Neutral Safety Bypassed / Start Button Added / Previous Owner Funky - HELP

[tripog]

Found a hacked wire between #24 and the Battery Junction relay. She lives! Thanks for all the help and the wiring diagram. That was huge!

I had a feeling it would be something like that when you said how they had the push button start wired up.

 

[Turdle]

Glad you found the problem. Your perseverance paid off well.

 

[memeco50]

Trying to figure out what a previous owner did with my '99 5.0. Couple weird things going on, I thought I had figured out and it was just a bypassed bad neutral safety switch, but I'm missing something.

First, the truck has a push button start that has been added. The key still needs to be in the ignition and all the way turned (before crank to start) - you hit the push button, and vroom...she fires right up.

Second, the truck will not start turning the key alone. Turning the key to start does nothing. Push button has to be used.
Also, the truck will start in any gear.

So, my thinking was, the previous owner just bypassed the neutral safety switch to be cheap and get going.

So, today, I put in a new neutral safety switch thinking I could lose the push button start, but it didn't work.

The push button is hot wired to battery + on one end and the other is tied into the yellow/blue stripe wire that is under the master cylinder.

What the heck did they do? Any ideas? I would love to ditch this push button hack, have a working neutral safety switch, and start with the key.

LOL. The same has been done to my '96 Explorer. A friend did it. The good thing is that it can't be stolen. The thing is that now you have to put it on shift it on any speed, I prefer N, turn the key ON and push the button. If you bring it back to PARK it will lock and you won't be able to shift again. Put in on gear again, push button and go again.
It all started with the car not starting. Call AAA: it's your starter. My friend: No, it's the switch or something. But not to take the whole stirring wheel/column apart. He did it like this in a few minutes and there it is. Very funky!