Gear Lever Stuck in Park

[SuperMike]

I have a Winnebago Sightseer 31E built on a Workhorse W22 chassis with a GM 8.1 Engine.

Today I went out to start her up a go for a run and found that the gear leaver remained stuck in park. I had started the engine and am aware that good pressure is needed on the footbrake, but no amount of anything would shift it out of park. After much pumping of the brake peddle there was a distinct click as some sort of interlock switched and then all was well.

So my question to you good people, is what happened. Where is the little ****** that stuck and does it need a bit of lubrication.

[TailgatinTom]

Mike, Are you parked on an incline? Sometimes, if your rig roles forward or backward after you put it in park, it can jamb the shift lever. I've had to physically push my vehicle backwards to release the lever. Thankfully on my car, not my RV. Just a thought

[Mekanic]

Originally Posted by SuperMike

.......So my question to you good people, is what happened. Where is the little ****** that stuck and does it need a bit of lubrication.

Sometimes the interlock solinoid gives you a warning before it dies complelty (like a battery does sometimes)
I wouldn lube it,....I remove it and throw it inthe trash!!. and rig it to not use a interlock at all.
Now if you have kids tall enough to reach the pedals around this may not be the best idea for you.

[TailgatinTom]

My bad. I guess I should read entire post before letting loose with my 2cents. I apologize!

[SuperMike]

Ok, thank you. So where is this interlock solinoid ?

[Mekanic]

Originally Posted by SuperMike

Ok, thank you. So where is this interlock solinoid ?

probibly under the cover of the steering colunm near the shift lever.
If your lever is on the colunm.

[SuperMike]

Originally Posted by Mekanic

probibly under the cover of the steering colunm near the shift lever.
If your lever is on the colunm.

Thank you, yes it's on the column.

[Dunnpe]

I had the same problem last year once. In fact it was just after someone posted the fix. Do a search on this forum and you should find the fix. As I remember the problem was at the brake light switch where it makes contact with the arm of the brake pedal. The switch was not completely letting the signal go to where ever and therefore the shifter would not move. I exercised the contact and all has been good since. But do the search incase my memory is bad.

[preston56]

i cant say what the problem is,but i had a ford dually that happened to and it was the ignition where you put the key in,usually theres a small hole somewhere on the colume and you can stick something in the hole to release the ignition key locking device,if it is the brake switch,its located under the pedal,looks like a button,sometimes the wires overheat and melt the switch,pretty easy fix.the only other thing i would try is to back another vehicle up to the rear of this vehicle,chain the two together and apply some pressure to move it gently,might just be in a bind in the linkage,just be careful,dont get hurt,hope this helps,good luck

[SuperMike]

Ok. I went out today and it all worked fine. So was it because it had not been started for a month because Mike has been a bit poorly or what ?

So. I took the top & bottom covers off of the steering column and there the little bast**d solinoid was. Basically it's a solinoid that locks into a piece of metal that slides up and down as you move the gear leaver. It is actuated when the engine is started. That is with the ignition switch at the accessory type position, all the little icons alight, the gear leaver travels around quite happily. Start the engine and in goes the little pin and it must be little, because I doubt the hole it goes into is more than 1/8" dia. This solinoid is released by putting your foot on the foot brake which then pulls the pin out of the hole.

So. What was wrong yesterday.

1. Lack of use and it won't do it again. Yeh right.
2. Lack of 12v or a ground, whichever it is, from the brake light switch. Thats possible, but number 2 son said the brake lights were on, so something was happening at the switch.
3. Poor connections at brake switch or solinoid. I took off and cleaned all those.
4. Hole in piece of metal out of line with pin, so it sticks. In case, I just drilled it a bit bigger. Well somewhat bigger. Well about a 1/4" ish.
The leaver still locks as it should and indeed despite the bigger hole there is still very little gear lever wobble.

Have I fixed it, we will see. I will report back if it plays up again.

[millsrv]

Hi Mike, This has happened on mine several times and the brake light switch has been the problem. If I reach under the dash and tap on it everything works. This only seems to occur when the rig has been parked for a month and usually during the winter months.
If, as you reported your brake lights are working when the problem occurs yours may have a different issue. Please let us know what you find.