pwilluttley Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 I have a peculiar problem. I own a 1991 cadillac seville with a 4.9L V8. A few days ago I got a message on the Driver Information Display which read "gear select problem". I checked the error code and I had a code which pointed to a problem with the PRNDL switch or what I'm assuming to also be called the Neutral Safety Switch. Also, when this happens the car will not start and all of the gear select indicator lights on the dashboard are ON (PRNDL123). The starter will crank, but the engine will not start. I replaced the neutral safety switch, but to no avail. I have the same problem. I can clear the code which causes the car to start, but after about a minute or two the engine dies and the error code is back. I don't think the switch is out of adjustment because I cannot get the engine to start in park or netural. I don't think this is related, but my coolant temperature light also will flicker on at times soon after starting the engine. I've replaced the coolant sensor, but I still get the light flickering. Does anyone have any ideas? I am at a loss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 Does it start in gear or between gears? Be carefull when testing it. Also might try checking the engine grounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwilluttley Posted October 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 No, it will not start in gear or any position in between. I've tried to delicately position the console shifter at positions even in between gears, but car still will not start. How and where would I begin to check engine grounds that might be causing this problem? Thanks in advance for any help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adallak Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 Starter would not crank with misadjusted neutral safety switch. What exactly was the code? It never hurts to check once again the battery cables/connections, grounds (particularly one on the engine block by the starter) when you have clearly several electrical problems. An ECM moving to south is another possibility. Give us the code. The saddest thing in life is wasted talent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thu Posted October 13, 2006 Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 I once had this code pop up when my 93 Deville wouldn't start. I simply jumpered across the Neutral-Safety Backup Switch with a wire. 2003 Seville STS 43k miles with the Bose Sound, Navigation System, HID Headlamps, and MagneRide 1993 DeVille. Looks great inside and out! 298k miles! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwilluttley Posted October 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2006 I once had this code pop up when my 93 Deville wouldn't start. I simply jumpered across the Neutral-Safety Backup Switch with a wire. The error code is E091 (PRNDL Switch Problem). Again, I replaced the neutral safety switch last week, which made no difference. Puzzling though, the engine will crank, but just not start. However intermittently, it will start and run for about 5 minutes then die like a rock. How do you jumper across the neutral safety backup switch? If I had a grounding problem, would the engine not crank? Is there a way for me to determine if I have failing ECM module? Can the module be replaced easily by the do it yourselfer? Thanks for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adallak Posted October 16, 2006 Report Share Posted October 16, 2006 I once had this code pop up when my 93 Deville wouldn't start. I simply jumpered across the Neutral-Safety Backup Switch with a wire. The error code is E091 (PRNDL Switch Problem). Again, I replaced the neutral safety switch last week, which made no difference. Puzzling though, the engine will crank, but just not start. However intermittently, it will start and run for about 5 minutes then die like a rock. How do you jumper across the neutral safety backup switch? If I had a grounding problem, would the engine not crank? Is there a way for me to determine if I have failing ECM module? Can the module be replaced easily by the do it yourselfer? Thanks for the help. Replacing ECM is very easy. It's under the glove box. You should remove passanger side sound insulator. But it does not sound like ECM problem. Check/recheck /manipulate wiring to the neutral safety switch. There is a diagnostics procedure in FSM. I can scan it for you , but first do some tests on your own. The saddest thing in life is wasted talent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted October 16, 2006 Report Share Posted October 16, 2006 The neutral safety switch would not cause te engine to cut out after it was running. If it were misadjusted, it wouldn't allow the engine to crank. Are there any other codes? Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thu Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 How do you jumper across the neutral safety backup switch? Locate the wire that runs between the ignition switch and the safety switch. Then locate the wire that runs between the safety switch and the starter. Pull both out of their harnesses and splice a wire between them. You may find that having the Factory Service Manual will be very helpful in locating these wires. However, I doubt the safety switch is your problem. 2003 Seville STS 43k miles with the Bose Sound, Navigation System, HID Headlamps, and MagneRide 1993 DeVille. Looks great inside and out! 298k miles! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwilluttley Posted October 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 Okay - My caddy started this morning just fine. It idled for about 2 minutes and then the engine died. The fan immediately came on and continued to run. Also, the drivers information display said "gear select problem". When I brought up the codes, this is what was listed: E12 - No distrubutor reference signal - History E52 - PCM / ECM Memory Reset - History E53 - Distributor Signal Interrupt - History E91 - Cruise - PRNDL Switch Problem - Current B121 - Twilight Sensor - History B552 - BCM reset - History The termperature outside is cool, the engine only runs about 2 minutes, so what puzzles me is why the fan would immediately kick on and continue to run as soon as the engine quits. Thanks for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 OK, Now we're getting somewhere - the code E53 distributor signal interrupt is likely pointing to the cause of the stalling. You need to check the wiring and the sensor that is on the distributor. If the signal from the sensor is interupted, the engine will stall. The PRNDL switch code is likely due to the switch being misadjusted and not the cause of the stalling. Someone with a '91 manual will likely chime in with specifics. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thu Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 Ah....Distributor problem. You can search this board for the problems I had on my 4.9's distributor. I had similar codes. Rather than troubleshoot the many little and fragile pieces inside the distrbutor, I just got a whole distributor assembly from the junkyard. Pull the old distributor out and drop the replacement in. $75 and 15 minutes. Runs just fine many months later. I don't think the fan behavior you mention has anything to do with the other problems. 2003 Seville STS 43k miles with the Bose Sound, Navigation System, HID Headlamps, and MagneRide 1993 DeVille. Looks great inside and out! 298k miles! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwilluttley Posted October 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2006 Ah....Distributor problem. You can search this board for the problems I had on my 4.9's distributor. I had similar codes. Rather than troubleshoot the many little and fragile pieces inside the distrbutor, I just got a whole distributor assembly from the junkyard. Pull the old distributor out and drop the replacement in. $75 and 15 minutes. Runs just fine many months later. I don't think the fan behavior you mention has anything to do with the other problems. Thanks for the direction. I will check out the distributor ASAP. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwilluttley Posted October 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2006 Ah....Distributor problem. You can search this board for the problems I had on my 4.9's distributor. I had similar codes. Rather than troubleshoot the many little and fragile pieces inside the distrbutor, I just got a whole distributor assembly from the junkyard. Pull the old distributor out and drop the replacement in. $75 and 15 minutes. Runs just fine many months later. I don't think the fan behavior you mention has anything to do with the other problems. Thanks for the direction. I will check out the distributor ASAP. Thanks again. Checked the plug connections to the distributor. Once seemed to be loose as well as very dirty. Cleaned and tightened and has been running great ever since. Thanks alot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thu Posted October 21, 2006 Report Share Posted October 21, 2006 Sweeeeet!!!!!!! 2003 Seville STS 43k miles with the Bose Sound, Navigation System, HID Headlamps, and MagneRide 1993 DeVille. Looks great inside and out! 298k miles! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
susanavilon Posted April 15, 2011 Report Share Posted April 15, 2011 Tried to fire up my engine for the first time today and nothing happened. All the accerories work, but when I turn the key all the way to the right the starter does not engage. The starter is not getting juice from the solenoid. I used the original wire harness for the car. I hooked up the back up lights but did nothing with the neutral safety switch wires, just left then hanging. Could this be the reason why the starter won't engage? If so, can I splice the neutral safety switch wires together and bypass the tranny? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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