two possibly connected probloems on my 97 F150. I cannot get my trans. out of park if key all the way on. I can turn on the key
shift into nuetral and start the motor then shift into gear and all is well.
Secondly I have a dead short in my brake circuit (without hitting the brake). Does the brake/transmission lockout use a solenoid
which is released by the pressing the brake to shift out of park?
thanx

 

Yes. Fix the brake short and the trans prob. will be history.

 

thanx, does the brake wire go to a solenoid behind the key?

 

Not sure if it is that simple. An abs light on has been known to cause this also. I would imagine that the lockout is in the steering colum but you might ask in the trans forum if there is something farther down on the linkage. Either way, the brake elec. problem is it.

 

well I found the solution in the brake electrical circuit in an unlikely place. The cruise control brake sensor in the front of the master cylinder leaks and wet the connection which caused to breakdown and short out. I fixed the sensor wires and all my troubles went away
ken

 

My friends problem was simular. We replaced the fuse to the stop lights, which was blown, and the shifter worked. He also had a leaking cruise control swith (on the Master Cylinder). After the switch was replaced, no more problems. We suspected, but never confirmed that this was the culprit.

Was your fuse blown also? Is there a link with the stop lights to this cruise control? His ABS light began to blink 15 times but that stopped with the fuse replacement.

 

omg you wouldn't believe this but I am having the EXACT same problem right now... this sensor that is on the master cylinder how much? did you just clean the connection and that fixed it...? any pics? Im not exactly getting a good picture of what your talking about thanks for any help, also its a '97 V6...

 

mdstud

The cruise control swich is $26 from the dealer only, no parts houses carry this item.

Another possible cause for the stop light fuse to blow is the stop light swtich located on the brake pedal arm, held in by a spring clip, where the push rod for the master cylinder is.

Check the cruise control switch, pull the plug and look down the connector. If there is brake fluid in there, replace the switch. If not the look at the stop light switch as the problem.

Best of luck

 

The switch plug was eaten up by the brake fuid so I cut the plug
off and all is well, I will eventually get a new plug and switch, I don't use cruise control anyway.

 

crap I just noticed the abs light is on... fuse 15 keeps burning out too..... anyone know what fuse 15 is? lost my manual...

 

Fuse 15 is the brake lights. You are blowing this fuse because your cruise control switch on the Master cylinder is leaking. Pull the plug to this switch and the fuse will not blow. You need to replace this switch as you are losing brake fluid through it.

 

I'm having the same problem as described earlier in this thread. My ABS light comes on when cranked and blinks 15 times then 15 more and so on. The gear will not come out of park. So I went out and unplugged the end from the sensor in front of the master cylinder. The plug is eaten up by the fluid and I can see fluid around the sensor so its obviously been leaking. My cruise control has been out for some time now. I suspect I will need a new sensor for the front of the master cylinder and a new end thats plugs into the sensor. How hard is it to replace the end that plugs in? And, how hard is it to replace the sensor? How much are we talking about here ($$$) for both the plug end and sensor? Is a Ford dealership the only place to get these items?

Any help is very much appreciated. Thank you in advance.

 

Well, I unplugged the end that goes into the sensor which the Ford Co. told me was the Speed Control. Replaced the fuse (which had burnt out again) and made sure the fluid level in the Master Cylinder was at the correct level. We'll see if this is the problem and if so, Ford said the sensor was $28.66. I asked about the end that plugs into the sensor and they told me the wiring harness wasn't in stock. The guy went on to look around their department for a replacement pigtail to maybe splice into the wire, but was unsuccessful. Anyone have any ideas or experiences with this same problem?? If so, how did it work out for you?

 

I just replaced the sensor, just make sure the connector is dry if not get all the brake fluid off then replace the sensor and fuse then you should be good.