NEED HELP Shifter locked in neutral

[Drec]

Looking for some guidance on a direction.

Our 2002 Envoy was parked and when trying to restart, it started briefly then died. When trying to restart, it wouldn’t start, and the shifter was locked in the park position, but was actually in neutral.

 

[Mooseman]

Check the ignition switch, that would be my first place to look.

 

[Drec]

I disconnected the battery thinking it might be similar to the last problem I had with the ignition switch, but this time it seems like everything has power, instrument panel/radio and other stuff, but it won’t start. The shifter is locked in the park position, but the transmission is in neutral.

I was looking in my service manuals and thought it might be an electrical switch or something in the shifter or a cable. I’m totally unaware of the workings of these controls.

Before tearing everything apart, I thought someone might an idea.

 

[Drec]

I’m sorta waiting for cooler weather, so I’ll probably start by trying to unlock the shifter by checking out the Park Lock Solenoid.

BTW, it’s supposed to be 107 degrees here tomorrow. Then by Tuesday down to 87 degrees.

 

[Mooseman]

Holy hotter than Hell Batman! That's 42c. Only experienced 40c+ temps once and that was on July 1, 2018, the last Canada Day I worked in uniform, including the vest.

A couple of things come to mind. Broken shifter cable, bad neutral safety switch, bad shifter interlock, no power to the interlock.

Is the PRND321 showing N or P? Will the truck roll on its own indicating it's out of Park? If that's the case, I would suspect a broken shifter cable or the bushing on the end of it at the tranny.

 

[Drec]

The PRND321 is showing R; which now leads me to believe the the cable is the problem. The car is in neutral and will roll.

 

[Blckshdw]

Yeah if the PCM thinks the truck is in gear, it won't start. Can you reach the shift linkage on the side of the transmission and push it forward to park?

 

[mrrsm]

See Post #6 for GM ACDelco Shifter Cable Un-Boxing Images and related information:

SOLVED! - Locked in Park, Won't activate starter (or click)...?

'02 Tblzer 4X4, 320K... just three weeks ago had new Trans installed (good mechanic). Ran great, so forth. Yesterday pulled into my garage, was moving from 'neutral' to park and car spontaneously "shut off" as it went into park. It remains in park, pumping brake, etc no joy. Won't "click" or...

gmtnation.com

 

[Drec]

I’ve been in hiding because of the heat. I did go out this morning and moved the Envoy, with the tractor, so it wasn’t blocking the driveway.

I should be able to get it in the air by tomorrow and try to figure out what is going on.

It seems like everything comes in bunches. My daughters Saab blew a hole in the radiator (plastic) and is sitting in our driveway since last Monday, while retrieving the Saab. The situation with the Envoy happened. Then my computer had a disc failure; which I replaced yesterday. Then yesterday the battery on my tractor failed, so I spent most of the day trying to find a 22NF battery; which seem to be scarce. I jumped it to move the Envoy earlier.

 

[mrrsm]

"When Sorrows come... They come not as Single Spies... But in Battalions..." Shakespeare's "Hamlet", Act IV, Scene V

 

[Drec]

It cooled down to 98 degrees tonight, so crawled under to take a look. It’s only going to be 100 degrees tomorrow.

So after looking at the shift linkage, it’s a bushing problem, so I’ll pick a new one up tomorrow and install it.

Thanks to everyone that answered my request for help. I’m not an automatic guy and don’t always understand these newer cars

 

[Drec]

I picked up what I thought was the correct bushing; which was a Dorman 14057. While installing it, it seemed like following directions wasn't going to give a satisfactory fix. The directions said to use the clear bushings, that I couldn't get installed. So I used the orange bushings; which the directions said were for a Ford installations.

Is there a better bushing to use? I'm going to keep an eye on this installation that I did, as it seem like a very secure fix.

 

[Mooseman]

There was a discussion about that and there is a specific one for our trucks. I'm on my phone right now so searching is not easy for me.

 

[mrrsm]

You definitely have the Correct "Orange" Dorman Kit... but those Two Parts are NOT Intuitive for an EZ Installation:

 

[Drec]

The Dorman kit that I picked up had 4 bushings in it, two orange and two clear. The directions said to use the clear; which wouldn’t work. I spent about 45 minutes trying. Then I tried the orange bushing; which wasn’t easier, but using some creativity, I was able to get one of them pressed in. After pushing the first half in, the second bushing half seemed to go in too easy; which made me think something was wrong.

MRRSM, thanks for the picture (for some reason the video wouldn’t play for me). My week has been going like that. That bushing installation looks exactly like mine. So I’m feeling a bit better about the installation.

Thanks!