NSS symtoms

[7duster4]

What are the symtoms of a bad neutral safety switch, or one thats on its way out? As far as I know the one on My Duster may even be the original part. I keep having random starting issues where when I turn the key I get a clattering sound like theres barely a connection. The battery is fairly new. The alternator and starter are a few years old. The starter relay is only a few months old. Any other time it cranks fine. Its very random but of course never happens at my house. If I get under the hood and jiggle the wires around a bit as under the dash then most times it will start. I have a new "nss" just havent gotten around to putting it on yet. Is this a likley cause?

any info is greatly appreciated, thanks

 

[RonnyB]

If it was the NSS, you probably wouldn't hear a clattering sound. Try starting it with the transmission in drive and see what happens.

It sounds like a loose or dirty connection somewhere. When you jiggle the wires, are you doing both under the hood and the dash and then trying to start it? If you can narrow it down to either under the hood or the dash that would be a big help.

I'd remove the connections on the starter, solenoid and relay and scrub them with a wire brush so they are nice and shiny. Make sure all the connections are good and tight when you hook everything back up.

 

[7duster4]

I jiggled the wires beneath the dash and in the engine bay. When this happened today I o[ut the gear selector in neutral and I got the same noise. Cleaning the connectors is a good idea, i'll give that a shot and see what happens maybe they are just dirty.

 

[green1]

After cleaning, use di-electric grease on them.

 

[demoman3955]

old post, but to new readers, always make sure the batt cables are clean and making good contact. it always gets overlooked