won't start in park

[AndyCook]

Typically after greenlaning last week I had to fly from manchester for work trip -- vienna this week - leaving wife to drive cruiser 400miles home.
She stopped at tebay services then couldn't start when autobox in P. No clicking - nothing.
Batteries ok
Then I told her on phone to try in Neutral and it started ok.
She tried again to start in P and no go.

Is there some switch that could be bust?
Want it working before we hit spain soon!

 

[adrianr]

Iirc all auto have a switch I had a twin turbo gs300 like that needed to wiggle it in park to start it. Not sure of the fix I guess pull the housing on the lever apart and have a look see.

Good luck

 

[Chris]

Sounds like your neutral start switch. Basically there is a fan shaped housing on the side of the transmission. Inside are lots of copper tracks. This registers the position of the waggle stick inside the cabin. The whole lot is adjustable and the aim of the game is to get the dash light to say N, the red indicator segment on the console tray to indicate N and the copper tracks to line up with N. If you take the whole lot to bits as I have, you can spend quite some time lining it all up again. But usually it's just one of the variables out of alignment.

Put it in P and try to start it. Then move the lever very slowly back to Reverse with the key turned and I'll bet that it'll suddenly start. If not then it may be dirt on the tracks in the fan shaped housing thing. If it does then all it needs is a twiddle underneath. We'll get tot hat once you have tried the above.

Chris

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

If it's the same arrangement as an 80 (seems likely) there are two circuits inside the switch, one for gear selector position that registers all positions and one for the start inhibit function which only registers P & N. I'm mentioning that because one can be working fine and the other playing up. On an 80 the contacts that move have a little spring behind them that can turn to dust and cause problems like this.

 

[Chris]

It can be quite a tricky balance to get right. To add to this, the fan / quadrant thing also has some wiggle room on the slotted mounting holes. But like I said, try pulling back on the stick to see if it'll start. If it does then it's an adjustment thing. If it doesn't then it's more likely as Jon suggests - degradation or build up of %&*% in the housing.


Chris

 

[AndyCook]

many thanks for advice guys - that gives me some things to work on!
i will give that a shot at weekend if the volcano lets me fly home on friday....

 

[AndyCook]

Hello

just got home and tried your suggestion Chris

"Put it in P and try to start it. Then move the lever very slowly back to Reverse with the key turned and I'll bet that it'll suddenly start. "

and yes it fired as soon as i moved the gear selector stick slightly back...

so i need to dismantle something now?

all that offroading in wales must have loosened summat

 

[Chris]

Andy, it'd be easier to come up than explain it over the net.

You need to get underneath really and have a look. Based on it being probably very similar to an 80, there will be a lever - check. A rod from the lever to the gearbox - check. And a box on the side of the transmission on the OPPOSITE side to where the lever goes in. Check?

The lever has rubber bushes at one end and a slot to allow for adjustment. I found the wear in the rubber bush was enough to knock mine out of adjustment. I swapped that and suddenly it all made sense. I kept adjusting it, tightening it up and then it wasn't where I'd set it!!! So bear that in mind.

I'd have a twiddle with it to get familiar ad then maybe come back if you can't get it right. The housing thing is probably on slots so that you can loosen it and turn it a couple of degrees either way for fine tuning. I'd leave that alone for now and have a go at slacking the nut on the rod and reset the position. Set the lever in neutral, slacken the adjuster nut and move the slider a SMALL amount in one direction and see if that gets it. Helpful to have someone hold the lever in the cabin to stop it moving. There is a procedure for this which is a bit hard to understand. You are supposed to push the adjuster coming out of the box, against the detent spring slightly before nipping it. it didn't make any sense when I read that. Surely when I let go, the lever and the adjuster will just move? But I did follow that and it worked. I still don't get it. Like I said, have someone in the car so that they can tell you what's going on up there. All the movement are ack to front and you won't have a clue lying there as to what the heck is going on.

Chris

 

[AndyCook]

thanks Chris!
i have found the lever from cabin
and the box on opposite side, this has a locknut and adjuster (cant think of right word to describe the part, it sticks out, and is recantangular shaped - kind of like a locking valve on a radiator)

i also noticed one of rubber blocks on gearbox mount has moved back 10mm and is protruding back and squint.
so maybe that is the cause - gearbox has shifted slightly.
so need to order a new one of them

and rear-prop/diff UJ has play in it, so in middle of fitting a new one from spares box.

 

[AndyCook]

Chris - youre a star!
I loosened nut - where gear lever from cabin meets rod-assembly to gearbox, and moved it 1-2mm in the slot and retightened,
now it starts again in PARK !

thanks!
andy

 

[Chris]

Totally awesome. What a forum.

That'll be £165.50 including the VAT then.

Chris