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The defective switch from my Adventurer & the on my on my 56 Windsor both have only one stud for a single wire attachment (to the solenoid). In trying to replace the one on the adventurer I'm finding switches on Ebay that have what appears to be two wire studs on the outside of the switch. Anyone know what the correct switch should look like?
The neutral safety switch on the '56 only has one wire post.
The switch has a spring loaded ball that is depressed by a "finger" that moves into position when the N button is selected on the dash. If you take a continuity tester to the wire post of the switch and the switch body, there is no continuity if the ball is in the relaxed position. If the ball is compressed against the spring tension, then there should be continuity.
There really isn't much to the switch to go bad. Is there a possibility that the cable to the pushbutton switch needs to be adjusted? There are adjustment steps in the shop manual. If it's out of adjustment, the finger won't come over and compress the little ball against the spring.
It's supposed to be fun!
1949 De Soto Custom Convertible (project)
An easy way to check the circuit and determine if the switch is bad or if you have another problem is to ground the wire going to the switch. With this wire grounded the starter should engage when the ignition switch is activated whether the car is in gear or not. If the starter does engage disconnect the grounding wire and try holding the ignition switch to start and push the gear selection buttons and see if the starter bumps when you pass the neutral position. If the starter does bump then the shift cable is out of adjustment.
