Neutral Safety Switch?????

[Clickety_Clack]

'93 SL1 Auto, 114K mi New Cylinder head installed

My little car is running again, sort of. Thanks to all who got me through the the new cylinder head installation! Two MMO soaks and alot of piston scrubbing will see how the oil does.

So the little guy ran for a short two mile trip and started up again afterwards but quickly stalled out on me. This is the first time it has stopped while running and I think I can trace this to the negative terminal on the battery. I'll clean this up and go from there.

The issue started before the rebuild though. When parking on a grade, even a slight one. The car would go dead, sometimes moving the shifter through the gears would get the power back, sometimes shaking the car would get the power back, other methods included opening and closing the door.

Most of these would lead me to think it is the neutral safety switch but the door now has me stumped. The radio pre-sets and clock go away when this happes if this makes a difference.

Thanks!

[OnDaGround]

sounds more like you need an alternator. You should have that and the battery tested. are any other electricals failing on you? Did you check the battery cables for corrosion and bad connections? There should be a cable to the starter and one to the alternator. Check those as well.

[madpogue]

The neutral safety switch affects the starter circuit, not the ignition or fuel management. Once the engine is running, the starter circuit is out of the picture. I'm not sure what the problem is, but it can't be the NSS.

[fdryer]

Originally Posted by Clickety_Clack

'93 SL1 Auto, 114K mi... The car would go dead..... The radio pre-sets and clock go away when this happes if this makes a difference...

BIG DIFFERENCE!? You've lost power, period. Whether its the battery or battery cables, each has to be addressed. The battery must be less than 4yrs old otherwise it may be on its last legs and the side terminals must be free of cracks and/or corrosion. Any wetness in the RED positive terminal may mean a broken case leaking battery acid into the cable to eventually eat away the copper wires underneath the heavy insulation covering any evidence of severe corrosion. Remove the negative cable first then the positive cable for examination of both cables, peeling back the insulation around the ring terminal that gets bolted to the battery. Look very carefully for any severe corrosion eating away the wires strands that are crimped to the ring terminal. Remember, you probably have been through two batteries but still on the original battery cables that may have been damaged already and now acting up to look connected but not, electrically. Replace as necessary. The outside appearances can fool anyone if not made aware of severe acid damage occurring underneath the cables' heavy insulation. A warm water solution with baking soda will easily dissolve and neutralize powdery deposits but not replace missing wires. Use a toothbrush for this scrubbing solution. Examine both battery cables very carefully and on the other ends also if necessary. They're connected to the fuse box/starter solenoid and engine/frame ground and need to be checked for corrosion. The ground connection may be rusted on the frame and may be hidden unless the cable is removed completely to expose this poor electrical connection. Wirebrush this area. The starter connection is usually OK but needs to checked for any looseness. When the battery and cables are checked completely and nothing found out of the ordinary, the alternator would be next for testing as well as the belt and tensioner. A loose belt slipping won't allow the alternator to operate and a worn alternator won't operate correctly to supply all the electrical needs of the car as well as continually charge the battery.

The alternator and battery can be tested by almost any garage or auto store for free. The alternative method for testing is with a multimeter to measure the voltages from the battery terminals. At a standstill the battery should measure at least 12.5v, engine idling 13.5v+, above idling 14.3v+. The last two measurements indicate the alternator and voltage regulator adjusting as engine speed/electrical load increases. Less output readings can mean a loose belt or tensioner not allowing full torque to turn the alternator or the alternator is faulty. If this is the original alternator, it may be on its last legs as indicated by lower voltage readings below 13v.

[OldNuc]

The I/P Panel power supply terminal problem.

[OnDaGround]

Originally Posted by fdryer

BIG DIFFERENCE!? You've lost power, period. Whether its the battery or battery cables, each has to be addressed. The battery must be less than 4yrs old otherwise it may be on its last legs and the side terminals must be free of cracks and/or corrosion. Any wetness in the RED positive terminal may mean a broken case leaking battery acid into the cable to eventually eat away the copper wires underneath the heavy insulation covering any evidence of severe corrosion. Remove the negative cable first then the positive cable for examination of both cables, peeling back the insulation around the ring terminal that gets bolted to the battery. Look very carefully for any severe corrosion eating away the wires strands that are crimped to the ring terminal. Remember, you probably have been through two batteries but still on the original battery cables that may have been damaged already and now acting up to look connected but not, electrically. Replace as necessary. The outside appearances can fool anyone if not made aware of severe acid damage occurring underneath the cables' heavy insulation. A warm water solution with baking soda will easily dissolve and neutralize powdery deposits but not replace missing wires. Use a toothbrush for this scrubbing solution. Examine both battery cables very carefully and on the other ends also if necessary. They're connected to the fuse box/starter solenoid and engine/frame ground and need to be checked for corrosion. The ground connection may be rusted on the frame and may be hidden unless the cable is removed completely to expose this poor electrical connection. Wirebrush this area. The starter connection is usually OK but needs to checked for any looseness. When the battery and cables are checked completely and nothing found out of the ordinary, the alternator would be next for testing as well as the belt and tensioner. A loose belt slipping won't allow the alternator to operate and a worn alternator won't operate correctly to supply all the electrical needs of the car as well as continually charge the battery.

The alternator and battery can be tested by almost any garage or auto store for free. The alternative method for testing is with a multimeter to measure the voltages from the battery terminals. At a standstill the battery should measure at least 12.5v, engine idling 13.5v+, above idling 14.3v+. The last two measurements indicate the alternator and voltage regulator adjusting as engine speed/electrical load increases. Less output readings can mean a loose belt or tensioner not allowing full torque to turn the alternator or the alternator is faulty. If this is the original alternator, it may be on its last legs as indicated by lower voltage readings below 13v.

Do you always have to write these long posts?? I look at it, like there could be important info in there, so I have to read it. Then as I read I find out that there is not....

Originally Posted by OnDaGround

sounds more like you need an alternator. You should have that and the battery tested. are any other electricals failing on you? Did you check the battery cables for corrosion and bad connections? There should be a cable to the starter and one to the alternator. Check those as well.

Same thing, 3 impo-tant questions...

[OnDaGround]

Not that what you say isn't normally necessary and containing important info.... but your cutting his legs out from under him and not leaving an adventure of what that is and what's this....

[fdryer]

Gee, I don't know where I'm "cutting his legs out from under him" as much as offering as much logical information that seems to me to flow from "the radio presets and clock go away". If you don't like my long winded posts no one's forcing you to read them. I believe the OP has some difficulty sorting out some problems and I respond in kind with information. My guess is that you've never come across some of my other posts with less than a handful of words in them. I hope this post is to your liking as we have this tete-a-tete.

[OnDaGround]

That's exactly it, normally your posts are full of so much info people's little fuzzy heads start to explode... you have taken it down a notch for this post. What I was getting at is a good thing.... u are very educationmanal...

Which is what forces me to read them as you are normally very useful and informative... you slacked on that other than giving him directions. They are long posts... so I see something good in them and I read (a dur). But this time you did not add some more out there info that is normally over and above. I was dissapointed.

[fdryer]

No comment! So there! (I am long winded and need to be reminded sometimes)

[Clickety_Clack]

Thanks guys, the negative terminal did seem loose. Not sure if it has gotten stripped or not but have tightened it down again. Had the battery tested not long ago and it was well within limits. The alternator is a concern and will try to get a meter on things while running soon.

The reason I was thinking the NSS was that I have been able to get the power back by moving the shifter through the gate a couple of times. I think the recent issue was just the connector. Good to know it probably wasn't the NSS, sounds like a bugger to get switched out and calibrated. It also seemed to be mitigated if I set the parking brake before shutting off the car.