Reverse Lights not working on '97 Trans Sport

[TerrierNation]

Right before inspection last year, the reverse lights stopped working on my 1997 Trans Sport Montana. Luckily all I needed to do was replace the fuse in th hood compartment and all was good. A few weeks later, they stopped working again. This time it wasn't a fuse. Well, it's time for inspection next month so I need to repair this.

At the same time that the reverse lights stopped working, the car also doesn't automatically lock anymore when the car is shifted into gear. Considering Reverse is the first gear, I;m guessing they are related. Any help will be greatly appreciated. I'm mechanically limited, but when I go to the mechanic I always like to know what I'm talking about

Ben

[WelmoedJ]

I own an older model, that doesn't have automatically locking doors when shifting into drive or starting to drive.

This must be something controlled by a computer.
Usually the doors will only be locked with forward movement of the car.
If your car has no alarm system, the onboard computer supposedly controls locking of the doors.
If your car has an alarm system locking the doors can be controlled by either the onboard computer or by the alarm system.

Using an electrical diagram would help to determine the location where both reverse light and door locking are controlled.
Start checking grounds as a lot of problems occur if ground is not present or bad.
The fact that you once had a blown fuse in the reverse light cicruit may also point to a power lead that may have a chipped insulation causing the fuse to blow (a short circuit).
You can safely replace the fuse with a small incandescent bulb connected to the pins of the fuses socket. If a short occurs the bulb will light.

Without diagram looking for the source of your problem will be like a wild goose chase.

If you have a OBD diagnostic device you could try and see if the computer has stored a malfunction that doesn't show up by illuminating the MIL light.

Welmoed.

[TerrierNation]

Thanks for a starting point! I know the OBD doesn't have any hidden codes because I had to check an engine light recently (ended up being a loose fuel cap) and there was nothing else there.

I'm guessing it's a bad lead somewhere, so I'll hunt down a schematic and go from there...

[Jrs3800]

You need to check and see if you have any Codes for a Trans Range Switch.... The Vans auto lock system looks for info from the Trans Range switch... When you pull it out of park into reverse the doors should auto lock and auto unlock when you put it in park.. with the reverse lights not working as well, I would start there and see what you have.. The fuse is not blown again correct?

[TerrierNation]

I checked for codes while I was having this problem and nothing showed up. If the trans range switch was shot, would the light for the ear selector in the car not work. That is working, so I think the trans range switch is OK.

I was wondering if it might be the neutral safety switch. For other vehicles it acts as the reverse switch. It's either that or wiring related...

http://www.avigex.ca/xport/neutralswitch31.jpg (Says the switch does act as the back up for the Trans Sport)