The button by the shifter on my 1995 850 NA always needs to be depressed for me to get it into gear from park. What is this button? Is it important? Do I need to replace it, or is it just an inconvenience to have to push it all the time. I would like to save my money for the important things.

 

That little button is the override for the shift lock. The shift lock prevents you from shifting into drive without the brake depressed. Most likely, the switch that tells the tranny whether your brake is on or not has ceased to function and needs to be replaced.

 

+1 on what thender said. Check to see if your brake lights are coming on when you depress the brake pedal as well. If it's the switch, FCP sells them for around 40 bucks, and they are super easy to put in.

 

This might not work but it's free: you could try giving your key a slight jiggle back toward the off position. My 850 won't shift out of park unless you do this.

 

The jiggle thing it because your ignition spring might be broken but it doesn't effect whether or not the car goes into park, my cars ignition spring is broken and the antilock and traction control won't work if the key isn't brought back a little bit. As for the shift over lock button, the switch you want to find to see if it is broken is called the neutral safety switch.

 

Shift Micro Switch P/N: 9466028

http://www.fcpgroton.com/product-exe...nuine+Volvo%29

It says Turbo, but the part is compatible for other '95-'97 850s. The PNP switch prevents the starter from cranking when the shifter is out of Park or Neutral therefore I suspect the micro switch since you cannot get the shifter from Park without pressing on the OVRD button.

Tech seems to be back; wait to see what he has to say.


JPN

 

where is the pnp switch located on 1 1995 volvo960? and how easy is it to install?

 

jld: It's on top of the transmission. You have to get some stuff out of the way, but it's not difficult to change.