Cleaning & Repairing the NSS (Neutral Safety Switch)

On a Saab 95 2000

Written by Bailey E. Bryans

May 23rd, 2011

Time required: Approx. 3 hours

Skill level: Novice
Tools & Supplies Required:
• Dremel tool (with metal sanding head)
• Finishing nails
• Hammer
• Copper Polish
• Nail Polish remover
• Old rag
• Scissors
• Spray lubricant
• Silicone or lithium grease
• Pliers
• Size 6 screws ¾” long (need at least 8)

Introduction
I was having problems with my NSS when I would drive to the store on a nice summer day,
park it for 20
minutes, get
back in and
the car would
do nothing but
turn the lights
on. No crank.
Nothing. It
started out
doing it once
in a blue
moon, but
soon it started
doing it at
least 1/8
times I drove
my car. It
usually was
more
prevalent in
warmer
temperatures.
The NSS is located a little to the left under your battery and has a half-circle shape. The top of
mine was metal and the bottom is plastic. There are some wires extending from the back of it
that are plugged into a connector at the front of the battery. The connector on mine was
locked, so be sure to push the two red “buttons” into the connector, and it should come
unlocked!

New NSS parts cost $300 (not including shipping) and that would be considered a good deal.
I had the brilliant idea of simply taking the part out, opening it up, cleaning it up, and seeing
if that would fix my problem. I have pretty much NO car experience (I am a 21-year-old
female art student with no mechanical background.) Therefore I thought to write this
tutorial on my success and some tips on how to make this job a little easier.

Directions
1) For taking the switch out, I followed these instructions:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/100542/DIY-Saab-95-Neutral-Position-Switch. There were
some differences in my vehicle however. The dipstick tube for the transmission fluid is
attached to switch and I actually had to bend the attachment to get the switch out. As long
as the actual dipstick tube is not malformed, it should be fine. Make sure you have all the
tools specified in the tutorial BEFORE you start.

2) Once I got the switch out, I had this:

 There is about a foot long cord extending from the back of this with the wire
connectors at the end. There are eight rivets holding the NSS together.

3) I took the Dremel tool and sanded off the tops of the “waffle” heads. This is the metal
side of the NSS (not the plastic!!) Make sure they are completely sanded off.

4) Use a hammer and finishing nail to pound the rivets out the other side. I used a rubber
mat to keep the NSS from shifting too much and also to provide some cushioning for the
plastic side. You can use whatever you find useful. This was the most difficult step for me
because those rivets DID NOT want to come out!

5) At this point you may have a couple bruised fingers, but hopefully you got all the rivets
out. Don’t open the NSS too quickly!! There are springs and contacts inside that are very
tiny, and losing them would defeat the purpose of trying to fix this! There were six
springs and six contacts inside of mine (the springs go under the metal contacts inside
the black casing on the lever). This is the inside:

6) As you can see from the photo above, on the upper portion of the NSS, the copper plates
are very mucked up. The black wiry-looking stuff to the far right is part of a seal that
came apart from the rim of the inside of the NSS. You can see the six springs and six little
U-shaped contacts next to the NSS as well. The bottom portion (or metal portion) of the
NSS has a little lever arm that can slide back and forth. I moved mine a couple times and
noticed it sounded a little gritty and got stuck pretty easy.
7) Using nail polish remover on an old rag, clean out all the old corrosion and grease. You
may use some fine grit sandpaper on the copper plates, though only do this if necessary.
Mine didn’t need any sandpaper. You can use copper polish on the copper plates to shine
them up as well. Now it should look like this:

8) Notice how much nicer it looks with a little cleaning? I put some silicone grease and spray
lubricant on the inside to replace the mucky grease from before. Then I slid the lever back
in to test it. Much smoother and no gritty sounds! Make sure to put the springs and
contacts back into their spots before re-attaching the other half of the NSS.

9) Instead of putting rivets back in (because they’re such a pain in the ass) I used size 6
screws that were ¾” long. This is about the size of the rivet, a little bigger. They took a lot
of muscle, but I used the screwdriver to put the screws into each hole where the rivets
were located before. This provided a secure hold, which could also easily be opened in the
event I’d have to open this sucker up again!!

10) Once they are all screwed in, the NSS is ready to be reinstalled into your Saab! Follow
the directions on the tutorial specified above. Hopefully you’ll notice a difference and most
importantly, save some money!!