Brake Pedal / Transmission Selector Safety Switch

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Jeff Strickland - 15 Sep 2007 18:01 GMT

My '97 F150 is intermittantly having issues with releasing the safety
lock-out that prevents shifting from Park until after the brake pedal is
depressed. When I depress the brake pedal, I still can not shift out of
Park.

I can't tell if the trouble is electrical -- the switches and stuff are not
working -- or mechanical -- the solenoid that pulls the actuator so the
shift lever is freed. The trouble is that my truck gets stuck in Park, and I
can't find the magic touch that releases the shift selector. I can
eventually fiddle with it, but I can't weem to feel/hear any difference
between when it works right and when it balks.

Is there any know issue with the Safety Release that I should be looking at?

Thanks,

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Marlin Singer - 15 Sep 2007 21:34 GMT

> My '97 F150 is intermittantly having issues with releasing the safety
> lock-out that prevents shifting from Park until after the brake pedal is
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
>
> Thanks,

First thing I would check is the brake switch on the brake pedal. If
that is not working properly, or intermittently, you will not get it out
of park.

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david - 16 Sep 2007 15:43 GMT

> My '97 F150 is intermittantly having issues with releasing the safety
> lock-out that prevents shifting from Park until after the brake pedal is
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
>
> Thanks,

Are the brake lights working?

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Jeff Strickland - 16 Sep 2007 16:42 GMT

>> My '97 F150 is intermittantly having issues with releasing the safety
>> lock-out that prevents shifting from Park until after the brake pedal is
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
>
> Are the brake lights working?

Yes.

Everything works fine. The trouble is that the shift lever can not be pulled
back to get out of the gate position where Park is. I can feel that the
shift lever is "bound" (for lack of a better word). The binding is really
the safety pin that prevents the lever from moving unless my foot is on the
brake pedal. The shift lever eventually is released, but I haven't concluded
that my foot on the brake is the cause because I have to depress the brake
pedal several times. What I do not know is if the binding is caused by
mechanical problems or electrical ones. Is there a burr keeping the
mechanism from operating, or is there an electrical reason -- switch not
being activated?

My question to the group is, Is there a known issue in this area, or am I on
my own to figure this out?

You know how the Ignition Lock can get stuck if the steering wheel is
turning against it, and you have to turn the wheel to unload the lock
linkage? My shift lever behaves in a similar manner, it's as if something
has caught on the linkage/actuator of the safety thingie.

Assuming the trouble is the switch on the brake pedal, I'll try pressing the
pedal to the side to see if it causes the symptoms to change.

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