was very happy after completing the work myself. I had never soldered before but just practiced a couple of times on some scrap wire.
I soldered 2 wires to the new switch and then connected the new wires to the existing wires about 4 inches from the switch.
I bought a couple of extra switches in case I F’ed up. I can mail you one if you’d like. Just send me your address.
it can’t be that much to mail it from Canada.
cheers,
Peter

 

redback, can you share the link or part number where to buy the switches? Also, was your car the A4 or A6?

I did find the master thread about this issue (link below) so I think all my questions are answered there.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c6-corvette-general-discussion/4000696-a6-won-t-shift-out-of-park-root-cause-found.html

 

Hi,
The part number is SS-5GL13
I suggest a quick Google search and you will get a bunch of places who sell it.
My search brings up all Canadian vendors.

Cheers,
Peter

 

Thanks for the part numbers

 

Hey Peter,
I have all the info now to do this fix and understanding of the failure. I think one thing you missed to mention was if you needed to do the same to the 2nd switch? Because I'm thinking since I have it opened up like this, I might as well replace both, or I shouldn't?

Below is the picture you posted and you only replaced the switch with the red heat shrink on it. So basically my question is if you replaced the switch that is sitting right behind it, visible in your picture.

 

Just a minor update, some posts suggest cutting the switch wires and splicing in new longer wires. I found that the little plastic cover on the bottom of the original micro-switches can be popped off with a small flat blade screwdriver. This exposes the soldered connections. Wires can be unsoldered easily leaving plenty of length to solder them back on to the new switch. Worked for me

 

Here is the original micro-switch before wires unsoldered. You can see the bottom plastic cover has been pried off. This switch measured 1099 ohms when closed

 

Yes, the mirco switch in question, is for the pawl release solenoid.
But on the 05 A4 trans, the actual park/neutral switch is down by the trans shifter shaft on the trans.