01 overdrive switch on gear selector
 

Need some help. The switch for turning overdrive off thats located on the auto trans shifter stopped working. I've taken off the column cover to see if the wires have been severed from the tilt wheel, but nothing wrong there. I also checked the fuses, and all is well.

Is it possible that the switch is bad at the end of the shifter, or somewhere farther down the column?

Thanks

I am having the same problem. How hard is the switch to change? How do you go about changing it?

I haven't actually changed it yet, but I'll let you know. My wife is bitching up a storm because it doesn't work,,,, not that she would use it. She's just mad cause it won't do what she tells it to do. You know the drill.

Tell your wife she wore it out ;)

It's not so much the tilt-wheel that causes the wires to break, it's the selector.

You might want to look further upstream towards the switch to see if any wires are broken.

Many have had the same problem (blowing fuse, no light, no switch function) and it's a broken wire further up than where the entire column tilts.

I replaced the shifter lever in mine. It took all of about 15 minutes. The hardest part was figuring out how to pull the ignition switch so I could remove the upper column plastic. My wires looked good but they were broken internally at the end of the shifter lever. The switch just plugs in at the end of the lever. From what I hear the wires being broken is much more common than a bad switch. Cost at the Ford dealer for the shifter lever was $49. Easy job.


Greg

Thanks. I had it apart up to the point of pulling the ignition switch hoping to find a bad wire. Guess I need to pony up and get it done.
Thanks again

ol'yeller,

How did you remove the ignition switch?

Same problem with mine...it worked fine somtimes and other times it would not work. This looks like a great idea for a the tech folder. A how to on shifter arm replacement. I know someone out there knows how to do it and can get some pics of the job.

Prior to disassembly, I disconnected my battery and let the truck sit for 1/2 hour as you are messing around near the airbag. I didn't want any surprises. The key needs to be in the ignition. There is a small hole with a stainless button on the lower part (bottom) of the ignition housing. You can see it when you remove the lower plastic steering housing cover. Depress the button with a small screwdriver or awl while turning and pulling the ignition (key) at the same time. Everything will pop out at once. Be careful of the tiny contact and wire for the key chime. On mine the plastic insulator broke off which made my keychime sound off all the time. A small application of super glue solved that problem.

With the covers off you can see everything very well. Unplug the wires that come out of the column end of the shifter. There are 2 screws that hold the rubber that attaches to the shift lever. Remove those and then drive out the pin that hold the shift lever to the column. The new lever comes with new rubber already attached and mine included the new switch for the $49.

Reassembly is just the reverse of above. A couple of cautions though. Be careful of the key chime wire. It is pretty fragile. Also before you button everything up, work the shifter through all the positions and make sure that the wires on the new shaft don't bind or pull.

All and all this is a very easy repair that can be accopmplished with no specialty tools and no huge technical talent. Trust me I know!

ol'yeller,
Thank you very much for posting that information. When I did a search for overdrive switch there wasn't anything that I could find. I am sure this info will help alot of people in the future. The title of this post will also come up anytime someone does a search for overdrive switch. Thanks again.

Greenhighboy,


Thanks for the kind words. I'm just happy that I could contribute something rather than always looking for help!

Greg

Thanks for the info. I am going to do this and document with pictures and text so it can be posted in Tech.

od light
 

I just purchased a 250 SD had the same problem, decided to swap the switch with the one in my f150 (same switch) . swapped them out and worked good, put the bad switch in the 150 guess what it worked? scratched my head a little, decided to swap them back out to original location both work guess the contact pins had a little corrosion or something I would suggest pulling the switch out check the contacts and reinstall.

WELCOME to FTE!!!

Sounds more like there's a broken/grounding wire and moving them around "fixed" it - temporarily...

Ol'Yeller, I just finished my overdrive switch/shifter lever replacement using your excellently written instructions. Before trying this seemingly intimidating task I was ready to hand it to a dealer. Thanks for pioneering this repair and posting it. It should probably be in the most common questions reference if it's not already. I can see where this will be one of the most common repairs needed on the older Super Dutys due to original design problem of short wiring.

After the swap out, I opened the wiring on the old shift lever, after ohming out the ends which showed opens on two wires. Sure enough, the two little wires were broken right where the cable passed through a strain-relief point. This was adding strain instead of helping to relieve it due to the short length of the original cable. I would also recommend checking the button switch with an ohmmeter before replacing it, its probably not the problem.

Either way, the new shift lever has a much longer cable and hopefully will last longer.

Thanks again.