F53 – Repair overdrive button on shift column

UPDATE – This repair lasted over 22 months,  but I decided to replace the shift lever with a new on.  READ HERE.

The Overdrive Button (OD) on the end of the shift lever is used to turn off / disable the overdrive. On newer F53s, 2005 and up, this button is used as the TOW/HAUL switch.

I use the OD on/off when driving in mountainous / hilly terrain to prevent the transmission from constantly shifting in and out of OD.  I also use it when descending hills to use the engine as a brake to help prevent the motorhome from picking up excessive speed in long descents.

When I performed a pre-purchase test drive in April, I specifically tested the OD function and it worked.  However,  in the springtime during a short trip to the east coast I noticed the button was intermittent, sometimes it worked,  sometimes it didn’t. At one of our overnight stops I did quick Google search and discovered this is a common problem, more specifically,  the wires break where they enter the shift lever.  If these wires short,  it can blow fuse #14 in the passenger compartment fuse panel, which kills the instrument panel.

NOTE – Replacing the entire shift lever assembly. I’m not sure if the Dorman 905-109 is an exact replacement or not.  I’ve ordered one and will replace mine when it  arrives.. Its available from Amazon for $42..  However,  in my research,  It seems like this part may be wired wrong.  I seen a lot of reviews on this part that the two outside wires on the connector need to be reversed.  I’ll update this article when I have more information.

A Quick Fix while on the road.

1) Remove the top cover and you can see where the wire enters the shift lever.

2) Cut the wire ties so the wires can be pushed up inside the shift lever.

NOTE – Where the wires enter the shift lever,  this is usually where they break (red circle in photo)

3) On the end of the shift lever, there is a small cover surrounding the button,  this pops off

4) The small panel that says “OVERDRIVE” and has the OFF light then slides off.

5) The button can then be unplugged and it slides out.

6) The connector that the button plugs into will slide out.  I used a small knife and pried it, at the same time, pushing the wires into the lever from the other end.

7) Once I got the connector to slide out, I was able to pull the wires out far enough to repair the broken portion of the wires.

8) I then pushed the wires back into the lever while gently pulling the wires from the other end.

9) I then put everything back together and verified it worked.

IMPORTANT – While you have the top cover off the steering column, look at the turn signal and 4 way flasher connectors to see if they can become unplugged.

On mine,  the keeper that locks the plug onto the connector was brittle and had broken off. When the steering wheel was raised and lowered,  the plugs would slide off of the connector and the 4 ways and turn signals then wouldn’t work.

I routed a long thin wire-tie under the switch assembly.

slide the plug into the connector,  then use the wire-tie to keep the plug from sliding off.