Need help wiring A4LD to C4 NSS....

[35Remmy]

Ok, so this site says this......

"Neutral Safety Switch: The wiring for the NSS goes like this. From the original A4LD harness. Take the red/lt blue striped wire, and splice it to one of the red/lt blue wires on the C5 switch. Take the Pink and red/white striped wires and splice them to the other red/lt blue striped wire on the C5 switch. The other 2 wires you are left with are the black/purple and black/orange wires for the reverse lights. Simply match them with the remaining wires on the C5 switch.

This is what i have.......the first picture is from the C4 switch (4 wires). The 2nd picture is from the A4LD harness (5 wires).

But the colors according to this sites instructions dont match. I tried a bunch of different combinations and cannot get 12V to the starter cable unless i jump the relay. The red/blue wire on the A4LD side has 12V. Please help!

 

[RobbieD]

You should be able to meter out the wires on the switch. Meter set to OHMs, probe two wires at a time on the switch while you work the shifter. You'll have two with continuity only in PARK and NUETRAL, and two wires that only have continuity in REVERSE.

On the Ranger side (old AL4D) the two black / orange wires should be treated as one wire (splice both to the C4 wire).

Test carefully, and take care to not cross the two functions (NSS and reverse).

 

[Snoranger]

The red w/ white stripe is for the e-shift transfer case.

 

[35Remmy]

Rob, i cannot get continuity out of ANY of the wires/wire combinations from the c4 switch.....im currently working with the switch off of the trans and without the shifter hooked up either (still need to purchase aftermarket shifter). Im holding the switch in one hand and wires/meter in the other.

 

[RobbieD]

Best way to test would be to install the switch into the trans, and work the gear selector shaft by hand while you have the meter connected to the different wire combinations. If you don't have an appropriate bracket for the shifter shaft you can use padded vice grips. Jumper wires with insulated alligator clips are handy, but not essential, for connecting the meter leads to the wires being tested.

 

[35Remmy]

Ok, so i figured something out. If i connect the red and light blue wire with the white and pink wire on the A4LD harness the starter relay energizes and i get 12V at the starter. Thats all ive accomplished today. Damnit. So ive effectively figured out how to bypass the NSS. Not what i want

 

[RobbieD]

At least you've identified what you need on the truck side. Testing the switch in place in the transmission is the best approach, and it will tell you if the switch itself is good or not.

 

[35Remmy]

So Rob, I found this on a Mustang site....
"Red w/blue is to disrupt the starter relay.
Black w/red is for the backup lights.
Some may also have a White w/pink wire, which is the other half of the backup lamp circuit....."

 

[Snoranger]

I have a few different year ETVMs. What years are the 2 different harnesses from? I checked my 94 EVTM, the colors are different. (It was the first one I found.)

 

[35Remmy]

SNO, the Ranger is an 88...the c4 is a 73

 

[35Remmy]

Thanks for looking

 

[35Remmy]

So now i have the C4 NSS wired in but starter relay energizes in every position and drivers side reverse light stays on. Well get it!!!!

 

[RobbieD]

What does the C4 switch look like? Does it mount on the transmission case, with the gear select shaft going through it?

 

[35Remmy]

Yes.....

 

[RobbieD]

I'm not familiar with the C4 trans, and I don't know that type of switch off the top of my head. We're assuming here that one wire going into the switch, is connected to a second wire going out of the switch in only two positions- PARK and NUETRAL.

I'm also not familiar with how Ford configured the neutral safety circuit in '73 models (I was driving Chebbies back then). So I don't know if Ford ever used the NSS to ground the start relay coil in park and neutral, and have the ignition switch START +12v wire pull the coil in and activate the relay. If so, that could be tested by checking continuity between each wire and the NSS switch metal body, while turning the red collar through its range. But, all the Fords I've messed with run the ignition switch's +12 volt START wire through the NSS and then to the starter relay.

A wiring schematic of the host 1973 vehicle would show both the circuit type and also the wire colors, otherwise using a meter to buzz it out is about the only way to dope it out.