I just bought a 90 GXE and have a question about the shift lever. I have an automatic trans. and according to the manual, you are supposed to simply push in on the brake, press the button at the top of the shift lever and put the lever into RD321. Well, on my GXE I have to push in on the little *** at the bottom of the shifter and then press the button at the top and pull back on the lever. Is this little *** at the bottom of the shifter supposed to be pressed in while then simultaneously pressing in on the top button and pulling back? My guess is that this is a child safety feature, but it is very inconveinent as I have to use my left hand to hold down the little *** at the bottom and my right hand to press in on the top and pull back. Can anyone give me any feedback on this issue. Also, I too have an antenna problem where mine only goes down 3/4 of the way. Where do I find a small antenna to perminately attach so there is no more noise and movement in the antenna? Thanks for your help.

 

if you batt chrge is low,or you don't have your foot on the bbrake, will cause this

 

When you say that my battery charge is low, what exactly do you mean? I have a fairly new battery, but are you talking about something else?

 

there is a switch on your brake pedal that should cause a solenoid to engage on the shifter when you press the brake pedal.
you should hear a clicking sound come from the shifter area when you press the brake pedal in park.


If it does NOT click, then it's going to be either the switch on the brake pedal or the solenoid itself has failed. these are both fairly common problems.

If goin can determine which of them is bad, I have a 93GXE I'm parting out with both of those parts still on it. I'll be glad to make you a deal on whichever piece you need, if it will work. (there are some differences between the 89-91 and the 92-94 models, and I'm not sure if that is one of them.)


anyway, that is NOT a child safety feature or anything. something in your shift lock solenoid isn't functioning, and it could be as simple as a dirty contact, or as bad as a failed solenoid. (which really isn't that bad, compared to a dead tranny or even a broken window regulator)

figure out what's broke and email/PM me and I'll hook you up with the parts.

 

there is a safty feature that doesnt let you shift into gear because it is not safe. could be because your alternator is draining it. the only thing the battery does is start the car, after started, the alternator takes over, and recharges the batt.

 

in order to shift out of park, you'd need the car started in the first place.
once the car is started, the alternator will power the system (as you said), and the shift lock will work as normal.

If the alternator is dying, there will be other more obvious symptoms than this.. i.e. the battery would constantly be dead and the car wouldn't ever turn over to start in the first place.

 

a fairly new battery

 

if the system voltage is low enough that the car can't operate correctly while it's running, then the "new" battery will be drained also.

the alternator output wire is connected directly to the battery, so there is no way to isolate them whether the car is on or off.

thus if the car starts off the battery and the alternator doesn't work, the car will still run off the battery until the battery dies.

And since it's a fairly new battery, that means the car should run for ohhhh, 3-4 years, right "bigjay"?

 

I havent got around to fixing it yet so I got getto with a some eletric tape to hold the button down all the time I need to fix this soon though

 

speaking of shifters, i have a 1990 5sp and some times when i try to put it in gear, it wont go, it goes in half way, and will grind if i dont notice it the second i do it. any ideas on what it could be... and its not cuz i have the rpms too high either

 

common problem on our cars. there's not much you can do about it. the problem is that the gears line up so the teeth smack into each other, instead of meshing with the ones on the other gear.

best thing I've found to live with it is to pull back into neutral, then let the clutch out and try again. if that doesn't work, try pulling the shifter into 2nd, then into 1st or reverse.