'62 Convertible Top Problems

[jopizz]

Larry,

By all means make sure the neutral switch is secured and adjusted correctly. As far as the wire you see it can only be a ground wire. I don't have a '62 at the moment so I can't compare it but if there's a wire there it's there for a reason and should be tight. The neutral switches are only plastic so don't overtighten it.

John

[Larry Jones]

I got under the stering wheel and looked at my nss. There our two bolts one on each side of the column along with the contacts in the middle. The one bolt is very loose like just hanging there. That on the right side On another web site they indicated to use a star washer where I dont even have a washer at all. Theres a picture that I noticed of how this is secured. There is a wire secured to the loose bolt my 1962 thunderbird Electrical assembly manual doesnt tell to much about the wiring of this switch. But how much can several star washers cost anyway. Plus my eye sight isnt to good being a diabetic for 51 years on insulin. I thought the top control safety relay was secured by a nut it secured by screws. Might have to remove half the side frame of the console to get to it. The loose bolt I no is not hot. Larry

Do you mean adjusting the bolt I would imagine John

[jopizz]

Yes. The neutral switch can be adjusted by loosening the two bolts and sliding it back and forth. If the one bolt is tight and your car starts correctly in park then I would just tighten the bolt that's loose.

[Larry Jones]

Larry,

The top switch only gets 12V when the neutral switch is in the right place. If the shift lever moves a fraction of an inch that would be enough for it not to get voltage. Especially if you have a sloppy shifter like the majority of Thunderbirds. I've owned at least a dozen 60-66 convertibles and have worked on many more in the past 35 years or so. I believe I know what I'm talking about. I have no way of knowing what your electrician did without seeing it for myself. I also don't know what you are talking about regarding the plate on the firewall.

John

the plate as I call it is what the top control relay is attached too.

[Larry Jones]

Do you mean adjusting the bolt I would imagine John

I thought the contacts were somewhere in the shifter and I would have to remove the stering wheel to get to that. I beleive now that these contacts our under the stering column and moving tthose bolts could affect not getting power to the top switch at the door. So these contacts under this plate that the wires our attached to are also contacts under neath this same board that can be moved into place and sometimes out of place where no voltage to the top switch button would occur. I hope Iam reading you right on this John. Ill get to this tomorrow there is really no understand of this of the neutral switch either in the service manual or electrical manual indicating the movement . Thank you so much John. I have learned a lot from you.

[jopizz]

It sounds like you have an understanding of how the neutral switch works. It has contacts on the other side of it that hit against the steering column. The contacts close when the shift lever is in park or neutral. It then sends power to the top control relay to energize it and that sends power to the top switch. Let me know how you make out.

John

[Larry Jones]

I thought the contacts were somewhere in the shifter and I would have to remove the stering wheel to get to that. I beleive now that these contacts our under the stering column and moving tthose bolts could affect not getting power to the top switch at the door. So these contacts under this plate that the wires our attached to are also contacts under neath this same board that can be moved into place and sometimes out of place where no voltage to the top switch button would occur. I hope Iam reading you right on this John. Ill get to this tomorrow there is really no understand of this of the neutral switch either in the service manual or electrical manual indicating the movement . Thank you so much John. I have learned a lot from you.

will do John

[Larry Jones]

It sounds like you have an understanding of how the neutral switch works. It has contacts on the other side of it that hit against the steering column. The contacts close when the shift lever is in park or neutral. It then sends power to the top control relay to energize it and that sends power to the top switch. Let me know how you make out.

John

hi John. If I move this plate over justalittle That will keep the car from not starting is that correct or not.

[jopizz]

If you move the plate too far in one direction it may start in reverse; too far in the other direction and you will probably have to hold the shift lever all the way up to start it.

John

[YellowRose]

'62 Convertible Top Problems

I just saw that I put this thread in the wrong Forum! I am moving this to the Bulletbird Forum where it belongs. Also, if you are going to adjust the neutral switch, make sure there is nothing behind you to back into... Garage door, family car, dog, cat, etc... Put the emergency brake on in case it unexpectedly starts in reverse and slams you into something....

[Larry Jones]

If you move the plate too far in one direction it may start in reverse; too far in the other direction and you will probably have to hold the shift lever all the way up to start it.

John

I rembered before to start to raise the trunk the shift lever and to be held all the way in park as I used the up button on the door. How difficult is this to do is it like a hit and mess would I need to mark something under the stering column or not. Need the easiet way do do this task. Larry

[jopizz]

It's not difficult to move it. I would just do it in small increments. There's not a whole lot of adjustment available. As mentioned just chock the wheels in case it tries to start in reverse. That's usually the case if your shift lever has a lot of play. It can slip into reverse rather easily.

John

[Larry Jones]

It's not difficult to move it. I would just do it in small increments. There's not a whole lot of adjustment available. As mentioned just chock the wheels in case it tries to start in reverse. That's usually the case if your shift lever has a lot of play. It can slip into reverse rather easily.

John

thank you. Larry Went down to ACE hardware and bought some star washers. Tommorrow it appears I need to remove half of the drivers side console to put the top control safety relay back in place.

[Larry Jones]

It's not difficult to move it. I would just do it in small increments. There's not a whole lot of adjustment available. As mentioned just chock the wheels in case it tries to start in reverse. That's usually the case if your shift lever has a lot of play. It can slip into reverse rather easily.

John

Goodmorning John. I was thinking about this process of how the NSS works. If I can start the car in park or neutral all the times with moving the shifter up aways or leaving it in neutral and feeling around there to energize the top up switch is there another contact that needs to be touched with the shifter also. Because if the car will start in the park why isnt the switch energised all the time when the car is started up. I also secured that thick black wire on the right side of the NSS yesterday also. Plus today I have to reattach the top control relay to theback of the firewall and then attach the up and down switch to the passenger side of the door. No more today. Thanks Larry

[jopizz]

You are right about the neutral switch. If the shift lever is in the correct position to start the car then it should be sending 12V to the top relay. I was more concerned about the electrician who was working on the car not knowing about holding the shift lever up and giving you wrong information. I can't find anything on the wiring diagram about the black wire you tightened but I know that the top relay has to be grounded in order to work so it may have something to do with that. When you secure the relay to the firewall make sure it is tight and clean where the bolts go so you get a good ground. It might be wise to test everything before you put the relay back in case that is your problem. You will have to ground it by clipping a wire to the relay case and running it to the body of the car to ground it.

John