Reverse Lights Died

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Richard - 03 Mar 2008 19:35 GMT

My 04 3.8l Town & Country mini-van has lost its reverse lights and it's not
the bulbs.

Should I replace the Gear Position Switch or the Neutral Safety Switch or
look somewhere else?

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Bill Putney - 03 Mar 2008 22:42 GMT

> My 04 3.8l Town & Country mini-van has lost its reverse lights and it's not
> the bulbs.
>
> Should I replace the Gear Position Switch or the Neutral Safety Switch or
> look somewhere else?

I don't know the T&C, but if it's like 95+% of cars today, including
Chryslers, the gear position switch and the neutral safety switch are
one and the same (OEMs tend to call it "transmission range sensor",
aftermarket calls it neutral/park safety switch or similar). It's
certainly a good possibility to be the problem, but the best approach is
to use schematics (Chrysler - not Haynes) and a multimeter to prove or
disprove it. Short of that you'd need a calibrated crystal ball to know
for sure. You could of course take a gamble and just replace the TRS.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

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mr.som ting wong - 08 Mar 2008 11:50 GMT

some of the trs's are inside the trans and the valve body must come out to get to
them consult a service manual for your ride

> > My 04 3.8l Town & Country mini-van has lost its reverse lights and it's not
> > the bulbs.
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
> (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
> address with the letter 'x')

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Bill Putney - 08 Mar 2008 15:59 GMT

You got that wight Mr. wong. I only know about the LH cars, and what
you say is true of them. I think the T&C has a variation of the same
transmission. Coincidentally, a couple of weeks ago, I had to change
this part on my wife's Buick - it was externally accessible on top of
the tranny, very accessible.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

> some of the trs's are inside the trans and the valve body must come out to get to
> them consult a service manual for your ride
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>>> Should I replace the Gear Position Switch or the Neutral Safety Switch or
>>> look somewhere else?

>> I don't know the T&C, but if it's like 95+% of cars today, including
>> Chryslers, the gear position switch and the neutral safety switch are
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>> (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
>> address with the letter 'x')

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sdlomi2 - 11 Mar 2008 00:18 GMT

> You got that wight Mr. wong. I only know about the LH cars, and what you
> say is true of them. I think the T&C has a variation of the same
[quoted text clipped - 30 lines]
>>> (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
>>> address with the letter 'x')

Might be a decent idea to watch and see if they flash on as you slowly
move gear lever between its extremes. Should it lite in the 'wrong'
position, it tells something different than if it fails to lite at all...too
tired just now to tell you the difference. s

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