Shifter seems locked into park, column

[rorche4]

Been here before awhile back, glad I bookmarked the page- didn't figure to be back so I had to re-register...

Ford Taurus 2000. I gota call just 2 nights ago that she was stuck at the side of the road (having pulled over to use a mailbox) and for some reason she couldn't get her car to shift out of park. Says the problem had started a couple days ago.

SHe managed to get it to engage a couple minutes after I started out to find her to help.

I tried it, and indeed...the car was on- I shifted into park and the problem occured. Seems the shifter locked when slid up into park and wouldn't release fully to shift back down into any of the other gears. Problem sseems to be a little hit and miss- sometimes it works- sometimes it doesn't.

Browsed these forums this morning and found a couple ideas. Checked the fuses- all appear to be good. Have taken the cover off of the stearing column (inside the cab) to take a look for and damage or parts that were not in place; all seems fine.

Noticed a post where the BOO was mentioned. So I decided to have her check the brake lights as I depresed the peddle. Seems when I had the peddle down on a couple occasions (<-sp?) the lights delayed to activate for a second or 2. Now I'm looking for loose wires attached to the brakepeddle or in that general area.

Am I on the right track? I've not seen any wires broken or exposed other than a few gaps in the electrical tape covering them. Now I'm tryning to locate pics or diagrams of a BOO (brake on/off switch).

What does seem to work when shifting: turn the ingnition up to just one notch before dashlights, depress the brake peddle, and shift. However, I have mixed results when shifting with dashlights and power, sometimes it works- sometimes it don't.

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/t437561.html
this is the thred which most resembles the problem I have.

[rorche4]

I went for it. I think we'll call it sucess.

The small rectangular box mounted just above the brake peddle, once removed and the cap removed, showed a nice little scorch mark on the inside of the cap tword the end where the contacts meet.

Shopping the auto parts stores caused me to hestitate for a moment as the part I removed from the car (the Brake on/off switch) could not be matched exactly to parts in the warehouse. Sure we had similar looking pictures of exactly what came from the car- but the only replacement available required a completely new harness attachment. The new conections to the old part were not adaptable.

Wound up removeing the old wiring harness and splicing in the new took a bit of time and even more contortion as I am a moderatly sized man...I would suggest a milk crate to slide under your bum as you hang half of your body outside the door to access the workzone. The lower back support of the crate will last much longer than your 7yo and wife taking turns holding your legs.

But thats it, problem hasn't resurfaced yet- I'll drop in over the next couple days to let ya know if it all falls apart.

I cannot begin to praise this board enough- much help when needed.

[mwt47]

There was a recall on that for the 2000 model.

The brake lights would actually come on and stay on.


If anyone ever has this happen to them, a temporary cure is to turn the ignition to the on position, put the car in neutral and then start the car.

Mike

[Tonni]

Hi,
I just read your posting and wanted to let you know that I had the exact same problem with my 96 Taurus Wagon. I am not a repair expert and do not repair my own car. I do have common sense however and had mentioned to my mechanic that I felt the car was not recognizing when the brake was depressed. He dismissed this idea and felt the problem was in the steering column indicated the cost was prohibitive and could not guarantee it would fix the problem. He came up with the same fix as Mike. A month or so later I was stopped on the street by a gentleman who said my brake lights were not coming on at all. I had the brake switch replaced and lo and behold the shift problem stopped. I have not had any trouble with it since and its been more than 6 months. I just thought you might like to know.