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Jeep Cherokee neutral safety switch, how to bypass

21 messages,  Last post on Mar 13, 2011 at 7:06 PM

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What is this discussion about? Jeep Cherokee, Electrical, SUV

    

Messages Page 2 of 3

#2 of 21 How to bypass Cherokee Neutral Safety Switch by 409man

Jan 09, 2008 (8:35 pm)

Sure, it's easy. I just did it to my 95', which intermittently would not start, even if you wiggled the shift lever. Simply find a 12 volt source under the hood, run a #12 or #14 fused wire thru the firewall, to a momentary push button mounted under the dash(I used a little horn button), then run another wire from the other terminal of the same horn button, thru the same hole in the firewall, and down to the small electrical terminal on the starter solenoid. NOw, when your Jeep won't start, turn the key to the on position, hit your little horn button, it will activate the starter solenoid, which in turn cranks the starter, and lo and behold, the engine starts, it works GREAT!! In essence, it's the same thing as a remote starter, which a tune-up mechanic may temporarily put on the car to spin the engine over for compression testing, or whatever. Just make sure your Jeep is in Park when you start it this way. Piece of cake. Any questions, email me, Brian bbbc402t6wireless.com. Good luck!

#3 of 21 Re: How to bypass Cherokee Neutral Safety Switch [409man] by darien362001

Jan 31, 2008 (2:31 pm)

Replying to: 409man (Jan 09, 2008 8:35 pm)
i have a 95 country with a bad neutral switch and have a wife and daughter that drive this car.Was woundering if it can be bypassed at the tranny so it will start like normal but in any gear. thanks darien

#4 of 21 neutral safety switch by 409man

Jan 31, 2008 (5:06 pm)

In my opinion, it's much easier to bypass it as I described. The NS switch is tucked up tight against the top side of the tranny, and I don't know, myself which wires are which. If you could find that out, then you could hook the correct two wires together, and it would be bypassed. You'd need a schematic of the switch to know which 2 wires to cut and connect. That was too much work for me, so I simply did as I described earlier. Basically put in a start button, when the nuetral Safety switch decides not to work, I just hit the button, and "Walla", it starts. Good luck, Brian.

#5 of 21 Re: How to bypass Cherokee Neutral Safety Switch [409man] by tidester

Jan 31, 2008 (10:17 pm)

Replying to: 409man (Jan 09, 2008 8:35 pm)
Any questions, email me …
 
Doing so would deprive everyone else of valuable information. Why don't we just keep the conversation here?
 
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper

#6 of 21 Re: How to bypass Cherokee Neutral Safety Switch [409man] by jimbob15

Mar 13, 2009 (9:08 pm)

Replying to: 409man (Jan 09, 2008 8:35 pm)
Thank you!! We bought a 91 with the identical problem & have replaced the ignition, neutral switch, & solenoid (in that order) & today we decided to consider a bypass & found your how to post

#7 of 21 Re: How to bypass Cherokee Neutral Safety Switch [409man] by jimbob15

Mar 13, 2009 (9:33 pm)

Replying to: 409man (Jan 09, 2008 8:35 pm)
Hello,
 
Your post was very helpful. We bought a 91 Jeep cherokee in December.
 
We already replaced the neutral safety switch, but the mechanic said there was a lot of wear & he was unable to fully adjust whatever he needed to ensure it would continue to work. He did not charge us for the switch or the labor(can you believe that!) because he had at 1st diagnosed a bad ignition that we had him replace.
 
At 1st we were hopeful, but it soon had the same problem. A friend offered to replace the starter solenoid, but still no luck. At that point my husband tried to convince me that we should bypass the switch. I was worried about forgetting to put the car in park....but now I think it is the only solution.
 
We have had a lot of crazy problems with this car but they seem to be fixable. We just replaced the o2 sensor, cleaned the fuel injectors & added a clip to a brake vacuum hose that seemed to pop off at odd times. This was after a scary episode of losing power then surging (and losing most of the braking) last week. The Jeep dealer (believe it or not) said the engine & transmission were fine.
 
We have been meeting some honest mechanics this week & your post also is a blessing.
 
I'm a bit paranoid though...I don't want another episode.
 
Thanks,
JB & Mrs.

#8 of 21 Re: How to bypass Cherokee Neutral Safety Switch by weeones4

Apr 24, 2009 (11:24 am)

Hello,
I am having some problems w/my 91 Cherokee. Was searching the internet for answers when I had came across this forum. My local garage said that is what I need for mine. This may sound dumb, but, what exactly should I get to bypass the safety nuetal switch? I dont have the $338 plus for a new switch. As I had just replaced throttle position sensor as well as idle air. And I'm being told the coil pack needs done as well.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you for your time,
Cheryl

#9 of 21 Bypassing Jeep Neutral Safety Switch by 409man

Apr 24, 2009 (7:31 pm)

HI Cheryl. It really is quite simple. When things are working as they should, when you turn the key to start, the ignition switch sends a 12 volt/low current signal down to the small electrical terminal on the starter solenoid, which is on the starter itself, on the top. When the neutral safety switch fails, it interrups the 12 volt signal to reach the solenoid, even tho your Jeep is in park, so the starter does not crank over. You'll need about 8 ft. of no. 14 wire, a momentary switch, such as a big round doorbell button or the like will work just fine, and also a in-line fuse holder and fuse. Find a 12 volt source, such as the positive battery post, or a 12 volt terminal on your fusebox, Hook one end of your wire to that 12 volt source, splice the inline fuse and holder into that wire, then run the wire to one terminal on the momentary switch, mount it somewhere easy to get at, such as on the bottom of the dash, then run more of your wire FROM the other terminal of your new switch back thru a hole in your firewall, keeping it away from high temp areas, down to that small terminal on the starter solenoid. When the Jeep won't crank over, simply turn your key to the on position, so your ignition is being powered up(for spark), make sure your Jeep is in park, and push the new button, and the car should then crank over and it should start, as long as your key is in the on position. Believe it or not, that's how the old cars started many many years ago. So, you'll have about $10-$15 in parts, Vs. over $200 for that neutral safety switch. The 60's and 70's GM cars had the neutral safety switch under the dash, on top of the steering column, out of the elements, high and dry. They usually would last forever. The Jeep ones are tucked up on the outside of the trans, exposed to rain, snow, salt, and guess what, they fail. HHHHMMM, sounds like a design flaw to me. That's why I bypassed mine, and the fix is still working. Good luck, Brian.

#10 of 21 Re: How to bypass Cherokee Neutral Safety Switch [jimbob15] by jimbob15

Apr 24, 2009 (10:16 pm)

Replying to: jimbob15 (Mar 13, 2009 9:33 pm)
Well, we did not end up doing the bypass though that was definitely the next step. We had the car at a shop who got the wiring schematics & tracked the problem down to some melted wires somewhere in the stering column. They rewired that portion & we have not had problems since, or so far...good luck.

#11 of 21 Re-Building the NSS is fairly easy by coloradolove

Aug 04, 2009 (11:19 am)

Hi, I'm bypassing the neutral safety switch today but I'm posting in regards to the poster who didn't want to bypass but didn't want to pay to replace the NSS either.
 
I've re-built my neutral safety switch several times and it's really not hard. All you really need is a wrench and some degreaser. You can Google how to do it. I'm not all that mechanically savvy (no formal training) and my experience is limited to stuff I've done on my Jeep and wiring up sound systems. It took me maybe 2 hours tops to re build it.
 
However, the reason I'm bypassing is because I'm tired of having to rebuild it every year or so. They get gunked up and the metal contact points do get pretty worn down by the time the vehicles are this old (10+ years). So you can easily re-build it you just may have to do it again every so often. Another good option is to find a newer jeep in a junkyard and snag their NSS, rebuild it, and slap it on your older Jeep. Good luck!

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