CEL Light, Random crap

Ok guys, so I just got me another Xj. This time around I went for the newer ones so I grabbed a 97 with 140K on it. Power everything basically.

So here is the latest problem. back up lights dont always work, so I know that the NSS has to be cleaned. However it turned on the CEL yesterday and threw 2 codes. One was P0700 and the other was P0705. One of them is the Trans Range Sensor and the other is the PRNDL switch. Which from what i have been told is the neutral safety switch. So I shut off the light with my OBD11 Reader...

SO anyways today, the light came on again and I was driving and the truck wouldnt go into overdrive. It just stayed in 3rd.

Then later on today it did shift into overdrive after sitting for about 5 hours while I was at work.

Do you think all this is just the NSS? Or does the transmission range sensor actually need to be replaced?

We just had someone with P0700 and P0705 OBD-II DTCs, and cleaning and adjusting the NSS solved the problem for him. Try that first. It costs about two bucks in materials to clean the NSS - which you should have on hand (figure about twelve if you have to actually buy the materials from zero, because you're out.)

Just be careful removing the thing - since it can and do break. When you reinstall, I find it helpful to apply never-seez to the shaft that runs through it (it's the other end of the shift shaft through the valve body.) To adjust, put the switch in place with the upper adjuster screw loose, and shift into reverse. Have a helper watch for the reverse lamps to come on while you twiddle the switch - once they do, hold the switch in place, confirm that the reverse lamps are on, and nail down the adjuster screw. I think it goes to 10 pound-feet, tops (check the torque spec charts on my site - in the Tech Archive section - for specifics. The collet nut around the shaft gets torqued to 62 pound-inches, or about five pound-feet. Do not overtighten!)

There's a link in my sig for my site with the torque specs and such. There are extant writeups on cleaning the switch (try jeepin.com or madxj.com for starters,) and I've posted my "enhancements" to the procedure here as well. One of these days, I'll take a spare NSS and do a more comprehensive writeup...

Yes it's just the gear selector switch. The later year ones will go into a limp in mode and not shift normally when it sees a problem. When you are done doing the repair just do a battery disconnect and it will clear out the codes.