Stuck Shifter on 1994 Mustang

I have a 1994 Mustang with an automatic tranny, the shifter is stuck in
park. It was working perfectly until last thursday Aug 11, my brother
was driving the car, came home, parked it and put the tranny in "P",
since then the shifter has been stuck.

I press on the side button and try to shift but I can't move the
shifter. In fact the button no longer decends as far as it used to.
When I press the button it decends about 3/4 of the way and stops.

Someone told me that the shifter has a switch connected to the brake,
so that the tranny will only shift from "P" if the brake is depressed,
maybe that broke down. The only problem is that I can't find the manual
disengage button??

Can someone help me

Thanks

John G.

Brake pedal depressed and ignition ON. The system consists of a shift lock
actuator assembly at the key interlock assembly. When the ignition is turned
to the ON position, the solenoid is energized, locking the shift lever in
the Park position. When the brake pedal is depressed, the brake light switch
is activated, which deactivates the shift solenoid, allowing the shift lever
to be moved out of Park

--
Richard

'94 GT 'vert
Under Drive Pulleys
Transgo HD2 Reprogramming Kit
High Stall Torque Converter
4:10 Gears
Gripp Sub Frame Connectors (welded)
FRPP Aluminum Drive shaft
FRPP M5400-A Suspension
Laser Red

> wrote in message
ups.com...
> I have a 1994 Mustang with an automatic tranny, the shifter is stuck in
> park. It was working perfectly until last thursday Aug 11, my brother
> was driving the car, came home, parked it and put the tranny in "P",
> since then the shifter has been stuck.
>
> I press on the side button and try to shift but I can't move the
> shifter. In fact the button no longer decends as far as it used to.
> When I press the button it decends about 3/4 of the way and stops.
>
> Someone told me that the shifter has a switch connected to the brake,
> so that the tranny will only shift from "P" if the brake is depressed,
> maybe that broke down. The only problem is that I can't find the manual
> disengage button??
>
> Can someone help me
>
> Thanks
>
> John G.
>

I tried exactly what you recommended, I put the ignition into the ON
position, depressed the brake pedal but the shifter wouldn't move and
the shifter button wouldn't decend as far as it used to. So I'm still
in the same predicament. Any Ideas?

Thanks

John G.

I also tried rocking the car back and forth to see if that would help,
but no result. Any Ideas?

Thanks

John G.

Automatic transaxle vehicles are equipped with a safety feature that
prevents the gearshift from being moved out of Park without the brake pedal
depressed. If you cannot move the gearshift out of Park with the brake pedal
depressed:
1. Continue depressing the brake pedal, and remove the shift lock override
cap with a 2.5 cm (1 inch) or longer screwdriver
2. Insert the screwdriver into the shift lock override opening and push down
3. Push and hold the thumb button
4. Move the gearshift
If it is necessary to use the above procedure to move the gearshift, it is
possible that a fuse has blown and the vehicle's brake lamps may not be
operating properly

Go to it!

Dave

> wrote in message
ups.com...
> I also tried rocking the car back and forth to see if that would help,
> but no result. Any Ideas?
>
> Thanks
>
> John G.
>

wrote:
> I tried exactly what you recommended, I put the ignition into the ON
> position, depressed the brake pedal but the shifter wouldn't move and
> the shifter button wouldn't decend as far as it used to. So I'm still
> in the same predicament. Any Ideas?
>
> Thanks
>
> John G.
>

Well, I know what *I* would do. I would start taking stuff apart and
see why the release button doesn't move like it did. But that's just me,
it may not be for you. When something broke years ago in the
transmission of my Toyota truck, I ripped it out and took it apart.
Several people told me I was nuts and would never get it back togethr. I
pulled out the counter gear with a broken tooth, replaced it and put it
back in the truck. Drove it until I traded it. You just have to decide
how far you think you can go without getting to a point where you can't
put it back. Either something in the knob is stuck where the button is
or the mechanism that releases when you hit the brack is not releasing.
Also, isn't there a place to poke your key to releas the shifter to work
on the car with the key off?

--

"Gullible is a misdemeanor - stupid is a felony...
clueless gets you committed..." - JG

I took Dave's advice and checked the taillights, sure enough they
weren't working. So I checked all the fuses, none were burnt out. So
then I looked for the shift lock override, then I saw that one of the
wires leading to the brake light actuator was broken, I repaired the
wire and now the taillights turn on and the shifter is no longer stuck.


Thank you guys for all your advice.

John G.

wrote in news:1124310914.821456.258560
@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com:

> I took Dave's advice and checked the taillights, sure enough they
> weren't working. So I checked all the fuses, none were burnt out. So
> then I looked for the shift lock override, then I saw that one of the
> wires leading to the brake light actuator was broken, I repaired the
> wire and now the taillights turn on and the shifter is no longer stuck.
>
>
> Thank you guys for all your advice.
>
> John G.
>

Nothing personal.. but if you had asked that question on alt.autos.ford,
that is what you would have been told to do in the first place.

For some reason that doesnt happen much on mustangs, or maybe it does and
people just find it on their own.. but it's (relatively) rampant on Taurii,
Tbirds and CV's