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Reverse lights aren't working...

T

thechief86

NAXJA Forum User
Location
White House, TN
just what the title says. i have a 1990 xj with a 4" lift, a 4.0 and aw4, and when i put it in reverse, i have no power going to the back for the reverse lights. i just swapped in LED trailer lights in sheetmetal boxes, and would like for them to work. i guess my neutral safety switch has been bypassed, because the jeep will start in gear. i haven't done anything to this jeep since i got it besides installing a locker and a radio, trimming the fenders and adding a set of 32's. i've almost had it for a year now.
i want summa this :sunshine: when i back up in the dark.
 
i tried that search and couldn't find much...also tried a couple of variants of that. still not much. i guess i'll just get under there and check it out. will the lights work if it is bypassed? if i can't get the nss to work right, i'll bypass it(assuming that it hasn't already been), and if the lights still won't work, i'll wire in a toggle switch.
 
It would depend on how it was bypassed as to if the backup lights will work. There are separate contacts inside for start and backup lights, so I'd pull it, clean it, and see what's working then. If you still need to bypass it for either feature, it's pretty straight forward.
 
The reverse lights are activated by a switch on the right side of the transmission. it looks like a round aluminum circle..inside that there are contacts that get crusty.. sometimes if you wiggle the shifter handle around near revers they might light up..it's not any easy thing to take apart and clean .. I had to do mine and it wasn't fun ..I'm not saying thats your problem for sure but that housing also contains part of the neutral saftey switch. Good Luck!! hope this helps you.
 
From DJ more info I have saved
NSS Cleaning Tips
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1044232
Post by diesel guy
I would recommend you use a tooth pick and slide the tiny springs over them to clean them with a tooth brush and some needle nose pliers’ to do the other small pieces.

Technical write up by
http://go.jeep-xj.info/HowtoNSSrebuild.htm

Joe Peters
Disassemble inside a plastic bag; it keeps the small parts from launching.
Drop the small parts in a jar with a little solvent and shake-shake-shake.

Post by Shorty
Yeah, I didn't have any problem with the disassembly-- it was when I got the springs and started cleaning them, that one decided to show me how good of a spring it was.
 
thanks fellars. i'll give that a shot on my next day off, but if i can't get it all figured out pretty quickly and easily, then i'll just slap a toggle switch on there and rock n' roll... that is assuming that this isn't something that will leave me stranded if it screws up?
 
that would suck.... this is the first automatic xj i've ever had for a long enough time to actually do anything to it, so i'm fairly new to the idea of the NSS even being something someone might want working properly. in my 5spd jeeps, i would disable it for clutch starts in hairy situations...
 
thechief86 said:
that would suck.... this is the first automatic xj i've ever had for a long enough time to actually do anything to it, so i'm fairly new to the idea of the NSS even being something someone might want working properly. in my 5spd jeeps, i would disable it for clutch starts in hairy situations...
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, the NSS is more than a neutral safety switch on an AW4. Just take it off and fix it properly.
 
the good news is:

it's the kind of no start that still allows you to jump the starter terminals and get to where you need to be

the bad news is:

until you fix it, you'll have to crawl under there and jump the terminals to get to where you need to be
 
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