Guest Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 Good afternoon, dear Forum. I've recently and impulsively acquired a 1983 505 and now preparing it for state inspection. The thing that is left and bothers me is that i could not get rear lights (for the reverse gear) to work. I checked the bulbs, checked the fuse, and failed to find the switch. Does anybody know where the rear gear switch is? It's a 3 speed auto transmission. Thanks, Eugene Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norcal505 Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 i have the same year car as you. however, mine's a 5-speed. is it different for the reverse switch? (rabin) have fun with your car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 i have the same year car as you. however, mine's a 5-speed. is it different for the reverse switch? (rabin) have fun with your car. What is a rabin? I don't know whether it's different. I did not even find it? Where is it on the manual transmission? //with the fun - i'm having it. For a few week the car puzzled me with the stuck calipers, ending in all 4 stuck, which i had to change the master cylinder to fix. Amongst other fun is the speedo cable that did not fit in, because it was a bit bigger than it should have been. And i also changed the bulbs in the speedo, which was en enormous fun. I used LEDs, to never have to do that again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norcal505 Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 What is a rabin? priceless. i was reffering to cue our know-all guru member, rabin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peugeottogo Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 The switch you can't find is located on the lower driver's side of the transmission towards the front. This switch has two functions (4 wire connections) the reverse lamp circuit and the neutral safety switch circuit to prevent you from starting the car in gear. A new one is roughly $ 170.00 or find a used one. Just recently changed mine out for the very same problem. Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 31, 2009 Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 The switch you can't find is located on the lower driver's side of the transmission towards the front. This switch has two functions (4 wire connections) the reverse lamp circuit and the neutral safety switch circuit to prevent you from starting the car in gear. A new one is roughly $ 170.00 or find a used one. Just recently changed mine out for the very same problem. Jeff Pardon my ignorance, what's the best way to uninstall it? I've been under the car and still did not find it. Can i access the switch from under the bonnet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dane Posted August 31, 2009 Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 Pardon my ignorance, what's the best way to uninstall it? I've been under the car and still did not find it. Can i access the switch from under the bonnet? do you have a pull-a-part in your area its a junk yard?? -Dane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 1, 2009 Report Share Posted September 1, 2009 do you have a pull-a-part in your area its a junk yard?? -Dane No, i don't. I just hoped that as always with the french electrics, a bit of cleaning and wd-40 will fix it up. It worked beautifully for the window switches... Update: Answering my own question. It is under the car, on upper part of the transmission (hard to see when the car is standing on the ground). From under the bonnet, it can be traced by pulling the wires. In my case, the switch is faulty and while the ignition function of it works fine, the backup lights don't work. Will have to figure out something with it.... Thanks for your attention and hints... Update2. Jesus, How hard could it be thought I. It is very inconvenient to screw out that thing... Decided to arrange a workaround, and leave the original switch untouched... Going to use a reed switch and a magnet setup, near the gear selector... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bean Posted September 1, 2009 Report Share Posted September 1, 2009 "what is a rabin?" Now that was funny. Sorry - didn't see this till now. Glad you found the switch - I haven't seen a 3sp auto in 15 years and had no clue. I was going to suggest finding the wiring and following it like you did. As for the function - you can likely get better access to the switch by taking the console out, and under the shifter, there is an access panel for the tunnel that should give you better access to the wiring as well as the switch itself. There's a good chance that a wire or the connection itself is at fault rather than the switch. I'd make sure to verify this by jumping the contacts at the connector to ensure the reverse light circuit is OK from the transmission switch. Might even be worth it to remove the switch to see if it can be repaired. You'll have to take it all apart to install your solution -so may as well give it a good check before using your custom solution. Good luck with it. The 3-sp auto isn't the greatest automatic and can be a bit fragile so make sure to keep the fluid in good shape and topped up to proper levels. Rabin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 2, 2009 Report Share Posted September 2, 2009 "what is a rabin?" Now that was funny. Sorry - didn't see this till now. Glad you found the switch - I haven't seen a 3sp auto in 15 years and had no clue. I was going to suggest finding the wiring and following it like you did. As for the function - you can likely get better access to the switch by taking the console out, and under the shifter, there is an access panel for the tunnel that should give you better access to the wiring as well as the switch itself. There's a good chance that a wire or the connection itself is at fault rather than the switch. I'd make sure to verify this by jumping the contacts at the connector to ensure the reverse light circuit is OK from the transmission switch. Might even be worth it to remove the switch to see if it can be repaired. You'll have to take it all apart to install your solution -so may as well give it a good check before using your custom solution. Good luck with it. The 3-sp auto isn't the greatest automatic and can be a bit fragile so make sure to keep the fluid in good shape and topped up to proper levels. Rabin Good morning! Thank you for the hints. You did not see the car, because it has been sitting in someone's yard for probably 10 years, and now i have a lot of interesting discoveries, what time does to the car. An interesting one was the master cylinder that caused all the calipers stuck at the same time under certain conditions... That was a pain to troubleshoot and find. An interesting one was the discovery of rat nest in the air ventilation system and a squirrel hideout in the firewall insulation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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