If I understood that correctly (and I doubt I do), it does not matter which way the switch is plugged in. If I plug it in, one end will turn on PARK and the other end will turn on NEUTRAL. I could flip the switch 180 degrees and it will do the same thing except the outer pins just swap PARK and NEUTRAL duties.

You kinda lost me on your last sentence. I thought REVERSE is supposed to always be off like DRIVE unless you meant REVERSE = opposite sides.

 

The other side is the backup or reverse light switch; it's only on in REVERSE.

Check your wiring again; page 8W-43 shows the three pin connector. One side grounds to enable the starter; the middle and the other side conducts to turn on the backup lights.

RwP

 

This is crazy. That NSS switch does more than just protect the truck (and any bystanders) from starting in a non-park/drive position.

So this is the second or third time I’ve changed out that switch. I’m supposed to think I’ve been lucky I got it right all 3 times?

 

And I haven’t even gotten around to asking how the other end of that switch works! Why it sits in the tranny fluid, what is it measuring, how does it measure it, etc…?

Sometimes I wish I were one of those people who just put gas in the damn thing and go. Curiosity has its bad side.

 

It's a point that rides on a ramp controlled by the gear shift pawl inside the transmission.

For starting, that pin grounds out.

For backup, it's closing the other switch.

RwP

 

Who thinks up these things?

 

Chrysler was at one time known for fantastic engineering that was ...sometimes a bit lacking implementation.

RwP

 

My dad was an engineer at Chrysler (in Dearborn or nearby) for a period during the 50s. But I want to say he was working with military equipment, not cars.

 

Speaking of oddball engineering ...

A guy's redoing a Ferrari Mondial as a Lemons car. So he's pulled the current clutch and brake pedal assembly.


RwP

 

Designed on a napkin in his kitchen in the middle of the night.