Lights inside won't turn off --- P,R,D,N,1,2 not displaying

[wbstein]

AF,

New here. Hope to get some good problems solved.
Recently I installed a new deck in my Lincoln, and ran a long stereo harness from the dash to the trunk. Immidiately after I'm seeing a problem.

The P,R,D,N,1,2 lights do not illuminate, although the dash behind it does.

Any Ideas?
Thank you.

[cougar214]

Welcome to the forum wbstein!

Whats the model and year first of all?

[wbstein]

Yeah I'm sorry cougar,
It's a '97 CONT.

[Towncar]

I'm not clear on your diagnosis...

Also, is this a Column Shifter, or a Console Shifter -- Electronic Cluster or Standard?

You say the indicator does not light, and the backlight is on, right?

The Transmission Range Indicator is a sliding mechanism, connected by Cable to the Steering Column Shift Shaft. If the backlight is ON and the indicator is not changing, the most likely cause is the Cable is binding, or was disconnected.

The 1997 manual is a bit elusive on the subject, but as far as I can tell by looking at the manual, there's no seperate lamp for the indicator, just a backlight. As the Shift Lever moves, so does the slide inside the Indicator. This is adjustable on the Cable itself via a spinwheel adjuster.

[wbstein]

wow that was an awesome post. I'm going to have to try and look at that cable back there.

Thank you.