neutral safety switch necessary???

I have my AOD installed and I can see the Neutral Safety Switch but do I have to hook it up? I have no rear back up lights (ok sorry where the hell else would rear back up lights be heheheh) and I can never remember trying to start the car while in drive, soooo If I have to hook it up how do I wire it up is there a plug that goes on top of the switch and into the wiring somehow?? thanks

 

ON most neutral start switches ... you wire the hot start wire thru the neutral start switch ... so that the wire only becomes HOT when the switch is in the PARK or NEUTRAL position.

 

Bad Idea !! That one time you forget & it takes off in gear you might be in for a SUPRISE, I know, it happend with the Buick I bought when we got it off car hauler & it started in gear & ran into back of car hauler, No real damage but could of been worse, somebody could od been standing in front of it, Do your self a Favor & connect the switch !

 

Yep or the one time your helper is bumping the starter over and your under the hood. Yikes your pined between the bench and the car. Its such and easy thing to do dont skip it.

 

Necessary? NO
Intelligent? YES
Incredibly Stupid not to? YES

 

+ 1 , the name Neutral (car not in gear so it won't take off somewhere when it isn't supposed to when started killing or maiming you or someone else) Safety (see neutral)

Switch (well that one should tell you something related to ignition power as it has to do with neutral and safety)

Unless of course you are totally stupid.
That's one thing that should be a major consideration in any build, basic safety.

 

Not necessary if you were born before about 1972 or so. There are some things that everyone from my generation that knows how to drive does when starting a car. One of them is making sure the car isn't in gear.

If you grew up depending on a neutral saftey switch then you probably ought to have one.

 

Back to you are not the one always touching the key or stater ****on. Might just be somebody born before like lets say 1950 when most cars had one.
Its just stupid not to have one. But i suppose if you need to paint your wheels red or apple green instead of a safety switch go for it.

 

I witnessed a very nice 34 Ford grill shell get crushed a the Nats South years ago by some incredibility stupid individual in a T-bucket who said a neutral safety switch wasn't really necessary.

He always made sure it was in park before trying to crank the car,,,well,this time it was in reverse and he plowed into the 34 before he knew what happened

He was a member of our car club and came real close to being pulverized by a very angry car owner.

Don't be an idiot and do something stupid,,use a neutral safety switch. HRP

 

It's always interesting when someone contemplates jumping out of the gene pool.
Yes, you need the switch. Yes, the people around you need your switch.

 

I can still remember a family friend driving his 27 touring into the back wall of his garage almost 35 years ago, because he didn't have a neutral safety switch.

And I can remember my brother driving his 28 coupe into a tree about 25 years ago, because his switch was faulty.

 

What cars before '50 had neutral saftey switches. I've owned several some of them still stock when they came to me that didn't have neutral saftey switches.

The only person that turns the key in my old hooptie is the Mrs, she knows damned well that standard starting procedure in any vehicle is to make sure it is not in gear before you hit the key. There are just things that they used to teach you when you were learning to drive. Get in check the mirrors, depress the clutch, move shifter to neutral then hit the key. or if you were driving an automatic push towards park and mash the brake before you hit the key. Then we became lazy once the govt began being in charge of our common sense.

If your too lazy to learn how to drive you damned well better have one. Or I guess if you let any Tom, **** or Harry behind the wheel.

Alchemy no offense intended but if you don't have one you won't depend on it working. I'm thinking that his case is pretty rare most of them fail open.

 

Oh,come on,I have apple green wheels and a safety switch!,,HRP

 

I'd never start a stick shift car without wiggling the stick first, but I did drive an automatic car into my sandblasting cabinet once.

 

At some point someone else is going to drive your car and he might not be as intelligent as you are.... (by now I think you should've realized that you need one)

 

The switch was invented and installed for a GOOD reason.

You don't have a GOOD reason to eliminate it.

Case closed.

 

In 1949, the starter for the Pontiac's was a push****on on the dashboard, moved from the floor of previous years, and there was a neutral safety switch.

 

Yes you should run a Neutral Safety Switch (Better be safe than Sorry)

 

I don't use one.

I accidentally tried to start it in reverse once.

I also like not having to press the brake pedal while I turn the key.

I'm going to break down and hook it up because for me it's just to easy to get distracted when I'm fixing stuff or whatever and overlook the shifter.

Hey, I'm all for not hooking it up, as long as you take responsibility for your actions. I despise the nanny state.

 

You might feel different if he ran into your old lady and crushed her legs, or worse, taking responsibility won't help her much!

 

I screwed up the hood on my Dad's '60 Chevy 1/2 ton when I started it in Drive.

He searched for 2 years looking for that hood. I was in deep **** for a long time over that.

Use the switch!

 

Whether its starting the car in gear, relying on a firearm's safety to avoid shooting something, or ***uming a green light means no one is coming, the operator's actions are what really matter.

To me not having a neutral switch on an automatic is no different than having a manual trans without the clutch switch that newer cars have(don't get me started on those clutch switches). I have had two automatic cars with no neurtal switch and never had a problem. But to be fair and honest, I'll admit that a friend started his T-Bucket in reverse while standing next to the car and was dragged by the header until he came loose and was run over by the front tire. The car's big rear tire eventually bumped into something(a mailbox post as I remember) and was fine, And fortunately my friend's multiple burns, s****es, and bruises were not too serious.

 

Definitely owe my safety switch a few beers... early Hydramatic... reverse is park.

 

Necessary. simple to install. peace

 

I'll tell you why it is a bit different though, most automatic cars will start every time in gear without one because there is no load from being gear thanks to the torque converter. Stick shift cars are less likely to start due to the high load of being in gear and jerking the entire car which usually is enough for the operator to kill the switch right away.
Plus I think we become accustomed to checking the stick and or pushing in the clutch anyway.

 

If you hit something because you didn't have a neutral safety switch the lawyers would have a field day (and in this case, I would be on their side).

Charlie Stephens

 

Trusting a neutral safety switch is like trusting a *****.

At the end of the day the person turning the key should be in control of their vehicle with or without it, no excuses.

 

All true, but if the engine is started with the trans in gear, and the person isn't paying attention, you now have the engine running when the clutch is released. I'm not sure that's better than having the clutch switch?

Good point.

 

I once had an old Ford truck with automatic and no neutral safety switch.I never had a problem with it but did not like it that way because as previously stated, someone else could inadvertently cause a problem.But with a straight shift,I have 4 cars now without one and most of every manual car I ever owned never had one.I do not like them on a manual car.I sometimes use the starter to pull the car in gear when loading.Or starting from outside the vehicle without holding the clutch in and you can do neither with a neutral safety switch.On an automatic car, I would say yes, you will be happier with a neutral safety switch.