02-16-2007, 12:37 AM
kap, almost all vehicles have either a neutral safety switch, or a clutch safety switch. If an automatic vehicle has the shifter linkage out of adjustment, you will get just that sort of occurance. The transmission was actually in reverse, but the indicator said park, and the safety switch (starter interlock, or whatever the manufactuer called it on that vehicle) was maybe somewhere in between, or was actually indexed for the reverse positionb, so it wouldn't start.
The clicking in the gearbox may have been that switch in the transmission partially engaging, or maybe a relay trying to trip while some other switch was cutting off the output or some such thing. I would have to look at a wiring diagram to make an educated guess. But the transmission shift linkage is a dead giveaway to something involving a starter interlock situation.
That is why on some older vehicles, or ones that are a wee bit out of adjustment, you have to wiggle the shifter as you try and crank the engine over.
The clicking in the gearbox may have been that switch in the transmission partially engaging, or maybe a relay trying to trip while some other switch was cutting off the output or some such thing. I would have to look at a wiring diagram to make an educated guess. But the transmission shift linkage is a dead giveaway to something involving a starter interlock situation.
That is why on some older vehicles, or ones that are a wee bit out of adjustment, you have to wiggle the shifter as you try and crank the engine over.