Backup Light Switch or Just Column Slop?

[Christiansok]

It seems my backup lights only work half the time while in reverse. I have a good amount of play in the column shifter while it is in reverse. If I move it to the far right they work, the far left they don't work. What I'm wondering is whether or not to replace the backup light switch on the column or if the real problem is the amount of slop in the column...

I don't want to buy and install a new switch to find out the root of the problem is the column slop.

[AirSpeed]

Your reverse switch is either out of adjustment or the contacts inside the switch are dirty. The switch is on top of the column near the firewall, it can be a pain to remove but cleaning its internals is easy. Just bend the steel tabs that hold the plastic plate and clean out the contacts. I used alcohol and some 220 sand paper to clean out the corrosion. Lube any wear points with a little bit of grease, put it back together and mount it up. Once you have it plugged in put it in reverse with the key on and adjust the switch position until the back up lights light up. You could by a new switch but it's really easy to fix the old one.
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[Christiansok]

Thanks, I will try to clean it out and adjust it first. I just didn't want to either buy a new one or work on fixing the old one only to find out the amount of play I have in reverse will still cause a problem with the switch.

[cdowns]

there really should not be all that much slop in the shifter// look into replacing the grommets to remove some of that slop