What exactly does the neutral switch do? I have the cel code for the neutral switch being faulty or incorrect.

Will a car continue to start up and run with a bad neutral switch?

Thanks guys, i know this one must be an easy question, but I searched and couldn't find an answer.

Thanks

Chris

po 850..

yes it will start and run. but it will idle funny when it warms..

it will go from 850 rpm to 1500 rpm..

beers :beer:

its for a manual trans right?
i'm not sure the bugs involved between the 2. neutral switch and neutral safety switch.
i think the symptom swoope may be describing is for an auto with a neutral safety switch...
but a neutral switch for a manual, all it is is a button by the clutch pedal that grounds the circuit letting the starter turn over. should have NO affect on idle or driveability to my knowledge.

^^well...thats what a neutral switch does. if its stuck in one position or the other...it can either NOT let the car start, if its seized and not letting the circuit ground, therefore not letting the starter get power. or if its stuck/ out of adjustment, it can let you turn over the engine without stepping on the clutch setting the car in neutral...hence the name "neutral switch".

actually-

in the manual transmission of the rx-8 there is a switch that tells the PCM "im now in neutral" if the switch is stuck or faulty it can cause idle hunting issues as the pcm thinks the car is in gear and doesnt understand what to do with the air info its getting from the MAF so its load calculation gets all messed up

ahh.... now I understand.

We had two members who sold there cars because they would put it in neutral at freway speed and the car would die.

ahh.... now I understand.

We had two members who sold there cars because they would put it in neutral at freway speed and the car would die.

Are you sure its not that they removed the Screen inside the intake ?

Zoom hit it dead on about the neutral switch but the same is true of the clutch switch as well. The clutch switch allows you to start the car but it can also cause idle hunting. I had a hell of a time figuring out why my wife's 96 Miata wouldn't idle (almost stall cycling up to 1500 rpm). Tracking through with the OBD II codes, eventually lead me to replace the clutch switch (the cycling would happen with the clutch in when the car was in gear at a stop but disappear when in neutral. Both switches interact with the ECU, good news is that they aren't expensive and they are easy to DIY (at least the clutch switch is).

Zoom hit it dead on about the neutral switch but the same is true of the clutch switch as well. The clutch switch allows you to start the car but it can also cause idle hunting. I had a hell of a time figuring out why my wife's 96 Miata wouldn't idle (almost stall cycling up to 1500 rpm). Tracking through with the OBD II codes, eventually lead me to replace the clutch switch (the cycling would happen with the clutch in when the car was in gear at a stop but disappear when in neutral. Both switches interact with the ECU, good news is that they aren't expensive and they are easy to DIY (at least the clutch switch is).

I think I should look at my clutch switch as well, its an warranty item but lazy ass dealership I told them couple of times it squeaks like mofo but they always say *No issues*

*Sigh*

Neutral switch is easy to replace too ... you have to jack your car up tho.

its for a manual trans right?
i'm not sure the bugs involved between the 2. neutral switch and neutral safety switch.
i think the symptom swoope may be describing is for an auto with a neutral safety switch...
but a neutral switch for a manual, all it is is a button by the clutch pedal that grounds the circuit letting the starter turn over. should have NO affect on idle or driveability to my knowledge.


nope.

manual.. have had this problem..

beers :beer:

I have had this problem with my idle and threw the CEL, I took it into the dealer, and they checked the nutrual switch and didn't replace it, they said it was fine and all they did was reset my pcm. My car still doesn't idle right, it bounces quite often. I have found that if I put it in gear and put it back to nutral it goes away, but how annoying!

I had a faulty switch as well, idle was all over the place. I've got a thread on here with a video.

zoomzoom: are you still under warranty?

just some informed speculation here...

on the older rotaries, the neutral switch was used as an input to the ECU to determine whether to activate certain emissions solenoids for the air pump etc, so that could be making your emissions equipment operate incorrectly

Are you sure its not that they removed the Screen inside the intake ?

Thread revival!

Just need some help here... Yesterday and today when I was driving my car and it stalled (rpm just dropped to 0) once I shifted it to neutral at around 30 mph. It was kind of weird because I didnt have any idling problem and it started back up fine... could it be the neutral switch or could it be the intake because I have the AEM intake with only one screen.

not likely the problem, but a symptom of something else.. a bad switch by itself will cause a hunting idle from 900 to 1300 that goes away when you press in the clutch..

beers :beer:

thanks swoope! the funny thing is it never came back... I think its time for me to get a compression test eventhough I got one from the dealer not long ago, but I just dont trust them.

thanks swoope! the funny thing is it never came back... I think its time for me to get a compression test eventhough I got one from the dealer not long ago, but I just dont trust them.

you might want to pm me your cars info..

i have been through this. i can offer some insight.

beers :beer:

still searching for one .....

anyone know of a ball park price to replace neutral and clutch switch, my car slowly idles up to 1000rpm causing a rough idle. This has been going on ever since I had mazda replace my clutch. Also a side note, since the clutch replacement I have not been able to utalize my cruise control. I am guessing this is because of one of these two switches. My car is throwing a CEL for Clutch switch.

anyone know of a ball park price to replace neutral and clutch switch....

Switches (http://www.trademotion.com/partlocator/index.cfm?action=getJointLocator&siteid=214264&chapter=&sectionids=3,2413&groupid=10009&subgroupid=20137&make=22&model=RX-8&year=2004&catalogid=1&displayCatalogid=0)

^perfect

not likely the problem, but a symptom of something else.. a bad switch by itself will cause a hunting idle from 900 to 1300 that goes away when you press in the clutch..

beers :beer:

nope, not always

it depends which mode (on or off) it's failing on, which may not necessarily be the switch itself, it could also be a wiring issue, pin issue at the ECU, etc.

I'm fighting a recurring cel on mine, but have no idle or other issues with it, runs perfect actually, replaced the switch and no change. I'm finally going to break down and trace it through this weekend to figure out the problem once and for all

the issue i have is the car hunts at idle up to 1000 rpm which causes the car to shake and even more so when the airconditioning is on. when I say shake it is like right on the brink of stalling would be how it feels. almost an entire chasis shake. I am going to run the codes to find out why the cel is on and i will post more updates

nope, not always

it depends which mode (on or off) it's failing on, which may not necessarily be the switch itself, it could also be a wiring issue, pin issue at the ECU, etc.

I'm fighting a recurring cel on mine, but have no idle or other issues with it, runs perfect actually, replaced the switch and no change. I'm finally going to break down and trace it through this weekend to figure out the problem once and for all

Mine turned out to be a simple fix. Apparently when I had the trans rebuilt the rebuild shop installed an aluminum crush washer between the neutral switch and the trans housing. This was preventing the switch from contacting the actuating mechanism in the trans, leading the PCM to always believe the car was in gear. Removing the washer and using some sealant on the switch threads to prevent oil leakage solved the problem. No more CEL. :)

Mine turned out to be a simple fix. Apparently when I had the trans rebuilt the rebuild shop installed an aluminum crush washer between the neutral switch and the trans housing. This was preventing the switch from contacting the actuating mechanism in the trans, leading the PCM to always believe the car was in gear. Removing the washer and using some sealant on the switch threads to prevent oil leakage solved the problem. No more CEL. :)

Sorry to bring up the past...

I've been dealing with my Neutral safety switch giving me a CEL for a couple of months now. Today I finally started to get some fluctuations in idle RPMS while in neutral. Did you guys replace the switch on your own, without dropping the transmission down?

I looked at the switch about a month ago and saw that both leads had the insulation melted off of them for about an inch before the switch housing. I covered them with high temp epoxy and the CEL went away for a while. Now it's back and I think it's time to replace the switch.

So yeah, I tried to reach the switch with the transmission still in place and it seemed damn near impossible. So if you did it yourself I'd really appreciate some tips. Thanks.

That was a while ago. It's an odd size, seems like 26mm and I was able to use a more common 1-1/16" instead. Best tool is a crows foot with a ratchet and a short extension. You can't use a regular socket since it has wires extending out the back. It would need to have a slot cutout in the side like an O2 sensor tool. If you dropped the back of the trans down you might be able to swap it with more common tools. You can cut the wires on the old sensor to remove it with a socket, but you'd need an open or closed end hand wrench to install the new one. The trans would need to be dropped down to have enough room for the hand wrench swing.

I'd like to know how you melted the wiring insulation off of it since the sensor is located on the other side of the trans away from the exhaust :dunno:

.

The wrench size is 27mm for the neutral switch and you are correct, it is on the drivers side of the transmission. There is a reverse switch on the side where the catalytic converter is.

I'm aware of both of the switches and I've got pictures to show the melted insulation. There is a tsb somewhere out there (I already called the dealer to ask about it, they of course said no) for the neutral safety switch going bad after 'being exposed to prolonged periods of heat'... whatever the case, 92,XXX miles has done mine in. I'll try to find the pics.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs130.ash2/39819_836652958840_23904020_44661333_65717_n.jpg

get 27mm crows foot

That was a while ago. It's an odd size, seems like 26mm and I was able to use a more common 1-1/16" instead. Best tool is a crows foot with a ratchet and a short extension. You can't use a regular socket since it has wires extending out the back. It would need to have a slot cutout in the side like an O2 sensor tool. If you dropped the back of the trans down you might be able to swap it with more common tools. You can cut the wires on the old sensor to remove it with a socket, but you'd need an open or closed end hand wrench to install the new one. The trans would need to be dropped down to have enough room for the hand wrench swing.

I'd like to know how you melted the wiring insulation off of it since the sensor is located on the other side of the trans away from the exhaust :dunno:

.

What's the best place to find a 27mm crow foot, extension & rachet? I'd like to try fixing this without dropping the transmission, but I haven't been able to find a crow foot + extension that is small enough to be used vertically. It doesn't look like there's enough room to move hands if I were to try it horizontally.

i couldnt get the damn thing off in my garage at home. so i took the car up to aamco like a mile away and it was done by the time the kids and i got back from lunch. simple , efficient and actually fairly cheap.

I ordered a crow foot 27mm from google shopping, the cheapest instance I could find.

I bought a 1-1/16" socket (fits better than the 27mm) with 1/2" drive and took it to my mechanic. He cut a small slit near the bottom for the wires to go through. After than, the replacement was fairly simple. Took 15-20 minutes to lift the car, remove the old neutral swith and replace with the new one: P/N Y612-17-640B.

The old switch was cracked at the base of the threaded portion and had a leak where the wires come out. This was causing some fluid loss (very minor) in my transmission, so I essentially fixed two problems at once.

I still have my special socket with the slit for replacing the switch next time. I should make these and sell them to Mazda as SSTs :)

I bought a 1-1/16" socket (fits better than the 27mm) with 1/2" drive and took it to my mechanic. He cut a small slit near the bottom for the wires to go through. After than, the replacement was fairly simple. Took 15-20 minutes to lift the car, remove the old neutral swith and replace with the new one: P/N Y612-17-640B.

The old switch was cracked at the base of the threaded portion and had a leak where the wires come out. This was causing some fluid loss (very minor) in my transmission, so I essentially fixed two problems at once.

I still have my special socket with the slit for replacing the switch next time. I should make these and sell them to Mazda as SSTs :)

What color are the connectors on the switch? black or white? and does it matter if you reverse the connectors?

Reverse switch is 2 black connectors, neutral switch is 2 white connectors. They both sit in the same harness, so there are 4 male ends and 4 female ends. As long as you have white to white and black to black, they are entirely switchable/reversable without issue. I think it's just a redundancy system.

Do not match white to black or black to white though. At best you will have idle hunt and a CEL from one or both not working. At worst you instantly blow the 15amp Ign Key fuse as soon as the key turns to on.


It was 1am and cold as I was finishing up my clutch replacement, and made both of the above mistakes and it took me a while to figure out.

I am just back tracking my engine install as I have an idle issue. I can't really figure out what it is but maybe by chance the neutral switch went out, or I broke the wires off the switch by raising the tranny? Im going to use Jon's neutral switch test that I just found.

hmmm changing the neutral safety switch looks rather involved. just have a mechanic do it?

its actually not that bad. you need to have the right tools for it but you can save a lot by doing it yourself