Chrysler Repair: reverse lights stay on in drive, backup lamps, forward drive

Question
Hello Roland,
It is nice to find someone who may be able to help me with this problem. I have a 1996 Chrysler T&C and the reverse lights flicker on and off when the car is actually in drive. Sometimes they stay on constantly when in drive, other times they go on then off, on and then off. Any help would be greatly appreciated,

Answer
Hi Wendy,
There is a switch associated with the transmission shift lever position that is located in the transmission which also senses when you are in Park and Neutral (so that the starter motor can be used when in those positions). That switch may be faulty or it could be an adjustment issue in the cable that connects the shift lever to the transmission shifter rod. If the starter seems to operate with the gear lever in park and neutral reliably, then I would not think it is an adjustment problem but rather the issue is the switch itself. If you have the 3 speed non-electronic transmission (PRND21 choices) then the switch is external, screwed into the side of the case of the transmission and is easy to replace. If you have the 4 speed electronic transmission (PRN,OD,3,L choices) then it is internal and requires that the fluid be drained and the switch changed out. Because the purpose of the switch is to connect electric current to the back-up lamps I suspect the switch. However, it could be the case that there is an electrical short circuit in the wire that goes to the back-up lamp that is falsely connecting the wire to an other wire that carries current all the time. I would suspect this if the backup lamps are always misbehaving even when you are in park or neutral position. But if it just does this when you are in forward drive gears then I would suspect the switch needs to be replaced. I would recommend that you call an auto-electric shop and ask if they would be able to service the problem and if they demur because of the transmission being involved I would go to an independent transmission shop and let them figure out which is the cause and repair it. Sorry I can't give you a definite answer right off.
Roland
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