Neutral Safety Switch
Registered User
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 4
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neutral safety switch
New owner to a 98' Durango. Is it common for the engine to die if the neutral safety switch is what is needed to be replaced? Or could this be another issue? It has done it twice and both times, Thankfully, I was going slow and able to put the vehicle in neutral to start it and it worked fine.
The purpose of the NSS is to allow the truck only to start in neutral or park. It would not cause the engine to die but, if bad will cause the computer to throw a code telling you that it cant sense neutral ( dont know the code off hand). The engine stalling is another issue.
Hall Of Fame
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 14,228
Likes: 19
From: Riverton, UT
+1
Your issue should be fuel or spark related. I would check fuel pressure on the fuel rail access point and ensure you have a good 50 psi throughout idle and the RPM range. Could be a bad coil wire as well if you haven't done a tune up check into my DIY sticky.
Your issue should be fuel or spark related. I would check fuel pressure on the fuel rail access point and ensure you have a good 50 psi throughout idle and the RPM range. Could be a bad coil wire as well if you haven't done a tune up check into my DIY sticky.
Registered User
Joined: Apr 2014
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@ hydrashocker, I will be sure to check in to that, I was thinking possibly the idle air control motor but I will check the fuel pressure on the fuel rail access point before purchasing any parts. Thanks for the heads up.
@ that guy, when the rpms get down below a thousand and I am either decelerating with the break or coasting and it doesn’t do it all the time, however it is doing it more often now. The engine doesn’t sputter it just shuts off. I put it in to park and turn it over but nothing. I put it in neutral and it does start. This is why I was thinking it was a throttle body sensor or an air intake/ regulation issue. By no means am I a mechanic, just researching for clues to this puzzle and getting to know the Durango with all it quirks J
@ that guy, when the rpms get down below a thousand and I am either decelerating with the break or coasting and it doesn’t do it all the time, however it is doing it more often now. The engine doesn’t sputter it just shuts off. I put it in to park and turn it over but nothing. I put it in neutral and it does start. This is why I was thinking it was a throttle body sensor or an air intake/ regulation issue. By no means am I a mechanic, just researching for clues to this puzzle and getting to know the Durango with all it quirks J
Champion
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 4,099
Likes: 44
From: Pittsburgh, PA or Columbia, SC
Try giving the battery connections a good cleaning (take off the cables and clean the posts and terminals). If the battery is weak or has weak connections it can screw with the computer and potentially keep it from idling right.
Registered User
Joined: Mar 2021
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About that 1"; socket....any issue getting it on? The only 1" deep socket I could find locally was a 1" drive from Auto Zone, and I just can't seem to get it on there. Not sure if it's the wall thickness or that there's a pretty pronounced ramp in the 'muzzle' before the socket portion begin. Before I take a grinder to this thing, does it require a thin-wall socket? Thanks.
