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D/R Swap Neutral Safety Switch and other wiring?


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I swapped my auto for a dual range 5 speed last week. I still have some issues to work out but have been driving the car. I want to thank you guys for the wealth of knowledge on here to make this swap pretty easy.

 

I did not do anything with the wiring yet. I have the automatic shifter sitting on the passenger floor plugged in and in neutral so the car will start.

 

I noticed that the check engine light keeps coming on for the neutral safety switch. If I shift the auto shifter into drive and the back to neutral the light clears until the next time I start it. Once I bypass the safety switch and don't need the auto shifter anymore will I keep throwing a code or will this go away once the auto shifter is disconected for good?

 

Also do any of you bother with the low range light on the dash? I'm assuming my auto transmission dash doesn't have the light in it. I really would like to take my odometer and swap it into the manual transmission's cluster but I don't know if this is possible.

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I think the auto gauge has 4x4, but IIRC it doesn't have a low range light. You'd have to swap the center section out to get that. I actually have all the parts to do it on mine, but the wiring is all different and it would require a lot more work than it's really worth for a stupid light. So I just leave it how it is.

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What car? Bit hard to help without enough info.

 

The clusters tend to be the same, just with an added part for the Auto shifter position. Take the cluster out & start pulling bulbs & then look through the back to see what's what.

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Sorry I guess I should have been more detailed. Its an 88 GL 4wd wagon ea82 spfi. I went from a 3at to a dual range from a 1986 carbed ea82 wagon.

 

My main concern at this point is to prevent the check engine light from coming on for the neutral safety switch.

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I'm fairly certain the center section of the gauge cluster (one with the warning lights, door lights, etc) is completely different wiring between 5speed and auto. It kinda makes sense, because one has all the auto shifter stuff, and one doesn't...

 

I fixed my engine light with electrical tape...

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I'm a bit surprised you are getting a check engine light because of the neutral safety switch. The 3AT has no electronic control at all and isn't connected to the ECU. I'd be checking the error codes on the ECU.

 

And no, there won't be a Low range light in your cluster. You can swap the middle display for that from a manual (you'll need to swap the auto plugs onto it as the auto has more wires), then use one of the wires that the display used for the gear selector (they go from the display directly to the auto shifter) & add the switch for the low range (85-88 cars had the switch on the lever, post 88 had it on the gearbox).

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If I shift the auto shifter to anything other than neutral and back the engine light goes immediately out. I think the computer is looking for a signal that goes on and then back off. Its code 51. 

 

It looks like the manual transmission has a neutral switch according to the shop manual so if I find the wires for that and tie into them I think that might work. Is the manual neutral switch in the transmission or is it really tied into the clutch pedal? Mine doesn't have anything on the clutch pedal if I remember correctly.

Edited by stratman977
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Best thing is to steal a clutch mounted switch from a GL or Legacy with Cruise control, and wire that to go to ground when the clutch is depressed. 

 

NOTE*  the "Nuetral" signal wire to the ECU is not the same as the "safety lockout" circuit that is also built into the shifter.

 

So the 2 big wires at the shifter, you can loop them toghether to complete the start circuit....

 

The Nuetral wire you will want to loop through a clutch switch to ground........

 

You can wire in a lo range light.....there is a mount for a microswitch on the D/R shifter.......And your cluster will have a spot for lo range light, although...it may be just a blank color....not saying LO but the spot is there in the dash.......while you've got it pulled you can pull the bulb for the "N" light....or it will come on everytime you clutch!

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Looking at it I was thinking along the same lines. I think the stop light switch from the auto pedal will go right into the bump stop hole for the clutch pedal. Thanks for clearing up what I actually need to do with the wiring. Hopefully I'll get time to think through it this week.

 

As for the cluster I have the manual cluster from the donor car and the switch for the low range. It looks like I should be able to take the center board out of the manual cluster and put it in mine. I haven't checked if the plugs and wires match up though. I just need to map out the wires on both clusters and see what I need to go where.

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