Ertified4Runner

continuing questions for my girlfriend's 95 pickup, neither of her backup lights function. she's replaced both bulbs and checked the fuses (they weren't busted, looked good). she doesn't abuse her ride, and there aren't any other weird, phantom electrical problems...headlights, blinkers, and taillights work fine.
any thoughts, electrical gurus?

92runnersr5

i dont know alot about them but ive heard that your neutral safety switch could have some doings with it .. if its an auto.. if its manual i have no idea .. hope it helps a bit but im sure there will be someone along to help in a bit

regularguy412

Theres a reverse switch associated with the shift linkage. Has to do with telling the electrical system that the transmission is in 'reverse'. It may be worn out, or out of adjustment. Not sure if you have an auto or manual tranny.

Might also be loose or corroded grounds.

Mike in AR

EWAYota

theres also a wire connector on the top left side of the tranny i believe (94 has it). My back up lights weren't working, stopped worring about it. then i was looking at my buddy's 93 and my 94 and noticed he had a extra connector on his tranny. crawled under my truck and found my connector laying ontop the of tranny.

Ertified4Runner

hmm...switches and wire connectors? it's a 5 spd manual; where would this "reverse switch" be and how would one go about IDing its condition? and what would a wire connector look like?

EWAYota

The connector is actually on the side of the tranny, not so much the top..... heres a couple pictures, not the best due to the lighting outside, but it'll help you see if thats where its at.

Ertified4Runner

thanks for the visual info, though I might have have to take some drugs to decifer these clearly from a NASA lunar rover exploration
sarcasm aside, thanks for the help!

EWAYota

once you get under the truck, it won't be hard to decifer. front of tranny, tranny hump, then 5 inches or so past the hump, on the left side of the tranny should be a connector
(assuming 95's are like 94's). you might not have that, just thought it was worth a shot.

snap-on

I have the same problem. its assocated with the connector but im way to lazy to check it out.... I think the sensor on the inside of the trans has quit though, as every blue moon or so they decide to come back on (when in rev)

ive goten used to haveing no backup lights. Figured id get around to wirreing up some rock lights back there on a manual switch before i got around to troubleshooting that stinkin switch connector thingie...

but thats me...

Ertified4Runner

huh, so it sounds like it might not just be an isolated incedent...ground-breakingly detrimental though it might not be
thanks guys, gonna try and see if it indeed is that wire conector...

AaronW

Ertified4Runner, I had the same problem you are having and it turned out to be the Park Neutral Position Switch on the passenger side of the transmission. My reverse lights were not working so I checked the bulbs, the fuse, and then I checked the Park Neutral Position Switch. Before I did a search here on Yotatech I called it a "Reverse Switch", and a "Backup Light Switch." The correct name is a PNP Switch or Park Neutral Position Switch according to the dealership.

I checked to see if I needed a new PNP Switch by shifting my automatic transmission into Drive and tried starting the truck- it started. When the PNP Switch is working correctly the truck shouldn't start. I then put the truck in Reverse and tried starting it- it started but it shouldn't have.

So I figured my PNP Switch was bad and tried to order one from Autozone. The PNP Switch for a manual transmission is cheap around $20.00, but the PNP Switch for an automatic a340h transmission is...are you ready? $260.00 You can order- I think- either of the PNP Switches from Autozone, but it may take a while for them to come in. I went to the stealership because they could get a PNP Switch delivered the next day, and since my truck is a DD I had to have it ASAP.

I hope this helps.

motoracer47

aaron, for an automatic transmission, it is called the park/neutral switch which is on the passenger side of an auto. Ertified4Runner has a 5sp, and for 5sp, its called the backup light switch, and appears to be ontop, or on the drivers side top of a manual. to check the switch, remove it from the transmission, using a multimeter, verify that when you push in the switch, there is continuity, and when released, no continuity. if the switch passes, it could be the ignition switch, or the wiring harness itself if the bulbs and fuses are good.

AaronW

motoracer47, thanks for the info and I can see why I was confused when I started looking for the part.

rpeAMP

Yeah I have a manual tranny and I had to replace mine awhile back. To test the switch, short the two wires in the connector together using a small piece of wire (make sure it's insulated...I'm not sure what the voltage is on the switch so don't shock yourself), then put your truck in reverse and see if the lights work. If they do, go buy a new switch from the dealer. If not, then you have problems somewhere along the wire.

Saint_Berzerker

Hah....I was just under the truck today and found that same dang wire/plug laying on top of my tranny....I was like, "what the heck".

So, I plugged it back in, and looked in the book to see what it was and it was the reverse gear plug thing.

It's real simple. It's on the side of the transmission on the drivers side. Just a 2 prong plug, there aren't any other plugs there but that one.

motoracer47

hey no problem aaronW. the way rpeAMP said to check will work as well. the one i listed if from the manual but both tests accomplish the same thing. basically the switch we are talking about works like a light switch, one of the wires is supplied voltage , the other wire leads to the reverse lights. when the switch is depressed, it completes the circuit, sending voltage to the reverse lights. im going to guess on the trucks that people are finding this disconnected and laying ontop of the tranny, i think maybe it means the trannys been pulled for a clutch change, or some other reason, and someone forgot to hook it back up. just a guess but it seems logical. rarely to automotive electrical connectors disconnect on their own, but stranger things have happend.

Ertified4Runner

Thanks guys for all the responses--I been out for the weekend.

I haven't had time to crawl under the truck yet to see what's goin on (besides it's rainin here like a mofo the last 3 weeks), so when it's not crappy out I'm gonna see about that plug wire thing and what it's up to--hella info you guys are postin, thanks!

The clutch was replaced recently, so maybe that's a solid idea that the shop neglected to plug it in, plug it in (they have in the past with other stuff, might be a hot trail. Hopefully tomorrow I can get on that when I gots the time...I'll just have to throw on my wetsuit to do it.

Or, on second thought, it just occured to me that the truck's goin to the stealer on thursday for the relay rod--should we have them check it out when it's on the lift and ask to include it in the nonprice? Or would they charge separate for it?

Ertified4Runner

ok guys, here's the deal: crawled under there, and I dont know what the hell's goin on.
there aren't any wires at all on the driver's side unless I'm looking in completely the wrong place. but the tranny's the tranny, not easily overlooked. however, on the passenger side there's this little (I guess 2-pronged) plug thing on the side of the tranny that's plugged in. unplugged and plugged it back in, still no backup lights. the tranny doesn't hafta be dropped, right?--that'd be overkill. so should I go get some weird long, beng dental mirror to see around corners, or should it be readily visible?