7A247 is the basic number. Is this a swing-away column? Fixed column? They are two different switches but they work the same.

If your car starts in Drive, either the switch is turned or the column is turned. Give us more info. - Dave

dear sir....it has a swing away colunm i had the steering wheel apart to replace the detent plate and shift lever could it have gotten out of alignment if so how do i correct this? thanks....tmac

The switch is mounted on top of the column (outer tube) near the firewall and held in place with two small screws in slotted holes so you can adjust it about 1/4" right-left. The switch has a nylon rod sticking out the front that is the "stem" of the sliding switch. The stem is acted on by a small steel clip screwed to the inner column tube, and that tube is turned by the shift lever.

With the shift lever in low the clip does not contact the rod at all. In park it slides the switch way over to the left.

Put the shift lever on low and loosen the two screws holding the switch body in place, center it, then tighten the screws. Don't over-tighten because these are easy to strip. Then test the operation; you should be able to operate the starter in P and N. If not readjust right or left and try again.

nss

not sure we are talking about the same type of switch....mine is on the bottom of the colunm half way down above the break petal there is no nylon rod that i see just the switch held by the two screws you can adjust as you desrcibed

Here is a picture of your column:


Notice the neutral switch (7A217) has slots for moving it side to side:



If the switch doesn't give you enough adjustment, you will need to rotate your column. - Dave

I was describing a different year, apparently yours is placed in a different location and is a different type of switch. Regardless, there has to be a mechanism causing an movement in the switch as the inner column rotates with the shifter.

nss

i did the low position adjustment now it only starts in low like i said before when in park i remove the nss and there is no visiable brass contacts showing you mentioned adjusting the colunm how do i go about doing that......thanks for all your input thus far....tmac

Todd, there is a 'dance' that steering columns go through. When everything is in sync, it all works great.

Think in terms of the guy on the assembly line, installing these columns. The inner shaft controls the steering box, the inner sleeve controls the shifter arms and finally, the outer housing controls mounting stability and how the 'PRNDL' looks to the driver.

We have had Squarebird columns drop down so far, the horn no longer worked because the horn brush broke contact with the steering wheel contact plate. Simply loosening a Squarebird column by two screws, pulling the housing to the driver's chest and tightening the same two screws fixed it.

There should be a setup procedure in your Shop Manual for the steering column. Otherwise, the bolts that hold the column to the dash should be loosened and the whole column will rotate.

Notice that your Neutral Switch is screwed to the column and there is an allowance for adjustment. Your column moves because every car is built from stacks of sheet metal, so every car body is different but within tolerances. Your shifter is exact.

When we build cars, the column goes in first. Then the transmission linkage is adjusted to the column (sleeve), and finally the steering wheel is held straight while the front end is aligned at the tie rods. Each one of these operations takes under one minute to do on the assembly line. The assemblers make these tasks look easy, with no wasted movements, but each worker does 500 cars per shift. When done, you might find maybe a few cars that need slight adjustment out of 1,000 per day (two shifts).

Neutral Switches have their own contacts internal to the switch, and they don't use ground for an electrical connection. They don't use copper or brass 'dogs'. There should be a visible protrusion that sticks out of the inner sleeve that pushes on the switch to make the contacts open and close. If you take the switch off and have someone rotate the gear lever, you should plainly see them at the 'switch window'.

BTW, Mom was from Kingston and Dad was from Larksville, just up the Susquehanna from you. - Dave

nss

thank you sir that was a good bit of info (even the part about your mother and father ...small world indeed i think i know what is going now again thanks im sure there will be other problems and questions in near future enjoy your holiday weekend!

nss

well back to square one... with the nss removed there is a orange haft round peice of (for lack of not knowning what it is made of i will call it bake lite) with two thin brass strips on the inner colunm that move with the shift lever but i can also move them with my finger i moved it to where i thought it should be are the car started in park...YEA! but as soon as i moved the shifter im right back were i was ....wont start in park

If you can't adjust the switch you'll have to replace it.

nss

it is a new switch

I've never seen it happen where the contacts inside the steering column have come loose. Sounds like that's what has happened to yours. I'll see if I can find a picture of how they connect inside the column. If you can move the contacts independent of the shift lever than that's a problem.

John

Exactly what I was thinking, John. You're a great mechanic and troubleshooter.

Ok, so what has changed?
I normally don't ask this question but in this instance I think it is relevant...

Todd has changed many parts with new in his column. Maybe somewhere along the assembly process, he forgot a few screws that fasten the shift tube with the shifter (if that's possible). - Dave