on my '84 f150 I have what the previous owner referred to as a "clutch bypass" it allows me to start my truck in gear. anyone know anything about this? or how I go about restoring the wiring to OEM spec?

 

It depends on how bad the previous owner butchered up the wiring. The safety switch probably went bad or out of adjustment, or maybe he just wanted it to start without pushing the clutch in. To bypass the safety switch, all he had to do was unhook the wires from the switch and connect the two ends together.

You said "it allows me to start my truck in gear". With the safety switch hooked up, you will still probably be able to start the truck in gear, but the clutch will need to be pushed in. That's the way my '88 F-150 is anyway.

 

I think you should consider getting that fixed asap...



Ready to play armchair Johnny Cochran? Here's a story about a horse that got led to water and then dove in. A Mustang Forum member, luckydawg003 (LD), took his manual-tranny 2007 Mustang GT in for warranty repair to Brandon Ford in Tampa, Florida. When he went to pick it up, the service manager departed to retrieve his car, then came back ten minutes later to say he had some bad news. According to LD, someone left the car in gear without the parking brake on, and when the service manager pressed the remote start button twice to start the car, it leaped to life and drove out of the dealer's lot, through a chain link fence and into a pond, getting completely submerged.

Other twists to the tale: LD had an aftermarket remote starter that bypassed the clutch and would start the car even if it weren't in neutral. A forum poster going by the handle Tylus linked to the posts wherein LD asks for advice on how to achieve the particular bypass he was after. Some folks think it's the dealership's fault, saying the 'Stang was in their possession and the service manager didn't need to use an aftermarket remote starter to retrieve the car. Some feel it's LD's fault, having left an jerry-rigged system in someone else's car. And some say there's enough blame for everyone. Question is, what is LD left to do about his scuba-diving Mustang? Pictures of the car post-dive in the gallery below.

UPDATE: An employee from Brandon Ford has added a comment laying out the dealership's side of what happened. You can find the full text of the comment after the jump.


After reading many posts of the last few days that were either incomplete or just entirely inaccurate, I decided that it was finally time to set the record straight. The incident involving the Mustang that drove itself, unoccupied, into a body of water, occurred at our dealership. The simple, unquestionable facts of this unfortunate event are as follows:
• The vehicle was equipped with a remote start system.
• The system was installed in such a way as to circumvent the factory safety
systems that would have prevented it from starting in gear.
• By the vehicle owner's own admission with a County Police Officer present, he stated that he personally installed this aftermarket system and intentionally disabled the factory safety system.
• The vehicle owner used a remote that did not have a "start" button on it.
• The vehicle owner admitted that he never notified our service personnel of the remote start system on his vehicle.
• Despite numerous posts to the contrary, the emergency brake had been set when the vehicle was parked. This was verified by the recovery team.
• The method that was used to park and secure the car is in accordance with manufacturer guidelines.
• The service personnel simply attempted to unlock the vehicle with the remote which led to the remote start event.
• The vehicle owner had conversations with a remote starter installer prior to the installation. He was advised that his chosen method on installation was "unwise."
• Several posters advised the owner against his choice even calling it "irresponsible behavior."

Despite industry professionals advising against his method of installation, the owner of this vehicle apparently chose to ignore this advice. We were extremely fortunate that no one was injured as a result of this as we would be discussing who would be held criminally negligent had there been an injury or death. In light of some of this information, I hope that many of you will start to contemplate the safety of yourselves,
your friends, or even your families. Through reading these blogs, I have come to understand that this is an all too common decision made by people on their vehicles. Perhaps this event, however unfortunate, will shed some light on what we believe to be an extremely dangerous and irresponsible modification being performed on many vehicles. This should serve as a wake-up call to anyone considering performing this modification to their vehicle. Thankfully it was only a car lost and not a life.

 

thanks for the input I'll have to take a look later tonight after work and see what the hack job looks like (right now its just hanging under my dash covered in duct tape) I do really want to fix it seeing I can only start my truck when engaging the bypass weather I have the clutch pushed in or not, I'll locate the safety switch as well as uncover it and see how bad its been hacked.

thanks for the advice again its much apperciated

 

This is the 3rd time I heard of this happening. Although this episode get's the "Perfect Storm" vote (so far)! Not a question of if. Just when! To kick up the stakes & likelihood a couple notches, just add kids!

 

I located the switch and "hack job" dose not even began to describe what I found under the duct take, was to dark by that time to fix it so ill do it tomorrow, so why would anyone bypass their clutch? seems more like a liability more then anything dose this mod have a productive purpose?

Thanks again for the input

-James-

 

Probably because the safety switch went bad and they were too cheap to replace it.

 

I guess you'd have to be old enough to remember Kennedy as President to know why folks disconnected this thing. The clutch safety switch was a pain. Folks who actually knew how to drive a manual tranny would put the vehicle in neutral, left foot on the brake and the right on the gas. Most just didn't have the third foot to depress the clutch. Ya have to remember, this was before computer controlled engines and generally starting an engine required a pumping of the gas or when it caught, you had to keep the engine running at speed or it would die. Thankfully, the carbs with their lousy choke systems are gone now. But the heal/toe on the brake and gas was a pain as most older folks were not going to make the transition. It was also the peoples rebellion against the Gov't as more and more Gov't controls were being forced on the buyers in the name of safety. Frankly, I'd leave it alone but I'm old school.

 

I would too... but I wouldnt take a chance these days.

I'd love to have no power steering, no abs, and no powered brakes. Its all a luxury turned into a safety issue.