Steering Column Repair: GMC STEERING COLUMN PROBLEM, gmc vandura, brake shift interlock

Question
QUESTION: Hello, I have a 94 gmc vandura and have had a problem with the shift lever being stuck in park. I have had it in 3 times.First I had the brake switch replaced. Second time I couldn't get it out of park and pulled on it to hard to get it into drive and broke some linkage I guess. That was repaired and the brake switch was bypassed to prevent the same thing from happening again. Now the other day the same thing happened and I have been told that the cable from the gear shift lever is getting jammed because the parts are wearing out.The gear shift lever is loose. Does this sound right and what would you suggest doing?
Thank you,


GM shift interlock sol   ANSWER: Hi Kevin:
Sorry for the delay, I was out of town for the day.
Your vehicle does in fact have a brake-shift interlock system that is supposed to prevent sudden acceleration.  You need to depress the brake to activate the release for the solenoid holding the shifter in Park.

It sounds like they were on the right track (at your expense) but missed the target.
Here are the steps to correct this if the cable is still ok. We'll talk about that later.

I need you to do the following.  Go out to the vehicle and turn the key to the 'unlock' position.  This is the position between "locked" with the key in hand, and "run", when the lights on the dash light up before you start it.  If in the 'unlock' position you can shift the vehicle, then the cable is probably still ok.  If you cannot shift it, you need some major column work to either fix this problem or bypass it.

If, on the other hand it shifts fine every time, but gives you trouble when the vehicle is turned on, I will tell you how to eliminate that system altogether without compromising any other safety mechanism in the column---just the brake-shift interlock.

Here you go.
Laying on your back on the floor of the truck looking up at the underside of the dash and column, you will see a black solenoid mounted on the passenger side of the column about 18" from the floor.  It looks similar to the picture I have included.  It willhave a black plastic cable running towards the floor and then back up into the column ans it will have some linkage rods attached to it along with a wire & connector.  The two wire connector (also black) is what we're after.  the connector is held in place by a green safety clip.  Pop out the clip and remove the black connector from the solenoid.
Guess what....Your problem is fixed.
What you are doing is stopping power from activating the solenoid that locks the shifter.  If it never gets power, the shifter will not lock, therefore stepping on the brake will have no 'unlock' feature.  This does nothing to the brake lights, they are separate from this circuit.  This is just the interlock connector.
Good luck, I hope this corrects your problem.
Doug

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hello Douglas,
I want to thank you for taking the time to answer my question and to help solve my car problem. I just want to be clear on your answer. The second time I had the car in for the same problem the mechanic did bypass the brake switch and said I should be able to shift it into gear without having to step on the brake after starting it. That worked fine for a while until this last time. He then said that the cable inside was jammed which he fixed (i don't know how) and said that the parts are just getting worn. The lever is loose so he said to make sure the lever is all the way up in park before pulling out the key and that should work. This last time I was not able to shift it with the key half way turned like you suggested. So if I understand your answer correctly it sounds like I need a new column or one from a bone yard. Correct? I can drive it now and it shifts but I don't want to take the chance of it happening again. The mechanic said it could happen again in a day,a month,6 months or never again. Does that sound right?
Thanks again for your time. You've been great.
Kevin

Answer
Hi Kevin:
It sounds like the cable is binding, as you said in your first question.  I'm sorry.  That will require a replacement of either the cable and actuator or another column as you suspected.
It's too bad the second repair wasn't done first.
Take care