Clutch safety switch delete

[Disco]

Hi. Stupid question, but it should be a quick answer. My clutch switch (the one that prevents you from starting the truck unless you step on the clutch) is ancient and the plastic has disintegrated. I am NOT installing a new one.

I assume, since this is a two wire switch, I can just snip these wires and splice them together to bypass and delete the switch? Can someone confirm this for me?
Thanks.

 

[Turbo4whl]

There are no stupid questions, only stupid answers. Here is my stupid answer. Yes you can just hook the wires together. There is a very good reason why that switch is there. You said it in your title, safety.

If you should decide that it is absolutely necessary, don't cut off the plug, just make a short wire jumper to go between the two contacts. That way it will be easy to reverse your decision.

In most states that have a safety inspection, that modification would not pass. Please reconsider your choice. I'm sure someone on this forum could help you locate a (safety) switch.

 

[Bextreme04]

Anytime I see someone planning on bypassing a safety switch I cringe. That can very easily cost someone their life one day. I've seen people killed or seriously maimed on more than one occasion because they decided that a safety switch wasn't necessary

 

[Disco]

As far as the safety is concerned, I learned to drive in a 71 VW Bug, and have owned 2 other Bugs, a pair of Rabbits, and a pair of Mk2 Golfs, none of which had CN switches, so even in my “modern” 04 Jetta, I still automatically make sure the stick is in neutral before turning the key. So I’m not worried about the safety part.

I’m not replacing it because I’m not ripping the dash apart to figure out where the stupid thing belongs. Lol

 

[Disco]

Also, I will drive this truck to its grave. I have zero intention of selling it ever.

 

[RecklessWOT]

There are no stupid questions, only stupid answers. Here is my stupid answer. Yes you can just hook the wires together. There is a very good reason why that switch is there. You said it in your title, safety.

If you should decide that it is absolutely necessary, don't cut off the plug, just make a short wire jumper to go between the two contacts. That way it will be easy to reverse your decision.

In most states that have a safety inspection, that modification would not pass. Please reconsider your choice. I'm sure someone on this forum could help you locate a (safety) switch.

NH has pretty strict inspection rules, I've never once seen them check to see if my clutch safety switch was working. Not all cars even have that feature, not sure how they're supposed to know the difference between vehicles that have it disabled, and which ones never came with it in the first place.

With that being said, that is correct in some few and far between situations it could technically be unsafe like if you're really really really drunk or forget how to drive a standard (your own vehicle no less). Make sure that when you start your own vehicle you have your foot on the clutch. Seems like common sense, but it's my disclaimer.

BTW, it's really handy to be able to move a dead vehicle out of traffic or line it up with a trailer using the starter while the clutch is out...

 

[RecklessWOT]

Anytime I see someone planning on bypassing a safety switch I cringe. That can very easily cost someone their life one day. I've seen people killed or seriously maimed on more than one occasion because they decided that a safety switch wasn't necessary

Personally seen it on multiple occasions? Who and when? Just curious.

Only way I can imagine it being dangerous is if a child gets behind the wheel and turns the key when you're standing between the truck and a wall. Don't leave the keys in the ignition and pay attention to what your children are doing (both of which should go without saying regardless of some safety device).

Anytime I see a safety device of any kind that minorly inconveniences me I cringe...

 

[Disco]

On a side note, let’s be real, y’all. We are talking about a 1978 Chevy C10. It cost GM about $3 to make this truck. I’ve seen stronger beer cans.
There are no crumple zones, no reinforced pillars, no airbags, and no headrests - unless you count the rear glass as a headrest. I’m lucky I have seat belts, let alone 3-point belts. The steel is so thin, a determined sneeze could dent it, and the build quality is suspect - how many bolts hold the front clip on? A dozen?
Not to mention the fact that the truck may or may not EXPLODE if it gets T-boned…
If there is a wreck in this thing, much like many of the other cars I’ve owned, I don’t plan to walk away from it.
I appreciate the safety consideration, but when my SlobberJet could randomly barf gasoline over a hot engine and light it up like it’s 4:20, it’s kind of silly to worry about a switch that wasn’t in wide usage until the mid 90s.
It’s not like I’m trying to disable the airbags in a modern car…

 

[Disco]

NH has pretty strict inspection rules, I've never once seen them check to see if my clutch safety switch was working. Not all cars even have that feature, not sure how they're supposed to know the difference between vehicles that have it disabled, and which ones never came with it in the first place.

With that being said, that is correct in some few and far between situations it could technically be unsafe like if you're really really really drunk or forget how to drive a standard (your own vehicle no less). Make sure that when you start your own vehicle you have your foot on the clutch. Seems like common sense, but it's my disclaimer.

BTW, it's really handy to be able to move a dead vehicle out of traffic or line it up with a trailer using the starter while the clutch is out...

Personally, I get far more concerned with someone mixing alcohol with automobiles. If someone is drinking and driving, a clutch switch is the least of their concerns…

 

[WebMonkey]

i've posted this here on another thread:

my driver's ed class had a 'tip' on what to do if you stall on a railroad track crossing.

leave the 'car' in gear and crank the starter to get the vehicle off the tracks.

--
so yes, i've learned or trained myself, or whatever to always, always, clutch before crank.
no neutral safety switch required.

i teach my kids the same even though they'll never need it.
(hopefully they'll never stall on train tracks either)

 

[SquareRoot]

Jeep Owner Sued After Dealership Employee Hits and Kills Service Tech

In Michigan, if someone's working on your car, you're responsible for vehicular accidents they cause, including the death of another during an oil change.

www.motortrend.com

However, to be honest I bypassed mine as well but nobody drives my truck but me. A 30 amp blade type fuse makes the perfect bypass in the connector.

 

[Bextreme04]

Personally seen it on multiple occasions? Who and when? Just curious.

Only way I can imagine it being dangerous is if a child gets behind the wheel and turns the key when you're standing between the truck and a wall. Don't leave the keys in the ignition and pay attention to what your children are doing (both of which should go without saying regardless of some safety device).

Anytime I see a safety device of any kind that minorly inconveniences me I cringe...

Saw a guy get his leg chopped off in a bradley turret because the door safety switch was busted and someone had "bypassed" it at some point. Watched a driver get crushed(to death... basically cut in half) by an Abrams turret when a crew fire bottle discharged on accident and the tank commander manually overrode the traverse safety switch to try and get everyone out. I've seen a tank mechanic crushed to death by the main gun tube because he was troubleshooting an electrical fault and he forgot to manually lock the turret in place. During the troubleshooting he accidentally bypassed a safety switch and the main gun slammed to level while he was stretched over the top of it. I watched my best friend in high school try and start his little toyota pickup truck with it in gear(not on purpose) and it jumped the concrete parking block, went across the little grass area, and slammed into the side of his apartment complex. Had someone been standing in front of it, they would have been severely injured or killed. As it was there was significant property damage and he got hurt as well. Safety switches are often present because someone showed they were a good idea with blood.

 

[Bextreme04]

Personally seen it on multiple occasions? Who and when? Just curious.

Only way I can imagine it being dangerous is if a child gets behind the wheel and turns the key when you're standing between the truck and a wall. Don't leave the keys in the ignition and pay attention to what your children are doing (both of which should go without saying regardless of some safety device).

Anytime I see a safety device of any kind that minorly inconveniences me I cringe...

This is the crux of it. It only takes one moment of not paying attention to kill or permanently maim someone. If your entire mitigation relies on everyone that could ever get behind the wheel of that truck paying attention... its not going to work. Most people that have ever driven a manual trans vehicle have the habit of jumping in and putting the clutch to the floor and slamming the shifter side to side to make sure it's in neutral... that doesn't prevent people from accidentally bumping the starter with it in gear, it happens ALL THE TIME.

 

[Disco]

These are some very extreme examples and only the Toyota is really relevant to my original post. Military equipment is extremely dangerous and should never be tampered with. Same goes for commercial and industrial equipment. But as far as a clutch switch in an old Chevy truck where most of them barely have FLOORS… I think you’re worried over nothing.

That Toyota tale… how fast did that thing idle? Did he not have the brake set? He couldn’t walk beside it, open the door, and turn off the ignition or knock it out of gear or slam on the brake? Seems like we’re missing part of the story. The few times I’ve accidentally started the car in gear (before the muscle memory of “clutch in, wiggle stick” set in), the vehicle jumped a little before I uttered an expletive and let go of the key, and it didn’t even cover a distance of 12 inches.

 

[Turbo4whl]

As far as the safety is concerned, I learned to drive in a 71 VW Bug, and have owned 2 other Bugs, a pair of Rabbits, and a pair of Mk2 Golfs, none of which had CN switches, so even in my “modern” 04 Jetta, I still automatically make sure the stick is in neutral before turning the key. So I’m not worried about the safety part.

I’m not replacing it because I’m not ripping the dash apart to figure out where the stupid thing belongs. Lol

Do you have children?