DIY: Neutral Safety Switch Cleaning - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

***Mister_Perkins*** · 12-18-2010, 11:47 AM

So your gear indicators are not working correctly, and you've triple checked your Bulbs.. OR your car wont start in Park or Neutral!!!

The problem is more than likely your Neutral Safety Switch. There are two copper contacts that use spring pressure to push against the inside of the NSS to make and electrical contact. What happens is the grease gets old and starts to build up on the Springs and lock the copper contacts where they no longer make a connection.

Tools Needed:

1. Phillips head screw driver
2. Flat head screw driver
3. Pliers
4. 10mm 3/8" socket
5. 3/8" Ratchet

First step is to remove the Neutral Safety Switch. To remove the Neutral Safety switch you have to remove the following:

1. Battery (10mm x 4)
2. Battery Tray (3 x 10mm)
3. Cruise Control Module Harness
4. NSS Linkage (12MM Nut)
5. NSS Harness connector
6. NSS Nut (21MM) --- on front of neutral safety switch)
7. NSS (2 x 10mm)

Pictures of where the NSS is and what to remove:

Remove the battery and battery tray. Keep the throttle / cruise cables connected and lift the entire tray out of the way (Lay it on the drivers side strut assembly)

I made three circles on top of the battery. This is showing where the 3 (10mm) bolts are that need to be removed to take the cruise control assembly out.. The bolts are under-neath the battery tray

General Location.. This is why its easier to remove the cruise control module and battery tray.

Once the Neutral Safety switch is removed, bring it inside and grab some shop rags.

Flip the NSS On its back and remove the 6 Philips head screws.

Flip it to the front side and using your pliers bend the locking tabs straight and remove the cover.

Remove the center arm thats inside the NSS and flip it over and using a flat head screw driver remove the Copper tabs.

Next, remove the two springs out of where you just removed the copper tabs.

As you can see from the picture below, there is a lot of "goop" built up in there. This is what makes a bad contact. the Copper clips and spings should freely move.

Clean the whole arm assembly with starting fluid, let it dry and reinstall the springs and copper tabs.

This is what the normal operation should look like. As you can see clearly on the left tab in the video, it has a spring movement. This is what makes contact and makes the indicator light up.

You Tube

Grab some 220 sand paper, and sand the contacts on the NSS Body. You can use Electrical Safe Spray too to clean out the grit. DO NOT USE STARTING FLUID TO CLEAN THIS PART THOUGH! It can seep inside the electrical part and damage the components / connections inside the NSS

Now re-assemble the whole assembly and put it back in your car!

This can more than likely be applicable to other vehicles equipped with Neutral Safety Switches as well.

***LynchburgCSI*** · 12-18-2010, 11:57 AM

Anddddd sticky time.

Chris Crash · 12-18-2010, 12:00 PM

Dude, you make a DIY for everything you do, don't you? haha that's awesome. I wish I had the patience to take the pictures and make write ups. I always start a project and take pictures, then I give up.

***Mister_Perkins*** · 12-18-2010, 12:03 PM

Well I got in my 92 camry today and turned the key and it wouldn't start. So i threw it in neutral and it started right up. I knew I had a spare NSS that I took off the XLE Since I swapped the spare that I did have into it because it was having a problem with the Park contact too. So i just figured I would clean the spare I had today, swap it into the 92 and clean that one for another spare.

***fenixus*** · 12-18-2010, 12:17 PM

nice thank you! I like the DIYs here, hehe, seems like another project for Spring on 5s-fe. is this switch the thing that gear selector (lever for shifting gears manually) revolves around?

i think mine is slowly going bad.

any chance you could take a pic where exactly that is located under car? thanks a ton!

P.S.
and Happy New year too!

***Mister_Perkins*** · 12-18-2010, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fenixus

any chance you could take a pic where exactly that is located under car? thanks a ton!

P.S.
and Happy New year too!

I updated the first post with updated pictures

***fenixus*** · 12-18-2010, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mister_Perkins

I updated the first post with updated pictures

thanks

Maim Menu · 12-18-2010, 03:12 PM

Excellent write up. I assume lots of people probably throw 'em to the trash when they could just clean them.

Mike_95 · 02-10-2011, 06:01 PM

Thank you for the write up!

My fiances 95 just started doing the 'wont start in park unless you bump the shifter' thing.

will it start reliably in neutral for a while? or do i need to clean this sooner rather than later? I want to wait till its warm and I have time to deal with it.

I spit out my coffee when i saw how much a new NSS is. Im used to working on Mercedes vehicles so Im used to pricey parts - but Toyota parts are MORE expensive.

***Mister_Perkins*** · 02-10-2011, 06:09 PM

(Preventative Maintenance

)
Its always a good idea if you are experiencing problems, but its still working to fix it now rather than after it fails and leaves you stranded.

If I were in your situation, I would first try to adjust the linkage and if it still has a problem starting then I would clean it. To me, it sounds like your linkage may just be out of adjustment.

Loosen the 12MM nut that is connected to the Ribbed Rubber connection (to the left of the Yellow arrows and circles).

After its loose, move the Shifter linkage up a little and tighten it. If it doesn't start, try to move it down a little bit and tighten it. If it ends up still not starting, then I would remove it and clean it. Hope that helps ya

and yes.. They are very expensive. lol

uuuuu · 02-10-2011, 06:11 PM

Be careful pulling those nuts off of the NSS because the bolts are attached inside the transmission housing...i.e. difficult to fix if you break the bolt like I did.

***Mister_Perkins*** · 02-10-2011, 06:13 PM

Yep.. Use PB Blaster or some Penetrating oil and cover the nuts and bolts. If they dont break loose, heat them up and break them loose. Be careful when using heat, not to melt anything or catch your car on fire. Make sure to have an extinguisher handy

Mike_95 · 02-10-2011, 08:22 PM

Thank you for the replies!

I'll try adjusting the linkage first and go from there.

I just replaced the rear brake lines and fuel lines on the car due to them rusting out, so I have a plentiful supply of PB Blaster and AeroKroil ready to go :-)

kasperjames · 04-07-2011, 08:51 PM

i was advised to lube it? someone told me, but it doesnt show me how or whare.
whats that about? false lead? bad information?

adalex · 04-08-2011, 07:11 AM

lol as far as pricey goes :P I almost crapped my pants when i saw a price difference like this
my coworker has a 00 dodgle neon this is his nss on autozone

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/par...ier=113944_0_0_

11.99 :P

gen 4 camry (99 camry I4 in my case)

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/par...ier=124188_0_0_
$219.99

I was that sucks >.< lol

retail for OEM 277.19 :P
http://www.toyotapartszone.com/oem/t...540-20220.html

thats not even oem :P