1994 Bronco E4OD Lever stuck in Park

[idjeffp]

My wife's beloved '94 Bronco with the 5.8 & E4OD A/T is now stuck in Park. Can fire the engine right up but it seems like some interlock (thinking brake switch) is not working - keeping the column shift lever stuck in Park. This seem correct? had my wife start it up yesterday morning and I looked at the brake lights and they also appeared to not be working, but honestly it was hard to tell as the morning sun was on them. I need to get my noggin under the dash with the DMM and see what's going on.

I figure someone here has been there, done that.

Thanks!

Jeff P

1974 Bronco Sport

1994 Bronco XLT

 

[timster24]

sounds like that might be it, could it be the park neutral switch?

 

[polar7400]

Mine has done it and I just have to pull the wheel in one direction or the other to free it.

 

[firelt90bronco]

The brake switch is the problem. If you disconnect the battery and put the truck in neutral, you can get it out of park to drive it to have it fixed.

 

[idjeffp]

I don't think it is the Neutral safety switch (actually the Ford parts guy pointed me in that direction - but later added the caveat that "I'm not a mechanic...not sure which switch") as I walked through the schematic in my Haynes manual and this is involved with the iginition and the rig not starting. Mine starts just fine. I will finally have some time to look at the brake switch tomorrow as we have the day off. Napa unfortunately doesn't have the one for my Bronco with the E4OD but they are not too bad $-wise at the FORD dealer.

I'll give that wheel turning trick a try as well.

I thought it interesting that I was not seeing brake lights in the back so thinking this in the right direction....

Thanks for the input...Stay tuned!

Jeff P

 

[Yardape]

Did you try unhooking the battery and then putting it in neutral as fire man dude said?

 

[Yardape]

sounds like it could be just an electrical connection, possibly the brake light switch

 

[idjeffp]

Did you try unhooking the battery and then putting it in neutral as fire man dude said?

No, haven't tried this... dark when I go to work and dark when I get back... Vehicles haven't seen the inside of my garage for some years now either. Trying to get the ducks lined up for tomorrow, when I get some time off. /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Jeff

 

[idjeffp]

Hope all here had a Merry Christmas!

Well just thought I'd post a followup here now that I have resolved this issue.

It was indeed the brake pedal switch - aka "Stop Light Switch" in the schematics. The root cause I believe was that the original lubricant in the switch dried out enough to the point that it was limiting the switch movement and also interfering with the electrical contacts... however I did NOT take it apart to resolve to this level. The difference in movement was very apparent when a new switch was installed.

My recommendation to someone else in this situation is to:

1) remove the switch

2) clean switch contacts thoroughly with an electrical contact cleaner / lubricant (available at most auto parts stores or Radio Shack)

3) reassemble and test...

I connected a Digital MultiMeter across the switch contacts and it even switched On / Off as the brake pedal was depressed... just as it should. However in functioning it still did NOT allow the shift lever out of Park... This had me puzzled for a while. So the real clincher test was to:

1) Start engine (leave parking brake On!!!)

2) Put left arm through steering wheel and across to grab end of the shift lever, pulling towards you as to move it out of Park

3) depress brake pedal with foot and hold

4) With right arm reach down and follow the brake pedal up with your right hand, until you find the brake switch

5) press / rotate down the brake switch while putting slight pressure on the shift lever to move it out of Park

For me this was the sure indicator that the brake switch was the culprit... as the shift lever magically popped right out of Park and into another slot... Viola!

I chose to replace the brake switch for $18.xx from the local Ford dealer. Working fine now!

Just thought I'd share my findings with others here on the board. Hopefully this will help someone else in the future!

Happy Holidays to all here!

Jeff P