Stuck in Park

[BenBrausen]

Help me! I went out to my SHO today and the car would not come outta "Park". I tried messin with the shifter with no avail. I was in a hurry to work so I didn't get a chance to do much more. I did notice that the brake lights don't come on either. The shifter stays locked, it's not that it moves but won't move into drive. What might be wrong? It drove fine with no sign of problems last night.

 

[CENC-SHO]

up on the brake pedal arm there is a plug and it is probly undone,put it back and away you go

 

[93MTXSHO]

FYI, if this ever is to happen again, the shift interlock can be bypassed by turning the ignition straight up and down, between off and run, putting the transmission in neutral and then starting the car. Works like a million bucks every time. You may not have brake lights though, but at least you can drive the car.

 

[Ifixyawata]

Ok, wow, a VERY similar thing happened to me today. I use my autolamps frequently, so when I came out of the store and saw the lights on I didn't think much of it, but then I realized I'd been gone 30 mins or so. So I look and sure enough the headlights are out, so I figure maybe I'll justp pull up on the brake pedal and all will be well.

Much to my surprise that didn't work, so I played around with the switch and burned myself on it really quick. It looked like this switch had gotten hot before in that one of the wires was separate from the plug. So my question is, does the switch just need cleaned or replaced? I fear this is going to cause a fire, because I hooked it back up on the way home figuring all brake lights were better than none at all and it smelled hot by the time I got home. So can I get this b*stard swicth anywhere? or fix this one?

 

[Ifixyawata]

Ok, problem solved. To my astonishment, AZ actually stocked the little switch and only $7 at that. Only tricky part was pulling the shaft from the master cylinder off of the pedal arm.

 

[BenBrausen]

What lil' switch? The one on the brake arm? I was able to get the car to come outta park by puttin the key 1/2 way between off and start and movin it to neutral. It was really hard to get the engine to turn over in neutral and it smelled alot like gas (almost like a 2 cycle engine). Still no brake lights. Is there any fuse I can check??

 

[BenBrausen]

OK I checked it and fuse #1 on the fuse panel is blown. It's a lil old 15 amp fuse. This fuse does the brake lights, turn signals, etc... I replaced it and the second I put in the new one, and it blew. What might be goin on?

 

[GUY L]

dude the same exact thing happend to me. i couldent figure it out for the life of me so i took it to the shop and he told me it was a bad wire to my cruse controll next time you put a fuse in it look for smoke under the hood if you see smoke youre cruse control modual is junk.i just hsd mine disconnected.then everything was fine.

 

[Sho-N-Go]

Under the master cylinder there is a switch it has two wires in it. It is called a cruise control deactivating switch pull the plug and look in there. It will prob be full of brake fluid. leave it off and then put a fuse in. Then replace the switch after you make sure that is the prob

 

[BenBrausen]

Well I tried unpluggin that lil connector and I threw a 25amp fuse (didn't have any more 15amp) in and it worked fine. How should I go about cleanin' that connector out and what would cause it to fill with brake fluid? I did a tranny flush the other day (about 4 days ago) and spilt a bit on the master cylinder but why would it take til' now for anything to happen?

 

[Sho-N-Go]

no you need to get a 15 amp fuse in there which you know. And replace that switch

 

[BenBrausen]

I tried pluggin' the connector back in and it blew a bunch of white smoke from the lil computer thing in front of the master cylinder... Melted the 2 connectors closest to the back of the car. For right now I'm leavin' it unplugged, is that gonna be a problem to leave if unplugged? Where can I get a replacement connector for this?

 

[Sho-N-Go]

FORD would ne a good place. No you wont hurt anything by leaving it unplugged. Glad to be of service thumbs_u

 

[greensho]

I'm having EXACTLY the same problem with BenBrausen. After reading the all the posts, should I replace:
1. cruise control module
2. cruise control deactivating switch

I first replaced the brake switch thinking that might be the problem but my #1 fuse kept going out even after I replaced the switch. Since I was on my last 15amp fuse, I unpluged the battery terminal before inserting the fuse but as soon as the terminal reconnected I saw a puff of smoke coming from the box just as described by BenBrausen.

Now what did I mess up that needs to be fixed in addition to the original problem?

 

[BenBrausen]

I unplugged the cruise connector on the bottom of the master cylinder. Works fine now for now. I tried to plug it back in and smoke came outta the computer that's just in front of the master cylinder and behind the MAF. No good.

 

[ShoGuy93]

yeah i just had the same problem. tonight got in my sho and then tired to get it out of park and nothing happened so i just turned the key half way down poped it in N and then drove her home. I'm about ready to check under the hood for that blown fuse... what fixed your guys problem?

 

[AutoSHO]

Do you have brake lights? If not, your BOO (Brake on/off) switch is toast.

 

[ShoGuy93]

AutoSHO:
Do you have brake lights? If not, your BOO (Brake on/off) switch is toast.

No i don't and my flahers do work. Is that signs of the Boo being toast? I know this sounds dumb but i have gotten under there and looked is it that thing that is hooked to the brake pedal? That seems to be it. Is the BOO also called the brake light switch? (Looking in my haynes manul for some pics)

 

[BenBrausen]

For me it was some brake fluid that had leaked from the master cylinder onto the cruise plug on the bottom of the master cylinder. Unplugged it and replaced the brake light fuse. Works fine now. Gotta clean up the connection this summer and see if I can get my cruise back.

 

[ShoGuy93]

BenBrausen:
For me it was some brake fluid that had leaked from the master cylinder onto the cruise plug on the bottom of the master cylinder. Unplugged it and replaced the brake light fuse. Works fine now. Gotta clean up the connection this summer and see if I can get my cruise back.

Did you replace your BOO? And can some one show me a pic of where the cruise plug is at? and like i said my flashers are still working so wouldn't that mean my #1 fuse is ok?