1964 Reverse Light Oddities

[64BBBird]

Hello again fellow Bird owners,

Me and my father are one step closer to having the car ready to register and inspect but we're now running into a bit of an oddity with the reverse lights. When the car goes into reverse, the backup lights pop on for a second or two as soon as you shift it but they then turn off and they pop back on and off a bunch. I have done some research which pointed me towards the neutral safety switch being the issue, however every thread and bit of info I have seen says that if the neutral safety switch was bad that the car wouldn't start at all. The car starts up perfectly fine every time with no issues, and it also said the reverse lights wouldn't work at all. Throughout my research I have also seen there is a fuse that also could be the issue but ( and I don't know much about working on electrical systems of cars) it seems like if the fuse were blown that they wouldn't work at all?

This page contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated. As an eBay Partner, and Amazon Associate I may be compensated if you make a purchase at no cost to you.

 

[74 Harley]

It's likely that you need to adjust or replace the neutral safety switch. Fuse is unlikely, blown fuse means no power. It may not hurt to pull the fuse and make sure it and the contacts are clean, but I would look at that switch.

 

[lcboyer]

The neutral safety switch is a little tricky to adjust. When you get it so backup lights stay on, sometimes starter won’t engage

 

[terryw]

The neutral safety switch is just contacts that slide over one another as the shift lever is moved. It may be that the contacts are worn or dirty. You can get to it with an aerosol contact spray cleaner that has a red extension tube. Bend the tube so it points down into the slide opening on top of the switch then run the gear selector back and forth a few times.
Hopefully that will solve the problem.
Terry
64HT

 

[64BBBird]

The neutral safety switch is a little tricky to adjust. When you get it so backup lights stay on, sometimes starter won’t engage

Thanks for the heads up.

The neutral safety switch is just contacts that slide over one another as the shift lever is moved. It may be that the contacts are worn or dirty. You can get to it with an aerosol contact spray cleaner that has a red extension tube. Bend the tube so it points down into the slide opening on top of the switch then run the gear selector back and forth a few times.
Hopefully that will solve the problem.
Terry
64HT

Thanks Terry, it's been a while since we've messed with the steering column. Do you need to remove the steering wheel to get to the switch or is there a hole on the column that we can fish the straw through?

 

[BigClay]

Thanks for the heads up.

Thanks Terry, it's been a while since we've messed with the steering column. Do you need to remove the steering wheel to get to the switch or is there a hole on the column that we can fish the straw through?

The switch is on top of the column near the firewall. You don’t need to remove the wheel. Next time you shift into reverse, when the lights go out, “wiggle” the shift lever. (To see if the lights come back on). This may confirm the problem.