Reverse light problems

[Chriz]

So i'm pretty sure somethings up with my manual transmission where it's not triggering the reverse switch to activate the reverse lights. The fuse, bulbs and reverse switch are working fine. I know this because I bypassed the switch with a piece of wire and the lights lit up and i tested the reverse switch with a multimeter. Does anyone have any suggestion or am I missing something. I have a 94 Ranger 4x4 V6 4.0 Thanks in advance.

 

[Bird76Mojo]

Did you remove the switch on the transmission and test it?

 

[Chriz]

Did you remove the switch on the transmission and test it?

I did. I tested it with a multimeter. I got a reading when i depressed the ball on it and no reading when i let go. I did this with a brand new one and the old one and got the same results.

 

[adsm08]

Plug the switch in and push the ball, see if it will turn the lights on.

 

[Chriz]

Plug the switch in and push the ball, see if it will turn the lights on.

Just did what you asked and the reverse lights turn on no problem.

 

[Bird76Mojo]

Yep, you must have an internal problem with the trans.

 

[Chriz]

Yep, you must have an internal problem with the trans.

Man that sucks. Just had a remanufactured one put in two years ago. Warranty ran out after 12 months. That means im going to have it pulled and fixed? Do you agree?

 

[Bird76Mojo]

It may be something you can fix yourself. I wonder about the ball in the switch itself. I wonder if it's pressed part way in to where the linkage in the trans can't fully push it in. Or maybe it's not threaded in to the trans far enough to be activated fully..

 

[Chriz]

It may be something you can fix yourself. I wonder about the ball in the switch itself. I wonder if it's pressed part way in to where the linkage in the trans can't fully push it in. Or maybe it's not threaded in to the trans far enough to be activated fully..

I was wondering as well if i didn't have the new one tightened down enough but the one that was originally in there was ok and working fine at one point then just stopped working. That or maybe i needed to get one from the ford dealership. I'm going to see about putting a mirror up to it tomorrow to see if i can see the rod in the transmission moving.

 

[Chriz]

Thanks for the help guys. I'll let you know what i find out. Any other tips or advice is still welcome. TTYL

 

[adsm08]

Its a pretty simple system. There is a rod in the hole, the shift rail pushes it out, and it makes the switch turn the lights on.

One of those three things has to be out of whack.

 

[Denisefwd93]

Backup switches are pretty common on many other manual transmissions also, sometimes just another half of turn will get it close enough to engage the shifter fork or whatever it is that makes it operate.