Transmission Shifter Locked in Park
 

I have a F53 truck chassis on a Newmar RV. The transmission shifter is giving me trouble. It will not allow me to shift out of 'Park' except when the key is in the 'Off' position. If I start the engine in 'Park', I can not move the shifter. I have to move the ignition switch to the 1st position forward from the lock position, 'Off' and shift to neutral and start the engine. I can then shift; to Drive or Reverse. If I move the shifter to Park, it is locked in place.

I would label the ignition switch positions as "Acc', 'Locked', 'Off', 'Run' and 'Start'.

Any ideas?

the brake on off switch or the shifter release solenoid is not working
check brake lites
if not on start with fuses
if on then a solenoid on the lower end of the steering col.
is the culprit
but it is working because it only engages when the key is on
a temp repair is to unplug the solenoid and you can shift
with out the brake pedal activating

I had the exact same problem on my 95 f150. Turned out to be a fault in the cruise control module was causing a dead short on the circuit. Figured it out by disconnecting the cruise switch on the master cylinder. The dealership had done the cruise recall but they wired something up wrong and fried the cruise computer.

Thanks for the responses.

mhg, looks like the the brakes lights are out. I'll have to dig through the steering column covers to get to the micro switch on the brake pedal. All the fuses look good.

If your fuses are good, then I'd wager on that switch. Also, as a funny note, I found out that on some of the trucks, if both taillights burn out you get the exact same symptoms. The circuit doesn't get the voltage it's supposed to so it acts like that switch is bad....funny huh?

Looking like the brake switch. Will check continuity on the brake switch. The emergency flasher switch fires off all the lights, so the lights and light curcuit looks good.

I'm just glad I found the association and haven't been riding this beast without brake lights!

Lucky you. I had to ride through 3 towns, off of one military base, onto another AT NIGHT, then the same to the dealership.

Hello all,

I had the same problem and it was very mundane, and I felt very dumb when I figured it out. I had power steering and turned into my driveway so the wheels were always turned when I was stopped. Meaning the wheel itself was turned. I would park, and go in the house, then I came out and turned the truck on and had a devil of a time getting her out of Park.
Apparently the power steering kicked off, and the the wheel locked, and the wheel lock mechanism is tied to the shifter mechanism, so you cannot shift her into neutral, and push her around. Well 20 minutes of diagnostics later, I grabbed the steering wheel for leverage, it turned, and then she shifted.

Just in case it is something that easy. Please... no laughing.
-Iasrap

as a side note you can unplug the solenoid that locks the shifter
this will make it like the old cars and trucks
before legal eagles on every corner and people
driving motor vehicles had enough common sense
to not need all these special saftey things they put on now

Thanks again for the hint on the brake switch. A new one for $6.02 did the trick.

It's not a logical follow thru that the shifter being locked in the run position would indicate that the brake switch failed open and I don't have any brake lights. Never thougt that getting the shifter out of Park in the Off position would let drive away without brake lights!

I'm going to have to check that my brake light interconnect with the dinghy didn't blow the switch.

Great to hear it's all fixed now!

89 f-250 4x4 won't go into drive
 

hello, here's the story:

I heard/felt a click when I turned the ignition to start,
then there wasn't any resistance when i tried to turn the ignition again???

all the electrical works when the key is turned on, stereo, lights etc.,
at the final turn of the key, the switch needs another qtr revolution to start the engine....which it lacks, with the new switch, there was a little wire included, which i lost, would you know what the wire is for?

when turning ignition key, seems like the linkage is too short,
like it doesn't have enough length to turn the switch completely to start the engine,

If i dissconnect the switch from the column, I can start the engine if I manually turn the switch myself, the engine runs fine...

so thats why I thought it was the switch or ignition locking mechanism,
so I replaced both them, and thats not the problem....

and the column is locked, will not go into drive...

in the past day
an air pressure type noise is coming from the transfer case...

it will go into reverse, although it doesn't sound so good when i do that...

I've tried disconnecting the brake switch?
however, i'm bypassing the ignition switch and turning the switch manually by hand to start the truck.... with the ignition key turned in the on position... pain in the a55

You would have been better to start another thread for this. Anyway there is always some confusion in these matters due to the description of what is happening. There is the key switch on the column, this is connected to the ign. switch under the dash by a link called the ign. switch actuator and a rod. It sounds like your ign. switch actuator is faulty. It also locks your shift lever in park. The part is not expensive but a PITA to fit. You would have to pull the steering wheel, the turn signal mounting plate and the column shroud to get access. Hope this helps.

thanks for your help,