I went to church this past Sunday, parked my 1998 XK8, put the shifter in Park, shut off the ignition, and I couldn't remove the key, the error tone for the shifter was chiming, and I couldn't put it back in any gear, not that it would have done any good since I couldn't start the engine either.
So with my pocket knife I removed the plastic bezel, the 4 screws that hold the wood surrounding the shifter and used a paperclip to jump the pins on the micro-switch furthest forward. (there are 2 micro-switches, I think the 2nd one toward the rear must be for the back-up lights)
The little metal levers that push on the micro-switches were to blame. One (back up lights) was bent so it wasn't even in position to push on the switch and the forward lever had fallen off completely. I repaired the levers as best I could and now everything is working but I don't want this to reoccur.
Does anyone know if I just use a jumper in the connector for the forward switch (the one that had fallen off and locked everything up) will it cause any other problem, being jumped all the time?
My wife loves using the car, but an event like this with her by herself will end that relationship.
Thanks,
Dave B.

 

Dave,

At the time of writing this, your thread has had 74 Views but no Posts!

That could be it's not just me but the 73 others are all thinking 'what exactly has he jumped in the J Gate assembly?'



(click on the image to enlarge it)


The usual J Gate/Selector lockup issues are with the Interlock Solenoid or the Rotary Switch on the side of the transmission.

Graham

 

Graham,
Thanks for your reply.
What I jumped was the "Park Position" 2 wire connector, number 4 in the illustration.
I didn't leave the jumper (paper clip) in place, but reinstalled the small metal levers back on the switch after bending them back into shape. The "neutral position switch" metal lever was also bent and the little tab that keeps it from flipping too far out of position was broken off.
I was just wondering if I could make a permanent jumper, eliminating the "park Position" switch and future problems since I'm not sure what caused the metal levers to become bent and leave the car stranded.
Thanks,
Dave B.

 

Dave,

Both the Park and Neutral position switches are hard wired to the Body Processor Module.

Their function is to detect when the gear selector lever is moved to the Park or Neutral positions respectively. This is part of the safety interlock feature to ensure the vehicle cannot be started in anything but Park or Neutral.

You've shown that jumping the Park achieves the result of allowing the vehicle to be started but, once the gear selector is moved out of Park, it has to be continuously sending a false gear selector position signal to the BPM.

I have an uneasy feeling about this as anything other than an emergency get-you-home solution.

Graham

 

Thanks again Graham!
I didn't leave the jumper in place other than to get the car started and into Drive.
I thought the same as you, that it may send the wrong signal to the processor and create another problem.
I guess I'll check into getting new switches.
(I am carrying a small tool kit in the boot now)
It's interesting what you can do with a pocket knife and a paper clip when forced to.
Dave B.