Stuck in park

Asked by Guru94RWZ May 30, 2017 at 06:41 PM about the 2002 Ford Windstar

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Gear shift selector won't come out of park

5 Answers

14,395

You probably need to check fuses first. Then tell me if the one u find keeps blowing.

1 people found this helpful.
14,395

a simple trick to finding a short is to replace the blown fuse with a pair of spade terminals, then use small jumper wires to connect them to a 12 volt light bulb. A brake light bulb works well. When the circuit is live and the short is present, the bulb will be full brightness and hot so be sure it's not laying on the carpet or against a plastic door panel. Now you can unplug electrical connectors and move things around to see what makes the short go away. When it does, the bulb will get dim or go out.

3 people found this helpful.
14,395

Next check the trailer harness if you have a trailer hitch. Sometimes those wires get chewed up and a signal / brake wire will short to the ground wire.

1 people found this helpful.
14,395

Lastly, It could be the shifter release solenoid. Have someone check if your brake lights go on when you press the pedal. If they don't... check the brake light switch at the top of the brake pedal. If the brake lights are OK, then the solenoid is defective

14,395

Either way the shifter is stuck in Park. To get my car out of Park I turned to key to the start position, or actually started the car. Then turn the key back one position. Without pressing the brake pedal you can shift out of park. You then can shift to neutral, start the car and get moving, at least you can move the vehicle or get it to a repair shop to replace the brake light switch and the shifter release solenoid if needed

2 people found this helpful.

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