Occasionally my 1989 460ci F250 fails to turn over. No click…nothing. The battery is fine, starter seems to be fine…etc. The thing that “cures” the problem is moving the shifter (automatic trans, no OD) through the gears & back into Park. If I do this one or more times eventually when I turn the key the truck starts right up as if nothing is wrong. I assume some switch that tells the truck it’s in Park is failing. Is this the problem? How do I fix it?
The starter is original & has given me none of the typical signs that’s it’s on its way out.
Yes there is a neutral safety switch. On this year the switch is probably screwed into the transmission case near the manual shifter shaft. There are two switches on the transmission near here because the other activates the reverse lights. You will need a service manual or a DVM to determine which one is the correct one. Make sure that the manual shift linkage is adjusted correctly because a slight bit of misadjustment can lead to intermittant neutral safety switch nonoperation.
Hope this helps
Thanks.
The backup lights haven’t worked for some time & I know where that switch is. I’ll poke around a bit & see what I can see. Does the shift linkage adjustment require a transmission tech or is this something I can adjust on my own?