Switch in shifter column.....

[Sandstone VR-4]

Hi all,

Over the last few days, my wife's been having a tough time getting the key out of the ignition of her 2004 Explorer. After some coaxing, it would take care of itself and the key would pop on out. Until today.

I parked the car and when I went to pull the key out of the ignition, it would not budge. No amount of coaxing would fix it.

Soo... we bring the car home and I pull off the rubber "boot" that covers the gear lever to the steering column and see the problem immediately. There is a small switch that when the gear selector is in park, it relays that information to the car and lets you remove the key. The thin piece of metal that actuates this switch was broken off and resting in some of the shifter's grease.

Question is... am I going to able to replace just this switch, or am I going to wind up having to repair it using Ford's mantra.. "all of our parts are sold as assemblies"?

Also... anyone out there who's done this repair or can point me in the right direction, I would certainly appreciate any tips / tricks you would be willing to share.

Thank you!

 

[Sandstone VR-4]

Any ideas? From how thin the metal on the switch was, I would have thought this problem to be fairly common.

 

[Sandstone VR-4]

Aha... found a picture (not mine).

It is the blue switch directly above the ignition switch.

With the plastic removed from the column, it looks pretty simple. Can anybody shed some light on this if they've ever run into this before?

 

[Sandstone VR-4]

OK ... just ran to the $tealership at lunch and the parts guy had no idea. We couldn't locate this switch on any of his exploded diagrams of the column. I even showed him the above picture and he didn't know.

My fear is that this switch is part of the column assembly. If this happens to be the case, does anybody (who knows about auto electric/wiring) see any issues with me installing a push button switch on the column to release the key?

 

[RickM]

looks like a micro switch. Can you give us the info printed on the switch?

 

[Sandstone VR-4]

looks like a micro switch. Can you give us the info printed on the switch?

Three lines of text on the switch:

NAIS
ABJ19151
31115A

 

[DLinkOZ]

Reading the thread you got that pic from, it seems to be a normally open microswitch of the garden variety. Gear selector goes into park, actuates the switch and closes the circuit sending a ground to the interlock. Would seem like a pretty common switch to pick up, though I too came up dry with both AllData and MOD.

 

[DLinkOZ]

I believe what you're looking for would be called the "brake shift interlock microswitch."

 

[Sandstone VR-4]

Hi DLink,

I thought that at first, too... but I believe that this is the "brake shift interlock microswitch":

 

[DLinkOZ]

That's the BSI switch, but that little blue guy is the microswitch that actuates it.

 

[DLinkOZ]

My local Mustang crowd knows Fords inside and out, and some either work for dealerships or own their own shops (know three guys in the area who own speed shops). Let me get the feelers out to them to see if we can come up with a Ford part number or equivalent.

 

[DLinkOZ]

Guy at Ford had this to say:

"00-05 should all be the same. i can get one, theyre about 80.00. and whoever couldnt look that up is beyond GREEN"

I'll see if I can't get a part number from him, but 80 bucks for that seems outrageous.

 

[Sandstone VR-4]

I really appreciate the legwork!

A part number would be awesome. If all else fails, I'm sure I could rig something up to be functional with a momentary switch. It will just be nice to be able to remove the key from the ignition without using a screwdriver to actuate that little microswitch.

 

[miker104]

I found this:

3Z719

But it think its the Lock Actuator not the microswitch

maybe:

3B661

Steering Column Release Lever Kit
$74.98

 

[DLinkOZ]

Yep, that's the BSI, which is also what I think my guy is giving me. So I'm trying to get some clarification from him to get the microswitch info versus the BSI.

 

[DLinkOZ]

And I believe the 3B661 is the paddle that releases the tilt steering.

 

[Sandstone VR-4]

OK... so I'm thinking of just picking up a new microswitch and splicing it to replace the broken one. Can anyone advise on the type of switch that would be required (amperage, etc...). Also, the bulk of the switches I've seen online have three posts (I'm assuming for pos, neg, and ground). The existing switch only appears to have a positive and negative connection only.

Can anyone help to shed some light?

Thanks!

 

[RickM]

Sandstone, I'm attempting to identify. It's likely a OEM specific part that has generic function. However, the case, mounting points and/or actuator may be custom for this app.

Can you take a Voltmeter to verify that the switch is operating or not?

 

[Sandstone VR-4]

Switch is definitely operating, as I've been using a screwdriver to actuate it and release the key from the cylinder.

 

[RickM]

OK, I'm not clear as to why you need a new switch.

If you do; I'm working with a technician from Omron and he is trying to locate a datasheet. Apparently the numbers on the side are not in any cross reference DB.

He requested clear pics showing sides and bottom. If you can provide then post here or you can Email.