adding a NSS

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Princess Valiant

Princess Valiant

A.K.A. Rainy Day Auto
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Has anyone ever added a neutral safety switch to a 1969 or older car with a manual trans that did not originally have one.

Just looking for ideas ..... don't really want to change the pedal set out for a later set but I'm sure someone might have a creative way to add a little more goof proof.

I am not So much worried about myself but against better judgement I might let someone else drive my car and its a 68 with no NSS.
 
Add a switch to the clutch pedal that can be used as a NSS. For someone with your skills that should be fairly easy I would think.
 
You actually want a neutral switch or a clutch switch? I'd think a clutch switch fabrication should be pretty easy, even if you don't use OEM parts. "Lots" of stuff now has clutch switches that might be adaptable.
 
67Dart273 said:
You actually want a neutral switch or a clutch switch? I'd think a clutch switch fabrication should be pretty easy, even if you don't use OEM parts. "Lots" of stuff now has clutch switches that might be adaptable.
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probably a clutch switch ....just so they have to have the clutch down when starting.
 
It's a good safety feature to have. Especially if there are dumbasses around.
 
A older motorcycle brake light switch works great for a clutch switch.
It takes a little experimenting with the spring from your linkage to the switch, but it works well.
The switch makes contact when pulled by the spring allowing your relay to send power to the starter.
The spring is for when the switch gets to the end of it's travel it stretches out instead of ripping the switch loose from wherever it is mounted.

The goal here is that the car will only start with the clutch in. (you probably figured that out already though) :)
 

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RustyRatRod said:
It's a good safety feature to have. Especially if there are dumbasses around.
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LOL, plenty of those to go around.
I even hate NSS's, but leave it in case the wife drives the car. (Not a shot at her in any way)

My sister in law however is a true dumb ***.
She will pull in the drive and shut the car off then it rolls away because she didn't put it in park or set the brake.
Can't tell you how many times she called wanting to ask me why it won't start next time she goes somewhere either. (still in drive from last time she drove it)

Told ya. :D
 
TrailBeast said:
LOL, plenty of those to go around.
I even hate NSS's, but leave it in case the wife drives the car. (Not a shot at her in any way)

My sister in law however is a true dumb ***.
She will pull in the drive and shut the car off then it rolls away because she didn't put it in park or set the brake.
Can't tell you how many times she called wanting to ask me why it won't start next time she goes somewhere either. (still in drive from last time she drove it)

Told ya. :D
Click to expand...

LOL .... I am not taking a shot at my little cousin either who is going to use my car. She is not as experienced of a driver as I am and I figure its just cheap insurance and beats looking for a new grille.
 
The factory clutch switches are expensive. Any aftermarket, momentary off switch should work, like an inexpensive factory brake switch. Anything that gives contact in the up position works, like a brake switch. You just run the wire on one end of the switch to a ground source and the other directly to the NSS post at the starter relay.

The NSS post on a starter relay is the ground source for the relay coil.
All relays have a coil/ trigger which has a pos and neg pole and a high amp/ component in/out pos/ pos for the relay coil/ trigger to run.

All you are doing is giving the starter relay's coil its negative leg of the circuit, when you put the car in park or push down on the clutch pedal, so that the switch contacts its ground to complete the switching part of the circuit. Without that ground, the positive feed wire and terminal on the small/ coil portion of the relay has no way to complete the circuit and the electro magnet of the coil can't power up and pull the breaker into contact for the high amp component it is running. In this case, the starter.

So, unless that NSS terminal on the starter relay sees a ground, the main battery feed to the starter will be stopped by the breaker not contacting, inside the relay.
 
DaveBonds said:
The factory clutch switches are expensive. Any aftermarket, momentary off switch should work, like an inexpensive factory brake switch. Anything that gives contact in the up position works, like a brake switch. You just run the wire on one end of the switch to a ground source and the other directly to the NSS post at the starter relay. Set the switch up just like the brake pedal switch.
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That right there is why I posted the motorcycle type brake light switch. :D
 
Jeez TB don't know why I didn't think of that, after "fixing up" a Honda CT90 last summer.

You can buy those switches on Ebay "chinese imports" pretty cheap. Those type bikes are "all over" asia LMAO

amazing-motorbike.jpg


example:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rear-Brake-...:Honda|Model:CT90&hash=item2c78600ff7&vxp=mtr
 
Set the switch up, mechanically, like the brake switch, that is. So it comes off when the pedal is pressed. The brake switch is actually a positive side switch, so both wires are a positive/ positive. All it does in the brake circuit is act as a connect/disconnect for the completed positive wire.

This is the same thing, only it is a negative side switch and acts as a ground connect/disconnect for the NSS terminal on the starter relay.

Not to be confused with a shorting switch, which grounds out a positive side, like a kill switch on a lawnmower magneto. What I'm saying is that you don't want to copy the brake circuit and connect any terminal to a positive feed. You just copy the brake switch's mechanical switching function on the pedal and mount the switch itself in the same functional manor.
 
67Dart273 said:
Jeez TB don't know why I didn't think of that, after "fixing up" a Honda CT90 last summer.

You can buy those switches on Ebay "chinese imports" pretty cheap. Those type bikes are "all over" asia LMAO
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It's a simple solution for sure.
A person could hook the switch on one of the holes in the bottom of the dash frame and the spring wire end up high on the pedal arm (less travel up higher) and throw amount for the switch could be adjusted by moving it up or down the arm.

Dave is basically saying to do the same thing, just in a different way physically.

And you would want the switch to connect at the bottom of the pedal travel and not before the clutch would be disengaged, so a micro or other type switch that works directly off the pedal arm would be a lot harder to set up.
Probably a lot more temperamental about any changes in the linkages also.
 
TrailBeast said:
LOL, plenty of those to go around.
I even hate NSS's, but leave it in case the wife drives the car. (Not a shot at her in any way)

My sister in law however is a true dumb ***.
She will pull in the drive and shut the car off then it rolls away because she didn't put it in park or set the brake.
Can't tell you how many times she called wanting to ask me why it won't start next time she goes somewhere either. (still in drive from last time she drove it)

Told ya. :D
Click to expand...

For some reason (after our conversation), this doesn't surprise me much..
 
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