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Need specific instructions to bypass the NSS

9

96 Cherokee

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Indiana
Been searching posts for about an hour but have not found anything to help me do this. Will order a new switch next week, but need to be able to bypass the stinker until I get one. Thanks.
 
Most people just repair theirs. Do a search on NSS and you should hit the instructions. Those switches are spendy.
 
old_man said:
Most people just repair theirs. Do a search on NSS and you should hit the instructions. Those switches are spendy.
Click to expand...

That is for people with mechanical skill, time, and the agility to crawl under their Jeep. I want to know how to bypass it until I get a new one and have it installed. If I tried to take it off to clean it, I would most likely break it and then I would be SOL.
 
96 Cherokee said:
That is for people with mechanical skill, time, and the agility to crawl under their Jeep. I want to know how to bypass it until I get a new one and have it installed. If I tried to take it off to clean it, I would most likely break it and then I would be SOL.
Click to expand...
To bypass the NSS, you are going to have to crawl under the XJ, disconnect the wiring harness at the NSS, and jumper a couple of wires together, and tape it up to keep it jumpered and waterproof.

If you have the skill to do that, you probably can do the NSS. Either than, or get a Jeepin' buddy to come over, get a case of beer, and have him help you. (Save most of the beer for AFTER the job!)

The tech. skills needed are NOT real high. You just need the patience to dig out the crud around the switch. (A pressure washer used on the area before trying to remove the switch might help.)

Good Luck.
 
Contact Ford and Sons Salvage out of NY and see if they have one...I got one from them delivered for about $25. Not a good idea to bypass the NSS, the safety concerns are numerous. I would hate to have it on my conscious knowing I hurt a kid for 'cause I took a shortcut.
 
langer1 said:
From your post, I doubt you even know for sure your NSS is bad.
You can always just wire a push button directly to your starter relay.
Click to expand...

There is no doubt it's bad. I have experience with this problem. Took me 15 minutes to get the starter to engage today. Pushed the Jeep about 15 feet from where it was parked, and still had to play with the gearshift for a while before it caught. Is this starter relay in the fusebox that sits over the fenderwell under the hood?
 
96 Cherokee said:
There is no doubt it's bad. I have experience with this problem. Took me 15 minutes to get the starter to engage today. Pushed the Jeep about 15 feet from where it was parked, and still had to play with the gearshift for a while before it caught. Is this starter relay in the fusebox that sits over the fenderwell under the hood?
Click to expand...
Pushing should have no effect on the NSS. When you say "to get the starter to engage" what do you mean? Does it just click, grind, or nothing at all, not even a ckick sound.
 
langer1 said:
Pushing should have no effect on the NSS. When you say "to get the starter to engage" what do you mean? Does it just click, grind, or nothing at all, not even a ckick sound.
Click to expand...

Well, it does have an effect- sometimes. Every morning when I start my Jeep and pull up to the back door of the post office to load up, I shut it off and spend about 10 minutes loading. Then when I go to leave, the NSS won't let the starter engage. I put it in neutral and let it roll backwards in the alley while turning the ignition switch to the start position, and jiggling the gear shift. Usually when it gets back to level ground, about 30-40 feet, the starter will engage and off I go to work. Temp has effect, and the incline on which it is parked has an effect of the NSS. To answer your question- nothing at all.
 
96 Cherokee said:
Well, it does have an effect- sometimes. Every morning when I start my Jeep and pull up to the back door of the post office to load up, I shut it off and spend about 10 minutes loading. Then when I go to leave, the NSS won't let the starter engage. I put it in neutral and let it roll backwards in the alley while turning the ignition switch to the start position, and jiggling the gear shift. Usually when it gets back to level ground, about 30-40 feet, the starter will engage and off I go to work. Temp has effect, and the incline on which it is parked has an effect of the NSS. To answer your question- nothing at all.
Click to expand...
What ever you say.
 
AZ Jeff said:
To bypass the NSS, you are going to have to crawl under the XJ, disconnect the wiring harness at the NSS, and jumper a couple of wires together, and tape it up to keep it jumpered and waterproof.


Good Luck.
Click to expand...


I was sure I read there is a way to use a short jumper wire under the hood and start it.
 
langer1 said:
What ever you say.
Click to expand...

Sometimes its difficult to understand what someone means by a few words typed on a page, but I get feeling you don't believe me. If I am wrong, please feel free to correct me.
 
96 Cherokee said:
Well, it does have an effect- sometimes. Every morning when I start my Jeep and pull up to the back door of the post office to load up, I shut it off and spend about 10 minutes loading. Then when I go to leave, the NSS won't let the starter engage. I put it in neutral and let it roll backwards in the alley while turning the ignition switch to the start position, and jiggling the gear shift. Usually when it gets back to level ground, about 30-40 feet, the starter will engage and off I go to work. Temp has effect, and the incline on which it is parked has an effect of the NSS. To answer your question- nothing at all.
Click to expand...

One of my old jeeps had this problem, and sometimes actually moving the vehicle would somehow get it to turn over. Are you sure it's not the starter though? If your going to go to all of the trouble off bypassing the NSS, I'd just go ahead and replace it instead. Basically the same amount of difficulty either way.
 
Odd but mine is temperature sensitive too. It depends on how much snow or mud is on the ground or how crappy I feel. Usually I can just put it in neutral an it'll start. I don't know why moving the vehicle would let the NSS operate unless there is another problem too.
 
Bradlybob said:
Odd but mine is temperature sensitive too. It depends on how much snow or mud is on the ground or how crappy I feel. Usually I can just put it in neutral an it'll start. I don't know why moving the vehicle would let the NSS operate unless there is another problem too.
Click to expand...

My best guess is that moving the vehicle will allow the contacts in the NSS to move a few thousandths. Parking mine on a slight incline makes a difference too.
 
I'm not at home and don't have my notes. If you have a Chrysler-era (91-up) XJ you can jumper one of the terminals on the NSS relay under the hood to ground. If you do a deep search of archives here you might find a post that refers to the specific pin numbers. If you can find a schematic it's easy to figure out. I'm not sure whether there's a relay in the same postion for the earlier ones. If you get the right terminal it's very easy to do - just get a little piece of relatively thin stranded wire, run it to ground at one end, stick the other end into the pertinent socket hole, and then jam the relay back in on top of it.

An alternative is to find the pertinent lead on the NSS or its connector, and just jump it to ground. On manual shift models, the circuit is simply grounded. The disadvantage of this is that you have to get into the harness somewhere.

If at all possible, you should leave all the rest of the NSS connected and functional, since it also tells the transmission control unit what gear you're in, and also controls the backup lights. And of course you should fix the NSS as soon as you possibly can, remembering that its middle name is "safety." If I had an automatic XJ, though, I think I'd carry a little piece of wire, and a reminder of which terminal it goes to, in my toolbox.

It's very easy to rebuild the switch if you don't break it getting it off. It fits over the shaft that comes out of the transmission with a hollow, slotted shaft that is made of aluminum, clamped down by a nut. If corrosion has seized the outer shaft to the inner, it may take patience to get it off without breaking the aluminum. REsist the temptation to pry the slotted shaft open to loosen it. Otherwise, as noted above, it's an easy fix.
 
Matthew Currie said:
I'm not at home and don't have my notes. If you have a Chrysler-era (91-up) XJ you can jumper one of the terminals on the NSS relay under the hood to ground. If you do a deep search of archives here you might find a post that refers to the specific pin numbers. If you can find a schematic it's easy to figure out. I'm not sure whether there's a relay in the same postion for the earlier ones. If you get the right terminal it's very easy to do - just get a little piece of relatively thin stranded wire, run it to ground at one end, stick the other end into the pertinent socket hole, and then jam the relay back in on top of it.

An alternative is to find the pertinent lead on the NSS or its connector, and just jump it to ground. On manual shift models, the circuit is simply grounded. The disadvantage of this is that you have to get into the harness somewhere.

If at all possible, you should leave all the rest of the NSS connected and functional, since it also tells the transmission control unit what gear you're in, and also controls the backup lights. And of course you should fix the NSS as soon as you possibly can, remembering that its middle name is "safety." If I had an automatic XJ, though, I think I'd carry a little piece of wire, and a reminder of which terminal it goes to, in my toolbox.

It's very easy to rebuild the switch if you don't break it getting it off. It fits over the shaft that comes out of the transmission with a hollow, slotted shaft that is made of aluminum, clamped down by a nut. If corrosion has seized the outer shaft to the inner, it may take patience to get it off without breaking the aluminum. REsist the temptation to pry the slotted shaft open to loosen it. Otherwise, as noted above, it's an easy fix.
Click to expand...
I looked at the 2000 and the NSS relay is not grounded by the NSS like the older ones. It shows a fuse (19) from the PSA to the NSS switch and then to the relay. The older XJ did ground the Start relay but the newer ones don't.
 
Matthew Currie said:
I'm not at home and don't have my notes. If you have a Chrysler-era (91-up) XJ you can jumper one of the terminals on the NSS relay under the hood to ground. If you do a deep search of archives here you might find a post that refers to the specific pin numbers. If you can find a schematic it's easy to figure out. I'm not sure whether there's a relay in the same postion for the earlier ones. If you get the right terminal it's very easy to do - just get a little piece of relatively thin stranded wire, run it to ground at one end, stick the other end into the pertinent socket hole, and then jam the relay back in on top of it.

An alternative is to find the pertinent lead on the NSS or its connector, and just jump it to ground. On manual shift models, the circuit is simply grounded. The disadvantage of this is that you have to get into the harness somewhere.

If at all possible, you should leave all the rest of the NSS connected and functional, since it also tells the transmission control unit what gear you're in, and also controls the backup lights. And of course you should fix the NSS as soon as you possibly can, remembering that its middle name is "safety." If I had an automatic XJ, though, I think I'd carry a little piece of wire, and a reminder of which terminal it goes to, in my toolbox.

It's very easy to rebuild the switch if you don't break it getting it off. It fits over the shaft that comes out of the transmission with a hollow, slotted shaft that is made of aluminum, clamped down by a nut. If corrosion has seized the outer shaft to the inner, it may take patience to get it off without breaking the aluminum. REsist the temptation to pry the slotted shaft open to loosen it. Otherwise, as noted above, it's an easy fix.
Click to expand...

Where do I find the NSS relay ? There are 5 relays in the fuse and relay box. None of them are marked NSS.
 
96 Cherokee said:
Where do I find the NSS relay ? There are 5 relays in the fuse and relay box. None of them are marked NSS.
Click to expand...
It is not a plug in relay, you can follow the wires down to the starter, it should be near the battery.
 
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