Neutral Safety Switch Bypass and it starts again

[Andy Maurer]

Last week my jeep would not start, turn the key and nothing... no click, no dimming of the lights... nothing. The first thing I thought was starter so I pulled it and had it tested... came back fine. I did some research and thought possibly the ignition switch actuator pin went bad, it seems to be a common thing and cheap to replace so I purchased one. While waiting for it to arrive I continued searching online and found a thread about the neutral safety switch bypass so I threw a 20 amp fuse in slot 20 (Auto Trans) and it started right up. Will it hurt anything to not fix the root cause of the issue? I prefer having the switch bypassed and just want to make sure I don't hurt anything additional if I don't fix the root cause.

 

[K0LCB]

no problem until you start her in gear and she takes off without you

 

[mrblaine]

Last week my jeep would not start, turn the key and nothing... no click, no dimming of the lights... nothing. The first thing I thought was starter so I pulled it and had it tested... came back fine. I did some research and thought possibly the ignition switch actuator pin went bad, it seems to be a common thing and cheap to replace so I purchased one. While waiting for it to arrive I continued searching online and found a thread about the neutral safety switch bypass so I threw a 20 amp fuse in slot 20 (Auto Trans) and it started right up. Will it hurt anything to not fix the root cause of the issue? I prefer having the switch bypassed and just want to make sure I don't hurt anything additional if I don't fix the root cause.

Unplug the clutch safety switch and plug it in over by the left side of the footwell under the dash. Remove the fuse you used for the bypass. If it doesn't start, the CSS is bad.

 

[qslim]

Last week my jeep would not start, turn the key and nothing... no click, no dimming of the lights... nothing. The first thing I thought was starter so I pulled it and had it tested... came back fine. I did some research and thought possibly the ignition switch actuator pin went bad, it seems to be a common thing and cheap to replace so I purchased one. While waiting for it to arrive I continued searching online and found a thread about the neutral safety switch bypass so I threw a 20 amp fuse in slot 20 (Auto Trans) and it started right up. Will it hurt anything to not fix the root cause of the issue? I prefer having the switch bypassed and just want to make sure I don't hurt anything additional if I don't fix the root cause.

You should have absolutely no worries about damaging anything, you're simply bypassing the failed clutch pedal position switch. If you want to leave it as is you should be good to go.

 

[Boinked]

99.99% of the time you will be fine. The only downside i can see with an automatic transmission if you have a remote start system on it.

It wasn't until the mid 60s before they were a thing. Because people are stupid and started the car in gear.

 

[mrblaine]

99.99% of the time you will be fine. The only downside i can see with an automatic transmission if you have a remote start system on it.

It wasn't until the mid 60s before they were a thing. Because people are stupid and started to car in gear.

I almost always car in gear. If I need to car that is.

 

[BethA]

Last week my jeep would not start, turn the key and nothing... no click, no dimming of the lights... nothing. The first thing I thought was starter so I pulled it and had it tested... came back fine. I did some research and thought possibly the ignition switch actuator pin went bad, it seems to be a common thing and cheap to replace so I purchased one. While waiting for it to arrive I continued searching online and found a thread about the neutral safety switch bypass so I threw a 20 amp fuse in slot 20 (Auto Trans) and it started right up. Will it hurt anything to not fix the root cause of the issue? I prefer having the switch bypassed and just want to make sure I don't hurt anything additional if I don't fix the root cause.

We are having the same issue with a Jeep Liberty (Auto Trans) - any chance this same fix would work? We can't find much info for this model Jeep... thanks!