Still haven't had a chance to play with this on my car, but I'm bored and I feel like making a post .

There's a simple system in the FD to check if the various switches work in the car. It's outlined in the shop manual with the use of a special tool, but there's ways around that .

What you need -

Jumper wire
Small 12v light bulb (something low wattage - panel lights from Radio Shack work great)

Pop the hood and open the diagnostic connector. Jumper the TEN and GND connectors, just like you're going to check engine codes. BTW, either of the two GND wires will work - they both T together and go to the same point.

Now, take the 12v bulb, put one lead in the B terminal (battery voltage) and the other in the MEN terminal.

Turn the car on. The light should come on any time you operate a switch. The switches are (off the top of my head) -

- Clutch switch
- Defrost switch
- AC switch
- 1st/2nd gear switch

There's about 3-4 more switches - I'll have to look at the paperwork I've got at home on it.

Enjoy,
Dale

 

OK, I've got the notes now .

Things you can test -

Clutch switch: light on when pedal is RELEASED.
Neutral switch: Light on when car is in gear, off in neutral.
Automatic tranny inhibitor switch - light on in L, S, D, or R, off in N or P.
Headlight switch - light on when headlights are on.
Blower switch - light on when AC blower is at position 3 or 4.
Rear window defrost switch - light on when defroster is on.
AC switch - light on when AC switch is on.

These are all the inputs for the electrical load system, and if any of them are malfunctioning you'll have idle problems and other woes. Biggie for me is being able to easily test the clutch switch without removing it or trying to get a meter to the connector up under the dash.

Enjoy!
Dale

 

Can you confirm that the m/t cars have the neutral switch also? What does it trigger from?

-s-

 

Yep, the above-mentioned neutral switch test is a manual-only test - the only automatic test is the inhibitor switch. The neutral switch just shows that the shifter is in neutral - that's it.

The switch itself is on the transmission.

Dale