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Question about cleaning out this neutral safety switch

B

bradleyheathhays

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Lexington, KY
96 Cherokee 4.0 and I'm about to first time clean out my neutral safety switch (no reverse lights and trouble starting recently). I've read a couple teks and I think I've got everything down, except when I refer to my FSM it talks about doing a whole switch 'realignment/adjustment' kind of thing as you put it back it, and the FSM is the only place I've seen this mentioned. So, my question is do I really have to do all the switch realigning steps the FSM talks about or can I just take it out, clean it up, reassemble, and put her back in?

Thanks for the help yall.
 
You have to realign the switch or it may not work correctly. It's not that hard line it up and verify the connections.
 
When you put her back in, you just have to rotate it on the shaft to make sure the position is correct. Put the key in and turn the ignition on, without starting it up. Put the tranny in neutral and rotate the NSS until you find the angle where the reverse lights turn on and where they turn off. Position the NSS in the middle of these two points and make sure that the car starts in Neutral and Park. Done. Its easy.
 
Another method:
Place the transmission in reverse.
Key on, engine not running.
Rotate NSS until the backup lights are off.
Slowly rotat until lights are on, not position.
Continue to rotate the NSS until light go back off, note postion.
Place the NSS midpoint of the two notations.

Ultimately, you will know when you have it right once the vehicle stops throwing codes...

BTW, I had to make three small tweeks to get it right, have patience.
 
The arc of adjustment is not too big,so it won't be hard to find the sweet spot. I did the switch in my '92, and used the reverse light trick. Worked like a charm! I used a newer one from the junkyard, and be warned, the plugs changed for '97. I made an adapter cable with the old plug at one end, and a new one at the other. Then I took apart the '92 switch, and it's awaiting installation in the '95.
 
Thanks for the advice everybody. Nice link by the way.

Can I use dielectric 'tune up' grease to lube everything back up with instead of regular dielectric grease? Shop was out of the regular stuff.
 
I'm in the middle of an engine swap, and was planning to clean the NSS while the trans was out. Should I wait and do it when I have the electrical all hooked back up?
 
bradleyheathhays said:
Thanks for the advice everybody. Nice link by the way.

Can I use dielectric 'tune up' grease to lube everything back up with instead of regular dielectric grease? Shop was out of the regular stuff.
Click to expand...
I used the "tune up" grease. No issues, been about a year now.


I also did the reverse light method for getting it adjusted.
 
Easier way to align it... put trans in neutral... then align the vertical slot with the vertical neutral line engraved in the cover of the switch. Then reassemble. Easy as that
 
If the back-up lights work right now, just take a scribe and mark the switch and the trans case or scribe around the mounting bolt. Put the switch back right where it is now.
 
While you have it apart, make sure there is good contact. Some of the contacts are sprung and over time the setting allows for the contact to "float" due to the spring having "relaxed". Bend it towards the contacts for improved connection. Should be good to go.
 
I'm in the middle of cleaning my NSS. Do I put grease on both sides or just the back side that lets the lever move back and forth. I'm not sure if I should put grease where the copper parts meet.
 
If you can get hold of a substance called dielectric grease, this is what you'd use on the copper slides and contacts. It protects the metal parts against corrosion, but is conductive, so as not to act like an insulator. I don't know if it's entirely proper, but I've used a product called NoAlOx, made by Ideal, available at electrical supply houses, and in the Electrical dept. of Lowes and Home Depot. It's what we electricians use on wire terminations, especially involving aluminum wire. It serves to shield the joint from oxidizing, which is what starts corrosion. I used it in the NSS I re-did for my '92 a few years ago, and so far, so good.
 
Just to be clear, dielectric grease is non-conductive. Antioxidant greases like OxGard and NoALox do contain metals, which is why they are conductive.
 
So what would be best to use in an application like an NSS? I was unclear about the dielectric grease, as I've seen it in places where it should be conductive. I know NoALOx is conductive, and I've used it VERY sparingly in a situation like an NSS, and had no shorting issues. Maybe I was just lucky?
 
Dielectric grease
Lithium grease

You just want a little smear. What you are (or have) cleaning out of the NSS now is an excess of OLD grease, from the factory.
 
o-gauge-steamer said:
Another method:
Place the transmission in reverse.
Key on, engine not running.
Rotate NSS until the backup lights are off.
Slowly rotat until lights are on, not position.
Continue to rotate the NSS until light go back off, note postion.
Place the NSS midpoint of the two notations.

Ultimately, you will know when you have it right once the vehicle stops throwing codes...

BTW, I had to make three small tweeks to get it right, have patience.
Click to expand...

Bolded in red is the issue I am having now.

I was having issues as well, no reverse lights, sometimes would not crank in park (only neutral).

So I pulled the NSS and cleaned it (the spring loaded contacts where gummed up). Reinstalled and tested the Jeep, cranked in park, reverse lights worked.

Put about 15 miles on it and then it popped a code. Checked it and its the Trans/Brake switch. Which I assume is the NSS. So, it still cranks no problem in "Park" but no reverse lights.

So, looks like I will be back out this weekend trying to find that sweetspot where it should be set.
 
I use white lithium grease, never had any luck with dielectric grease. The white lithium lasts a good long time without corrosion issues.
 
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