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Okay, got the Neutral position switch, now what?


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Following the advice of the "senior" Soob owners on here, I ordered and have now received the Neutral Position switch for the Legacy LS wagon. I thought I could put it in myself until I read in the manual something about "adjustments" and an OHM meter. Having not used the O-Meter before, how do I do this? Or is there a nice simple just "remove the old one and bolt up the new one" approach? Looks like my mechanic will be paid this week! *sigh*

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'95, Auto, 2.2L AWD.

 

Neutral position switch came with new wiring harness because Soob has changed it somehow. So cost me more!:mad: I mean c'mon, $165 Cdn for the switch and then another $80 for the harness! Dumbfounded even the parts guys at the Soob dealership. Go figger.

 

I thought it would be a case of just pulling off the old one and putting on the new one...harness and all. But seems I need to be part electrical engineer to do this one too. :-\

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If you're not in a hurry I'm parting a 95 2.2 auto sedan that the rear driveshaft came loose. So the switch should be fine.

 

But it would be a couple weeks until I could get it off.

Don't know about shipping to Canada, or if you could return what you have purchased.

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2) Installation and adjustment of inhibitor switch

(1) Install the inhibitor switch to the transmission case.

Fit the projecting portion of the switch in the recessed

portion of the case, and tighten three bolts temporarily.

(2) Insert the range select lever into the shaft, and

tighten the nut.

Tightening torque:

47±5 N⋅m (4.8±0.5 kg-m, 34.7±3.6 ft-lb)

G3M0435

(3) With the selector lever set to “N” adjust the inhibitor

switch so that the hole of range select lever is

aligned with the inhibitor switch hole with ST.

ST 499267300 STOPPER PIN

NOTE:

Ensure that gauge moves properly.

(4) With hole aligned, tighten three bolts to secure the

inhibitor switch.

Tightening torque:

3.4±0.5 N⋅m (0.35±0.05 kg-m, 2.5±0.4 ft-lb)

 

There is a hole in the side of the range select lever where this "stopper pin" is supposed to go. I think a small screw or piece of a coat hanger should work fine. :rolleyes:

It goes through into a hole in the side of the switch. Once that lines up you tighten the bolts.

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Thanks Fairtax4me. Your efforts are greatly appreciated. I am however, taking the car to the mechanic's tomorrow morning. He thinks it might be the "other" neutral thingy but I've got my odds stacked on the Neutral position switch. But if it isn't, well, I'll be ordering the right one and leaving the new position switch in. No taking chances on the old one going and having to go through all this again. Maybe I should have taken it to the Soob dealer to begin with! :lol: I'll let you know how things turn out! "Go"(rd)

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The inhibitor switch is in and it ran fine for about 3 starts. Then on the 4th, there was the light. So I took it back to my mechanic and he put the reader on it and this is where it gets really strange...sometimes he'd get data and sometimes he didn't. He thinks it's the ignition switch. Do you guys think the same? I do wish we'd find the problem and fix it once and for all before I grow broke or have NO hair left!:mad:

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Oh right, didn't recognise the poster.

 

Fit the switch and that will presumably cure the no crank at all problem, then you can get back to figuring out what the "crank and crank and no start". problem is.

 

For the crank but no start problem I'd still be suspecting that the ecu isn't getting it's crank signal when you are cranking it over. Perhaps the remote start is wired in wrong.

 

The irregular start and irregular connection to the diagnostic connector could be power or earth to the ecu.

Edited by Log1call
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I take it the "ecu" is the computer/brains in the car? And why would it just start acting up? Or is this something that can go over time? It has gotten to the point where my mechanic has told me to just keep driving and not worry about the "check engine" light. That worries me, for what if something DOES go wrong with the car and I've been ignoring the light all this time? I should maybe just take it into the Soob dealer here but they are not trustworthy guys. They've got a long long history of being, um, shall we say less than honourable. And the next closest dealer is 2 1/2 hours away. I don't want to have to replace this part and that part until I cure the problem. That would be Soober expensive....especially in light of it costing me over $250 Cdn for the inhibitor switch and NEW wiring harness that was REQUIRED but no one told me about before I ordered it.

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Yup, the ecu is the car's computer.

 

You can get the trouble codes out of the computer by connection two wires under the dash. That will make the check engine light flash a code. You don't need a code reader.

 

Have a read here and try to get the trouble codes...

http://codes.rennacs.com/

 

Once you have the codes come back and tell us what they are and we can interperate them for you or tell you what you need to check next.

 

Because you reckoned the mechanics code reader didn't work right I'm suspecting there will/may be a fault with power or earths to the ecu/car's computer. Try for the codes, if you can't get them then you need to check the power supply etc.

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I didn't say my mechanic's reader wasn't working. I said that it wasn't getting data all the time from the car. My mechanic (Murray) said that sometimes the car gave the reader data and sometimes it didn't. This led him to believe it was a flakey ignition switch. But he wants it to do a hard no-start before he can really do major checking. And it's only gone to this once - thank gawd! hahah That was where there was nothing....no lights on the dash...no cranking...nothing...but the headlights turned on and all the interior lights came on too when I opened the doors. Also, the ignition switch is kinda finicky sometimes...in that it won't come out of lock without a fight.

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Yeah. Well to quote from page two of your other thread...

"I'd be suspecting the key switch first. If it cranks for a while then it's not likely to be the battery. The intermittent no go sounds like a key switch problem. The hard starting could be caused by the key/no start signal. The high idle could be caused by the no start."

 

So I'd say you mate Murray will be right.

 

Oh, by the way, your mech Murry sounds like a good guy to me. We see far too many wild guesses and hastily fitted parts that end up costing the customer money. It's a good sign that he is talking it through with you and explaining his reasoning. I don't like fitting parts till I'm sure they are the problem either and I always try and get my customers to(well the ones that can afford the time and possible inconveniance), To try things in steps, working our way through the probabilities and options. It takes good faith on the part of the customer and the mechanic but it's the better way to get to the real root of the problem and it's a hell of a lot cheaper in the long run.

Edited by Log1call
After-thought
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