Auto Gearbox Switch

Stops the engine being started while in drive (or reverse). When I put an auto in our 90 I wired it in series with the ignition. Richard

It won't let the engine start unless the box is in Park or Neutral.

IIRC, it's also the switch for the reversing lights.

Ivor.

On or around Tue, 3 Feb 2004 13:39:03 -0000, "Ivor Clegg" enlightened us thusly:

correct. There are 4 pins, 2 are inhibitor (only starts in N I think, though it may start in P as well) the other 2 are reversing lamp. The 2 black ones are the inhibitor.

normally they stop the starter operating by interrupting the supply to the solenoid, generally with a relay as well, I expect.

'course, on mine, it's not wired up, so you can start it in gear :-)

|| Bill Payer wrote: |||| What does the inhibitor switch do on the side of the auto gearbox |||| and how does it work? (ZF Box) | ||correct. There are 4 pins, 2 are inhibitor (only starts in N I || think, though it may start in P as well) the other 2 are reversing || lamp. The 2 black ones are the inhibitor. ||

Yep - should start in N or P.

On or around Wed, 4 Feb 2004 19:43:06 -0000, "Richard Brookman" enlightened us thusly:

I couldn't remember, and there's no point looking at mine to find out :-)

Any particular reason why you have it wired (or not) this way?

Mine's in my winch challenge car and as I'm in the middle of a major rebuild, now's the time to change things if it'll give me any little advantage :-)

Does it make any difference in the fabled 'failed hillclimb scenario', similar to starting a manual in gear?

If I manage to stall it on a steep hill (it DOES happen, even with an auto box), I just hold the thing on the brakes, slip it into N or P, start it up again, put in R, and lift off the brakes.

Does disabling the lockout allow you to do something different/better?

Or is it just that you didn't get the specialized 'round tuit' needed for wiring it up? :-)

Ivor.

On or around Thu, 5 Feb 2004 19:03:08 -0000, "Ivor Clegg" enlightened us thusly:

yeah, idleness.

not really, I wouldn't think - if you start an auto in gear, nothing happens until it fires and you rev the engine, then it moves off pronto. If yer not expecting it, it moves off into the car in front.

don't think so. saves you the effort of moving the selector if you've managed to stall it with the engine cold (which mine will do quite easily)

round plug, more likely. I've never had the plug for it, and I found that I could attach the reversing light wires using blue blade terminal things, but not all 4.

Perfectly reasonable reason, in my opinion :-)

That's exactly how I did mine, but I also wired the lock out wires through a relay in the starter circuit. I'm used to it now, so I suppose I might as well leave it as it is. Other people sometimes drive the thing too, so it'd probably be better to leave the 'safety catch' intact anyway :-)

Ivor.