1998 Blazer with column shift. Drove home, all working well, stopped on the flat, won't shift into park. Yes foot on brake.
Turns off and starts when in Neutral.
After many searches on this forum, checked the shift linkage. No wiggle there, nothing appears loose.
With the linkage disconnected at the transmission, can shift the transmission shift lever though all gears (including park). When the tranny is in park, the console lights and indicators behave as they should.
With the shift linkage disconnected, the shifter at the steering column will still not move into the park position. Feels like it's hitting a hard stop (not soft or compliant) have not tried forcing it.
I'm thinking BTSI (brake transmission shift interlock) solenoid.
What's my next step to troubleshoot this circuit?

 

well it works off the brake light circuit. ur gona have to open the bottom of the colum and see whats not working. could be the solenoid but i dout it, i would c if your brake lights, all of them, are working. if just the third works, the multi function switch is bad usually, tell us what u see...

 

trucktom, thanks for the reply.

just checked the brake lights - all three at the rear-end working fine, and the parking brake console light works as it should too.
BTW, tried pulling the BTSI fuse - no effect.

While I've been working on this, since I can't get the ignition to off, I've been pulling a bunch a fuses (like all the ign, ecm etc) and then disconnecting the battery - is there an easier way? Like overriding the solenoid so the key will turn?

 

i have had the same problem today i took my panels off and wiggled the wires around under the dash and put it back together and now it works

 

Killallblue,
how far did you go with the dissasembly? Did you get to taking off the dreaded upper steering column cover, or was it just the underside panels.
Presumably not the steering column support bracket?

 

it was loo the panels and cluster and my remote start

 

the key will not shut off until the truck sees PARK. what i would do is find the solenoid i think it has a green plug on right hand side of colum, check for power when key on and on the brake, check both legs for power and ground. if there and solenoid not operating,its either bound or junk. its hard without looking at it with u, but i believe u can remove the rod from the solenoid and just do without. the neutral safety switch is on the trans, if not in park it wont let u remove the key cause u cant turn back all the way. if u have no power the likley culprit is the multi function switch. i got a dumb idea too, do u have remote start? the safety cut off for it ties into the brake light switch on the pedal, make sure when they spliced into it they didnt peirce the wire, if even a couple of strands are cut it may make the circuit weak enough to not be able to pull in the solenoid. let us know...

 

btw, if no power dont go changing parts without getting schematics and finding the problem, that multi function switch is pricey, its a simple system u can do it

 

TruckTom and KillAllBlue
thanks for the input guys -
No remote start on this guy - stock LT, no mods - but it was a good thought.
I'll start tearing it down enough to find the solenoid and I'll let you know what I find.

 

OK - got the steering column trims off (turns out I have the female torx screw - one on the right side of the column). Could not yet get the column support bracket off (no 10-mm deep socket yet) - but I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to...

On the right side of the column, about 1/2 way down towards the floor, is a cannister-shaped object about the size of a 35mm film cannister, with DkGrn/Wht and a black wire connected (other end of these wires appears to connect to a switch mounted immediately above the ignition switch.
The plastic cannister slides along a metal rod that runs parallel alongside a second rod that presumably connects to the transmission shift cable near the floor. BUT the cannister it's flopping about as I work the shift lever.
There is a hardened steel pin sticking out of a hole in the side of the steering column at this general location (at about 3-o'clock), and that pin fits nicely in a recess on the floating plastic cannister. There are the remnants of what looks like adhesive on the end of the pin.
I'd guess the cannister is the BTSI Solenoid, and the pin is the what is supposed to slide in and out of the column to block the shift into/out-of park. Puzzling to me is that there seems to be no other attachment point (bracket?) holding the solenoid body to the column - it looks like it just sits there, glued to the back end of the pin...

OK - so (once I take the column support of next weekend), does the pin just pull out of the column? If so, can I leave it that way, with no pin and the solenoid body floating? Or do I have to somehow find a replacement solenoid, or do I glue the pin back in with epoxy?...


For the noobs like me out there, let me know this week if you'd like me to take pictures. Not having a Haynes/Chilton manual or a parts diagram, I really had no idea what I was looking for except for the wire colors described in other posts on this forum).