[Bruce Meyer]

I bought a tilt column for my 69 a few years ago and just got around to putting it in. The problem Im having is the neutral safety switch drive is not clocked properly. When the car is in park the switch is around a 1/2" from the position it needs to be in to start the car. The backdrive arm is all the way up.
It was supposed to be rebuilt. Is it possible they did something wrong or is just the wrong column for a 69?

[gto4evr]

sounds like the back lock linkage isn't adjusted properly in relation to the control arm sticking out of the column. (those can be off a bit since Chevy (and other GM)columns will fit but the back lock linkage arm is a little different than the Pontiac one so you may need to readjust the linkage.

first disconnect the back lock linkage from the column, then manually rotate the collar under the steering wheel counter clockwise til it stops, that's park and should line up with the switch. If it does there, then reconnect the linkage arm to the column and adjust at the pivot accordingly. The switch offers a little bit of tweaking side to side adjustment after the fact but not a full 1/2". It really sounds like the arm is just different and requires the back lock rod to be adjusted.

[Bruce Meyer]

Originally Posted by gto4evr

sounds like the back lock linkage isn't adjusted properly in relation to the control arm sticking out of the column. (those can be off a bit since Chevy (and other GM)columns will fit but the back lock linkage arm is a little different than the Pontiac one so you may need to readjust the linkage.

first disconnect the back lock linkage from the column, then manually rotate the collar under the steering wheel counter clockwise til it stops, that's park and should line up with the switch. If it does there, then reconnect the linkage arm to the column and adjust at the pivot accordingly. The switch offers a little bit of tweaking side to side adjustment after the fact but not a full 1/2". It really sounds like the arm is just different and requires the back lock rod to be adjusted.

I checked that already. The backlock arm is topped out. It cant rotate anymore. Arm is the same as the column I pulled out. I got the car to start by opening up the holes and sliding the switch over but reverse lights come on between park and reverse. Still way out of adjustment. Im thinking of modding the switch even more by adding metal to the mounting points but I would rather have it right. Im stumped.

[gto4evr]

Originally Posted by Bruce Meyer

I checked that already. The backlock arm is topped out. It cant rotate anymore. Arm is the same as the column I pulled out. I got the car to start by opening up the holes and sliding the switch over but reverse lights come on between park and reverse. Still way out of adjustment. Im thinking of modding the switch even more by adding metal to the mounting points but I would rather have it right. Im stumped.

I don't think that back lock arm is a separate removable piece on the tube in relation to the keyed slot for the switch so I can't imagine they could have taken it off and reassembled it wrong. Just throwing it out there but have you confirmed that the NS switch is correct? I know they were different between 4spd and auto switches, because the clock position of Park for an automatic car is where reverse is on the stick car (you have to put the car in reverse to rotate the column enough to remove the key) BUT...I don't believe the 4spd switches had anything other than the back up light circuit on them as the NS switch was a separate switch mounted on the clutch.

So, barring a switch issue, the only thing I can think of is that the wrong reaction/shift tube might be installed in the column. Here are pictures of both a standard and tilt column for you to compare to. As I look at them, the slots for the switch on the tube when I've got it in Park are in nearly identical places with the non-tilt one being maybe a wee bit off from the other, but the adjustment screws would easily compensate for that small difference. The slot lines up with that raised crown punched into the column. Tilt column on the left from a Chevy (notice the straight back lock arm) and original Pontiac standard column on the right.

[Bruce Meyer]

Yes I checked the switch against one I had in a parts car. Also bought a new one and compared all 3. They were pretty much the same mechanically.
Thanks for the pics and info. I think I will just modify the switch to place it so it works.

[north]

You mention that the arm is all the way up but not in which shift position the transmission is at that time. A manual trans has the arm all the way up in reverse but an automatic has the arm all the way up in park. That is why the switch on the column is different for an automatic versus a manual.

The switch on the column for a manual is only for reverse lights (hence only two wires) while the switch on the column for an automatic is the safety neutral switch and the reverse light switch.

Google your application and compare the look of the correct switch to what you have.

[Bruce Meyer]

When the floor shifter is in park the arm is all the way up. The switch is correct for an auto. Are the columns itself different for a manual?

[marxjunk]

69 stuff is 69 only on the ignition switch and neutral switch..no matter what the parts house say...many have had the same problems..lit doesnt mean you cant modify it...it just means it is unique to 69

a 69 tilt ign switch is diff than non tilt..it has its own part number..no matter what the parts house say

a manual and auto column are different...the lever length on the end where the back drive hooks to is longer on an auto..so it changes the length.

manual and automatic neutral switches are diff too...the little tab in there is in a diff spot between the two..no matter what parts house says

is your ignition switch green black or white..do you have pics of the end where the back drive goes?

is it a GM switch or chinese after crap stuff



if youve already modified it..and it works..id just run with it

[Bruce Meyer]

Here is a pic of the backdrive. Right now it has a cheapo Oreilly switch in it. The switch from my old column failed a continuity test. It had not been hooked up for over 25 years. I had put in a racing shifter and used the switch that came with the shifter. I took the old switch apart and the grease in there was hard as a rock and wouldn't allow contact. I modified the cheapo to at least start the car but its still too far off to work the reverse lights so I must modify it more. I should have known better than to get a cheapo E-bay column. Who knows what parts are in there.
Does GM still make these switches?