Check to see if your brake lights are on when this happens, could be the switch on the pedal.

 

Essentially, the purpose of the shifter lock is to prevent the car being placed in "drive" without having your foot on the brake. Otherwise, the car could take off! It's a safety feature and I would recommend repairing it rather than bypassing it. A bypass could be a MOT failure. The switch beneath the brake pedal which allows power to the solenoid my be at fault, they can go out of kilter. Otherwise, get yourself a simple circuit tester/multimeter. Invaluable for checking electrics on cars.

 

I removed mine loooong ago.

It went hissy, and no amount of testing, diagnosis, even common sense, get it un-hissy.

My decision, based on MY situation with our fleet.

The fact it was listed as NLA (no longer available) sealed that little episode once and for all.

Same as the DUMB selector gate pin on the XJ-S, that made P to R and beyond, a major exercise. Pulled the pin, now P to D is as smooooooth and quick as you want. It also was a locking device to prevent "easy" exit of "P".

 

thanks for the post ,today mines stalled 4 times on a short journey I don't have any check engine light on though but the engine does seem to be fluctuating a bit, when it stalled it was sudden when coming up to stopping or stopped

 

Update regards the P lighting up it still does if jiggled a bit for it to stay on to start the car, the only light to come on without jiggling is the R, the N or D don't light up at all however once selected to the left hand side the DD 3,2 all light up not sure what these are actually for as not had many automatic cars and I have not got the owners manual

 

Don't take mine as the final word, but.....


I really dont think the 'not-in-park' microswitch has anything to do with inhibiting the starter. Near as I can tell its only purpose is to disable the interlock solenoid so the driver doesn't have to hear the annoying click once he has shifted out of "P".


If there's a 'no crank' problem and the "P" doesn't glow red, try adjusting the 'linear switch'. It's the rectangular black box mounting to the RH side of the shift assembly. After loosening the screws (a little tricky) it slides fore-and-aft to adjust. I believe this is what Grant was referring to earlier when he mentioned "switch pack". With the key 'on' it's simply a matter of sliding the switch forward/backward in small increments until the sweet spot is found and the "P" reliably glows red without any gearshift jiggling antics.

Adjusting the linear switch solved the problem on my XJR.

In the diagrams pertaining to the starting system I find no mention of the not-in-park microswitch at all. It is shown only in the shift interlock diagrams.

In any case, if adjusting one doesn't do the trick, try adjusting the other and see what happens.

Cheers
DD

 

The fact that they light up helps in the dark. You can see what gear you've selected. The fact that D or N are the only ones that don't light up strongly suggests a problem with the aforementioned micro switch. Maybe bypass it as suggested in a previous post. It could well solve the problem, even in the short term. I had the same issue and used to hold the key in the start position while slowly moving the shifter from D to N and it always fired up at some point.

If you open the ski slope and see if the switch is actually operating, fully, as in "clicking" when you move the shifter, then maybe just spray some electrical contact cleaner into it. Otherwise, carefully bend the metal tab into the appropriate position. It's a trial and effort thing.

 

Thanks for the replies




the white plastic bit that slides I found if I apply a bit of pressure pushing it down a bit it will light them up but I can't see anyway of adjusting that part, the black bit with the metal prong ive bent that slightly and you can hear it clicking on to the tiny switch once pressed it does seem that it needs to be moved upwards a bit the whole thing if that makes any sense? as mentioned as soon as the shifter is to the left hand side all lights work are they for when your towing something by the way?

 

The shifter layout, often referred to as the "J" gate, because it's shaped like the letter J, allows normal automatic operation on the right hand side.

The left hand side shows 1, 2, 3, for the relevant gear. If you select 1, then the car won't shift beyond first gear, so yes, useful for towing or whenever you need torque without acceleration, likewise with second gear, say pulling a caravan uphill. Normally you might accelerate to get a run at it, but if it does what it's supposed to do, as an automatic, it will go up through the gears as the revs/speed increases, thus losing pulling power.

You can drive as a manual in effect by using 1, 2, 3. With regard to the dodgy switch, keep fiddling and see if you can wedge a packer, plastic or card into the relevant area. A bit obscure I know, but once you've recognised the cause, a cure is a lot easier. You're getting places, well done!