I'm currently having trouble starting my Citroen ZX Auto in park or neutral, in fact it will now only start from cold in neutral. I've been to the local garages and the best quote so far to source and fit a new inhibitor switch is £115 + VAT!
Being a complete skinflint I thought '@!#$ that' I'll do it myself.
Now the car will only start from cold in neutral when I 'jiggle' the gear lever once the car has warmed up it's quite happy to start in either park or neutral without any messing around. So I'm partly hoping something is just gummed up and whatever is gumming it is less sticky when warm.
My feeling is that something is just gummed up, recently when it started to get very difficult to start in neutral I decided to manually warm up the gearbox with a kettle of boiling water, this seems to have cleaned the connectors up and it now starts in neutral with hardly any assistance, but still no joy in park unless the engine is warm (temperature gauge needs to read 80degC before it will start normally).
So first things first, where is the inhibitor switch itself? Where the selector arm enters the gearbox there are two other connectors, a small fat rubber plug which has an electrical cable coming out of it that appears to sit on a brass nut and a thin black cable which may or may not be electrical.
Any insight into this annoying problem gratefully received.
Regards,
Jason.
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have you ever changed the automatic transmission fluid??
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Not changed it since I've owned it (18,000 miles) keep it checked and it looks clean as a whistle nice clear looking fluid. Of course that doesn't mean to say all the crap is in the gearbox of course!
J.
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You give it a try by changing it, it wont cost alot, and could help. Personally i would get the inhibitor switch changed, because the problem might just get bigger, so in the future you might have to change the whole gearbox.
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Oh, please. Somebody who knows what they are on about stop him quickly. He'll be telling him to ge it exorcised of evil spirits next.
Chris
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For the love of God, Jason, please wait for some 'proper' advice, some will surely be along soon.
Stu.
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Jason, invest in a manual and check how to do it, if you feel confident. The switch would be blindingly obvious to a mechanic, and sorry, I've never done a Citroen. These switches are a safety item, and it is vital to adjust them correctly, otherwise the car can start in gear. This has led to some horrendous accidents. I went out to one which the Lady had driven through her up & over door, through the garage back wall, bench and all, and only stopped when she met the apple tree. (Volvo 340 for the interested) Safety first please.
If you could take a picture of it and post it to the new link, then that opens up new possibilities.....
Mike
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Jason The switch is on top of the gearbox near the gearbox heat exchanger,
it has several wires running from it,whenSWMBO 205 auto lost its reversing
lights I took each wire ofF one by one cleaned the terminals
[male and female] and cured the problem,then sprayed ignition sealer over the
whole thing, it has to be worth a try HTH TonyH
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Pink Prat,
You are as a minimum going to cost someone some money, and at worst cause them injury.
Why don't you just off and save us the problem of explaining to everybody that comes here and asks for advice that you are a dangerous, annoying, pathetic, sad idiot who thinks advice is repeating what someone elses says or copying stuff you looked up somewhere else on the Internet.
You know nothing. You are worth nothing. Stop lowering the quality of our lives towards that of your own.
And if you send me an e-mail such as one I saw that you sent recently, I will forward it directly to the police, your ISP and your mother.
You are not part of the human race, stop annoying it.
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i was just saying that i would get the fluid changed as it hadnt been done, also if the transmission wont go into park and sometimes neutral, i would just get the inhibitor done.
(remember that my mam has a BX auto, and that she had the same problem)
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Would you like to explain to us how not changing the inhibitor switch might mean the whole gearbox needs changing?
Andrew
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i havent a clue, i dont know much about the mechanics of cars, but i just thought i would say about changing the switch because it sounded good.
stupid idiot over and out.
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I used to work on the predecessor of the Volvo CVT range - Daf.
With the original transmission, the car was started IN gear as it was almost impossible to engage forward or reverse from neutral when the engine was running. (Loud grating noises). Starting drill was 'In gear, all brakes on, start engine, release brakes as required' Dead easy, and few customer problems.
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This is my final attempt, and you can thank Alyn that I even bother to try.
I am assuming that you really are Chris Watson, that you are in your early 20s and that you do some work which is associated with cars. There are many reasons not to believe some of this.
There are the obvious reasons of your own contradictive satements. However, more obscure, is the fact that sometimes your write like a pathetic sad, pink prat, and sometimes you write as an educated and more mature person.
I don´t know which you are, and frankly couldn't give a caca.
Assuming the first, why bother to try to impress ? I have never known anybody trying to impress who actually managed it. Some people are impressive, and some are not.
I have many theories as to the difference between the two, but it essentially boils down to a single point; those that are comfortable with themselves typically make no effort to impress, but frequently do impress.
So be yourself. I don´t know what it is that you know, but I guarantee there is stuff. Talk with authority on what you know, ask what you would like to know, and make sure people know where you are.
I know squat about automatic gearboxes, I still don't really understand how the rations change with engine revs, but it doesn't matter. I am me, some people here will like me, some will not. Neither, in the long run, is important. I like me.
Try to do the same. Try to remember that it is not your own personal playground and try to help people how you would wish to be helped. And try to be just you.
e.g. if you think changing the gearbox oil is relevant, say so, but also mention that you are not sure. Don't set yourself up to be an expert that you are not - you might genuinely cause people harm.
In other words, cut the crap. If you want to be here, I assume that you would like to be respected and wanted here - you are not wanted, and you are not respected, but you could be.
If you behave, I will behave. I will stop being abusive. As a matter of point, I disagree wiht Alyn that I need to apologise for you in the rail crash note, but I do apologise for my earlier note in this thread which was to harsh.
If you post stupid advice in the future, I shall begin to use a standard reply which everybody will recognise, pointing out your stupidity. If you can manage to behave maturely, then I will shut up.
In the end, its your choice, but whether you have worked it out or not, registration will stop your current behaviour.
If you are pretending to have the current persona, and in reality are quite different in real lie, then I really have no idea what to say to you but hope that you receive help -= because your problems would be way beyond my expertise.
Lets try not to have cause to speak again unless it is within the context of discussing advice to and solutions for, the normal people who come here for assistance and a little amusemnt.
And that, believe me, was the last thing I have to say to you, or about you until such time as I neither have to warn people about you nor worry about them following your advice.
Mark.
p.s. the current and pathetic "I´m sorry I'm an idiot" approach will never work with me. I'm sorry that you're one as well.
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agreed, M.
Having spent the better part of the last two days (ie my days off) down at Gearmax, a local specialist, and having spent a serious amount of cash on a new "harness and saddle" for the astra (funny how we always revert to equine terms...) I can confirm that auto boxes are a VERY complicated business, and one which joe amateur should not even consider venturing into.
I have learnt one hell of a lot. but a little knowledge is a dangerous thing , as they say, and I have driven out (a) awed (b) much poorer and (c) grateful that the staff allowed me to hang about the workshop, asking stupid f****ng questions.
so now I have a basic working knowledge of a (specific) borg-warner box.
Next time I give advice, I hope *I* can remember this fact ...
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Don Marco,
Well done, I and many others I'm sure would like to add our signatures to your petition.
Go have a beer.
Stu.
ps. 6-0, 6-1, Yeees!
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>>ps. 6-0, 6-1, Yeees!
Playing your aged grandmother, were you ? And which score was yours ?
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>>"Playing your aged grandmother, were you ? And which score was yours ?"
No I was sweetly victorious. However I lost 0-6 on Saturday to a much better opponent , so my elation was a rather short lived!
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