lylebeidler Posted June 1, 2005 Share Posted June 1, 2005 Hello everyone! please help: my wife's 93 Legacy L wagon is periodically not starting; running it through the gears gets it to start, so I'm guessing my neutral safety switch is bad. My questions are: Is this switch up at the shift lever, or down in the transmission? Is replacing this a simple operation? From inside or underneath? TIA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANDYGREEN Posted June 1, 2005 Share Posted June 1, 2005 its on the passenger side of the casing you will find two similar looking switches the frnt one is reverse light and the rear one should be your neutral switch part number should be 32008 AA 103 ABOUT $AUD50 AND YOU GET TO IT UNDERNEATH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy777 Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 here's a diagram with where the switch is located. http://www.surrealmirage.com/subaru/files/swap/elect_unit_loc/6-3_electrical_unit_location07.jpg pic http://www.surrealmirage.com/subaru/images/swap/14/DCP_3338.JPG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lylebeidler Posted June 2, 2005 Author Share Posted June 2, 2005 Thank you both very much. One followup question: will I need to drop or drain the transmission to replace it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy777 Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 If you can physically reach the switch, you "should" be able to replace it without taking the tranny out or draining the fluid.I'd just get under the car, take a look and see how much room you have between the trans and chassis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANDYGREEN Posted June 3, 2005 Share Posted June 3, 2005 Thank you both very much. One followup question: will I need to drop or drain the transmission to replace it? hell no just unplug, unscrew and replace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldfusion21 Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 Sorry to bump such an old thread but I've got a similar question. It looks like the switches for both the backup lights and neutral safety are internal to the transmission? I have a 90 legacy with no reverse lights and intermittent neutral safety starting issues (moving the shifter around gets it to start) could this be a power/ground issue to both switches or are they just both failing? Car has 300k so wouldn't be surprised if they are just worn out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 what is internal to the transmission? the neutral safety switch which also controls back up lights simply bolts to the outside of the transmission. it's like 2 bolts and off it comes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 Sorry to bump such an old thread but I've got a similar question. It looks like the switches for both the backup lights and neutral safety are internal to the transmission? I have a 90 legacy with no reverse lights and intermittent neutral safety starting issues (moving the shifter around gets it to start) could this be a power/ground issue to both switches or are they just both failing? Car has 300k so wouldn't be surprised if they are just worn out. First question, auto or manual trans? Second question, are you sure both bulbs are not just burned out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldfusion21 Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 Bulbs are not burned out (or rather they've been replaced with new with no change) It's an auto. I guess my question is what actuates the switch? And it sounds like what I thought was two switches is actually one assembly with multiple contacts? Sorry for all the questions but I don't have access to the car currently and once I do I wanna be able to get to the bottom of this ASAP. Dealer quoted 140 for a new one so I wanna be sure there's not something else going on before I order that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 Auto trans has one switch with several contacts. It's actuated by a notch in the selector shaft on the side of the transmission. The shift cable has to be removed, and a couple bolts then it should pull straight off of the trans. It's on the passenger side and has a large wire harness connector plugged into it. You can remove the switch and test it with an ohmmeter before replacing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 You might be able to get the switch online for a bit less than a local dealer, but yes I've priced that switch out and it's always $100+ at least for genuine. Replacing it on the auto sounds like a bit of a pain if you have to unhook the shift cable. It's just a weeeee bit tight fitting ape hands between the exhaust to work up in there. I remember seeing in some Subaru documentation that they claimed anyway you needed a special tool to adjust the position of that switch after replacing, like so that it was in just the right position. My '96's is flaky, it makes it idle funny sometimes like it is thinking I'm in gear, no I'm in neutral, nope in gear, neutral, in gear in gear ok I'm in gear, no I'm in neutral alright, it gets very confused. Most of the time it wouldn't even start anymore unless you held the key in start and moved the shifter between park and neutral half a dozen times and even then it was a fight sometimes, so I put a pushbutton right to the starter solenoid. Reverse lights still work fine though thankfully. Second question, are you sure both bulbs are not just burned out? That is always a good question, I remember when I got my '94 the brake lights weren't working, and so I was asking all kinds of questions about what to look at, and someone asked if the bulbs were burned out -- so I checked -- and lo and behold yes, all the brake lights were burned out. Weird. Replaced the bulbs and it worked fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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