Someone please help. My son has a 95 EX that needed a new radiator. He took it to a shop in Cbus. They put a new one in, he went to go pick it up and now the car won't start in park. He has to shift into neutral before he can start it. It was fine before they did the radiator. Any ideas any one?

 

When it's in park, is it really fully in park? As in the car doesn't roll because the wheels lock?

There's a switch at the base of the shift lever that detects if the lever is at P or N and won't allow starting otherwise. It's the same switch for both Park and Neutral. Sounds like it just stopped working by coincidence.

 

thanks for the info. i had him check to make sure it was comletley in park and it was. still the problem. i did read that a faulty brake switch would cause this also. i guess there is a switch behind the brake pedal that goes bad? I had him check his brake lights and they are not working either and that was one of the "symptoms" i read was caused by this broken switch.

 

Fix the brake lights first in any case. The fuse for them is under the hood in the fuse box next to the battery. The horn is on the same fuse, so if the horn doesn't work either, it's likely the fuse is blown. If the horn does work, check the switch on the brake pedal, unplug it and jump between the two heavy wires in the plug and the brake lights should come on. It's also possible that every single brake light bulb is burnt out. That will happen if no one ever checks them.

The brake interlock won't keep the engine from starting. What it does is lock the handle in Park unless the driver is pressing the brake pedal, so that the car is less likely to move unintentionally when shifting out of Park. The fact that there is no problem shifting out of Park (check that it indeed locks when the brake pedal is not pressed) suggests that the switch is good but the bulbs are burnt or there is a problem with the wiring in the trunk.

 

mk378, you have been so helpful. turns out it was indeed just the fuse. replaced it and everything is good to go. thanks again for the help. much appreciated