Shifter getting stuck in park... solved!

[Milan]

Cool, glad to hear you got it fixed!  Mine hasn't been acting up lately but it comes and goes. 

[GNskates]

i had the same problem last week, turned out it was a problem tail light bulb. i thought it was the damn fuse but it wasnt. i have no clue how that relates. but does everyone else have the same problem with the 03 AT?

[timot_one]

It relates because they are all part of the same circuit.  I've been scouring my wiring diagrams, but have been unable to find a complete circuit that shows everything in my service manuals.  From what I can tell, the only way it wouldn't work is if all of your brake lights went out, not just one of them.

Anyway, back to the OP.  Dave called me yesterday because the problem came back.  He said his fuse blew again, so he replaced it and it immediately blew again as soon as he stepped on the brakes.  I assumed that there was a short somewhere within his brake lights and suggested he check all his bulbs.  He discovered there was a damaged for his brake light in his spoiler.  The wire insulation was worn away and bare wire was exposed.  As soon as he stepped on the brakes, there was a dead short and the fuse did it's job.  We were able to fix it today and prevent it from happening again by installing a grommet in the hole the wire passes through.

[striktlyaccord]

^ Yes.  I started blowing fuses again and running into the same problem as before.  Upon checking on some of the brake components' wiring, I noticed that my spoiler brake light wire had torn open where it was passing through the trunk lid, so the bare wire was touching the metal, as Tim had explained.  The electrical shorts & all of these weird problems were thus  a result of my shitty wiring decisions in the past.  Hopefully, it's all fixed now, and Tim doesn't crack on me for the next few years.   

[Mike]

I have a feeling you will hear it. I get made fun of for fucking bumper clips.

[timot_one]

The tough thing is that the hole for the wiring is in the wrong place.  It should be passing through the trunk where the hole is on the spoiler instead of near the holes for the bolts to hold it in place.  The problem is that the wire is passing through on the outside of the weather strip.  If it were me, I'd drill a hole in the trunk in the right spot.  I just didn't want to drill more holes in your car yesterday.

[Milan]

I'm not sure if this is in any way related but yesterday my ABS light came on.  I drove on it and turned the car on and off a few times while doing some errands.  It stayed on every single time.  When I got off of work though that same day it turned off and hasn't come back yet. 

[Mike]

It is Milan. When I had this issues the abs, and traction control lights came on

[timot_one]

Well, to be fair, the issue that Dave was having was caused by something totally different.  Milan, is your car also getting stuck in park?  Your post wasn't clear whether you couldn't shift out of park, or if your ABS light was just stuck on.

[Mike]

Actually Tim he states else where in this thread that his shifter gets stuck in park intermittently.

[timot_one]

Ohh.  I was just going on what I read in his last post.  I'm glad someone's paying attention.

[CrackerTeg]

Paying attention is for pussies! Or is it the other way around?

[Milan]

Yeah Tim, my shifter gets stuck in P and the brake lights don't come on when that happens.  The ABS light hasn't come on since but it gets stuck in park once in a while. 

[timot_one]

Does your horn work when this happens?  If it doesn't work, then you need to replace the fuse 13 in the fuse box under the hood.  If that checks out, you can test the brake pedal position switch.  There should be continuity between terminals 1 & 2, and terminals 3 & 4 when you press the brake pedal.  Make sure that the pedal height or switch position isn't causing the problem also (the switch doesn't disengage fully).  If you don't have continuity, then you need to replace the switch like Mike said.

[Milan]

Yeah, horn works.  How the heck to I check the continuity?