brake park interlock

[neil]

last night i could not get my console shift lever out of park.

after reading the owners manual, i discovered the emergency bypass method of placing the ignition swith to off to allow the shift lever movment so one can start in neutral, and then shift into any gear.

now can anyone tell me what and where the electronic or electric signal component is that in being operated by the brake pedal to send a signal to the shift lever and unlock it from park, as i believe this is the part that has failed.

 

[AutoSHO]

First, do not drive the car. You have no brakelights.

The component that has most likely failed is the Brake On/Off switch (BOO Switch). Check to see if you have brakelights - Chances are you do not. If that is the case, replace that switch.

It is mounted on the brake arm, and is not too hard to access. Any parts store should have it in stock for under $20.

 

[neil]

thank you for the quick reply. you are correct i have no brake lites. tommorow i will try to find the boo switch.

its really handy to have this web site available.
thanks again.

 

[neil]

i have more usful info. on how i was able to resolve my brake-park interlock problem.

after establishing that the boo switch was readily available, i deceided to try a step by step process to make sure that this was in fact the problem. especially since the boo swith was not returnable.

the first thing i did was to disconnect the plugin pigtale that is connected to the switch and check for twelve volt power, since the brake lites can be operated at any time even with the ignition off i knew there had to be voltage potential at all times. there was none.

i got out the owners manual and found that circuit number one ( 15 amps ) controls the brake lites, turn signals and cruise control, although in my case for some reason my turn signals were being controlled by another circuit, because they still worked.

upon removing the fuse i found that it was indeed blown. i put another one in and it immediatly blew as well, i now knew that i had a short circuit somewhere.

realizing that the cruise control was easily accessable, i disconnected the wire harness from it, and discoverd that, not only was it leaking a fluid thru the seal between the module and the wire harness, but that two of the terminal connectors were fried.

leaving the harness off i put a new fuse in circuit number one, and bingo. everything works now except for the cruse control, which i never use anyway, and it looks like it would be pretty easy the change the module if i ever wanted to.

i hope anyone else with the same problem can be helped by this information and the information of the person who responded to my call for help.

 

[morpho18]

I had a similar problem with the boo switch, but did not know until reading this that the part was readily available at a part store. so my dumb *** oh spent the better part of an hour curled up underneath the dash board with a flashlight and duct tape to try and tape a disconnected wire back together so i could drive the damn car. oh

 

[AutoSHO]

Moving to SHO Maintenance and Troubleshooting for future users' reference.