In-depth NSS Issues NEED HELP

The Story
I've had problems with this thing before, it's basically the downfall to my poor jeep. I've been working on accomplishing two things, getting rid of that damn check engine light, having my reverse lights work. I dont care if the cruise doesnt work, nor do I care if it starts in any gear. I just want to pass inspection. I tried taking of my stock unit two years ago, it came off in a couple pieces....looked long and far for a junkyard one, after a dozen places, nothing. Nobody on here had one at the time, and ebay's lowest was $140. Bought one at auto zone for $250.
All is well, I passed last year, then this one acts up. When I went to adjust it there there seemed to be problem after problem. Left it and just used a "jumper" to make it think its in park/neutral all the time so it'll at least start. Well now its march and i need a sticker.

The Problem/Attempted Fixes
I mapped out what each wire goes to, and where they are on the inside of the nss. I've got this in the pics on the bottom. Im not going to do anythin with the tranny mounted sensor because the adjusting bolt snapped / threads are stripping. Id prolly have to drop the transmission to finish that job, something I can picture myself breaking 10 other things in the process for.
So I was planning on wiring momentary switches mounted inside the "shift area" inside the vehicle. I was going to have one get set off when in park, one for reverse (its going to be tough so idk), and one for drive. However, as a test, when I have the black and black/yellow wires together (for park/neutral) AND vehicle is in park....I still get a NSS check engine light. What gives? The arm that rotates will make those two wires touch, nothing else should be touching right? I figured the blue might have some part to play but it doesnt make a complete circuit when in park because it'll touch plastic. I have no idea what to do, any ideas?

I have a good extra one I can send ya if you want it. Just send PM me with your addy.

BonesBrosChris said:

I have a good extra one I can send ya if you want it. Just send PM me with your addy.

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I appreciate the offer but I'd have no way off getting the old one off easily or yours calibrated without removing the transmission.
Thanks for the offer though.

Did you see the write up on jeepin.com? To take off the NSS all you have to do is thread the big nut on a little bit and pry it off with a screw driver.

-Alex

make a friend who does state inspections. easiest fix.

Ba-Riedo said:

Did you see the write up on jeepin.com? To take off the NSS all you have to do is thread the big nut on a little bit and pry it off with a screw driver.

-Alex

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Trust me, I've read about every nss thing on the internet. And I actually heard thats bad. In my opinion, you're just asking to ruin the inner threads on the nut. My problem is doing it when it's cold out + new england, etc.

jeeptx23 said:

make a friend who does state inspections. easiest fix.

Click to expand...

I was debating making friends using a $20 bill haha.

There is nothing to calibrate but to make sure the reverse lights come on in reverse. I always rebuild them before I would even think of spending $250+. Usually the grease gets hard in them making the contacts on the arm stick up and not make contact on the black rear cover. Watch out for the two little springs in the contact arm blow the contacts. Just a quick cleaning, little emery cloth, new lube and they are working again. You just have to make sure that you don't over tighten the silver nut.... 1, you might strip it or 2 you cant even shift it from the driver seat.
I think Go Jeep had a write up on it
http://www.go.jeep-xj.info/HowtoNSSrebuild.htm

Well the one i had stock came off in a couple pieces, that wasnt going to be rebuilt. I couldn't find any in junkyards all over the place. I put up a wanted ad here....nothing. So that's why I had to buy the $250 waste of money. I needed it for inspection and it got me through it.

The one on there now is not coming off easy....
Half of the adjusting bolt is stuck INSIDE the transmission. Even with a brand new NSS, I'm not going to be able to calibrate/align it because I have a bolt already stuck there.....

So what I'm trying to do is fool the computer using switches and such. I figured a switch provides the same function as that little golden color metal that "shorts" the two wires together. But for some reason the DTC still turns on.

All I'm asking, is what does the ECU ask for from the NSS??????

Check the prices on www.car-part.com for a complete transmission. I know a guy that got a used AW4 transmission with 75,000 miles for $90.00 and the NSS was still on it. It doesn't take much technical knowledge to swap a transmission.

Yeah I've got a friend parting his out right now. Im waiting for his reply which would be a nice help. What I might end up doing is just dropping my transmission and biting the bullet. Next time I put in bolts, anti-seize is going with them.

Any tips or write-ups for dropping trannies?

I don't know why your test didn't work...seems like it should have worked to me...
try clearing codes and retesting...

The blue wire is connected to power (12v) and feeds it through to the TCU when the drive gear switch positions are selected ...and the TCU talks to the PCM...

So where does the blue wire get hooked up to in a basic test? I remember when i touched the black + black/yellow with the blue wire and the check engine light went away. I just didn't understand why it was used because if you see the blank plastic void on the second picture furtherst to the left for the park position. I'll try it again and see what happens.

On a side note, I touchd the blue and red together and the reverse lights didnt come on. I did it a year ago and they worked. Maybe the reverse lights are gettin old?

I don't think you need to hook up the blue wire for a basic test...like I said, seems like it should have worked to me...I was just telling you where the blue wire needs to go when you get it working.... here is the NSS schematic....this is from a 99 FSM ..wire colors may be different but circuit should be the same...

So where does the blue wire eventually go to, I was planning on splitting it off two ways to a switch for the reverse and drive selections.

The power feed wire comes from F10 in the Junction block...the blue wire in your case..
Splice S142 on the schematic is where the circuit feeds power to the reverse lights at the same time that it tells the TCU it is in reverse.

Im not positive if im following what you're saying. Any easier terms for where that blue wire should touch? Thanks again for the help.

I think your best bet would be to get somebody sitting next to you that can help you read the schematic I posted...That way you can better understand electrically what you are up against to accomplish your goal of redesigning how this switch is going to work for you.

We're talking about the blue wire on the "switch" side not the ECU side right? This is the blue wire where I cut it off from where the switch normally is. It'd normally going inside the switch and connect to those lower arc plates. I'll have to talk to one of my EE friends.