Sylvania LED Ultra Fog and Powersport bulbs are their brightest LEDs, mimicking the bright, cool-white color spectrum of sunlight at noon for superior visibility. Sylvania LED Ultra bulbs are constructed with aviation-grade aluminum, offering a strong lightweight build that’s designed to withstand water and dust. These bulbs are backed by over 100 years of lighting expertise and offer superior brightness and clarity while outperforming and outlasting other Sylvania bulbs with their maximum lifespan design.

For the month of October, 2026, Sylvania is offering RockAuto customers a 10% instant rebate on Ultra LED bulbs. Simply add qualifying parts (marked with a in catalog) to your cart to instantly save.

Find these parts and more under "Fog / Driving Lamp Bulb" in the "Electrical-Bulb & Socket" category for your vehicle in the RockAuto.com catalog.

In the mid-'70s, I was working at a garage in Upstate New York. One fall day, I pulled in a ’73 Mustang Grande (nice car, many bells and whistles…) to swap out the rear tires for the snow tires (a seasonal ritual known to all that lived in the snow belt).

Removing the snow tires from the trunk, I grabbed the impact wrench, and went after the lugs on the passenger rear wheel. Slipping the socket on the first available lug, I squeezed the trigger and noticed that the lug did not move in the slightest. Checked the rotation (lefty loosey) and went back to the compressor to juice it up to 120 PSI from a weakish 90. Still no movement. Went to another lug with similar results, then dialed up 140-150 PSI at the compressor. Still no change, but I was determined that those lugs were going to come off!

Finally with a sickening “SNAP”, one lug broke loose. I was then confronted with the fact that what I thought was a lug nut on a stylish factory wheel, was a phony plastic lug that had broken off a (very ornate) hubcap! Just then the boss stepped up behind me and started howling with laughter when he’d seen what I did. Of course, everybody in the shop had to check it out, and I knew I’d never hear the end of it.

After a minute, one of my co-workers went around the car and noted that the other hubcaps had tell-tale socket marks on their phony lugs. The boss nodded and pointed to the broken hubcap, handed me the super glue and didn’t say another word. Even he realized that I wasn’t the first to goof up in that manner, and I probably wasn’t going to be the last.

So wrench twisters, whenever a vehicle arrives in your shop for a tire swap, balance, or rotation, make sure you’re dealing with a real wheel instead of a fancy hubcap.

Bob in Missouri

1973 Ford Mustang Hubcap with Simulated Lug Nuts

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Since the 1950s, cars with automatic transmissions have usually been equipped with neutral safety switches mounted on the outside of the transmission with a plunger type switch poking through a hole into the transmission. The switch typically has at least three electrical terminals. One terminal brings 12 volts to the switch. Another terminal typically provides the starter solenoid circuit with a ground. The third terminal turns on the backup lights. Something mechanical (cam, lever, gear tooth...) in the transmission appropriately depresses the neutral safety switch plunger when the transmission is in park, neutral or reverse.

The mechanical device in the transmission is connected to the gear shifter in the car's interior via a linkage of cables and rods. That linkage system is usually also partially shared with the throttle cable running to the accelerator pedal because throttle position helps control when the transmission downshifts/upshifts.

Around the turn of the century, mechanical throttle cables went away and the accelerator pedal became an "accelerator pedal position sensor" (found under "Interior" in the RockAuto.com catalog) with only electrical wires running to it. The mechanical linkage running to the transmission was now only connected to the gear shifter. The neutral safety switch became a "neutral safety switch/range sensor" (found under "Electrical-Switch & Relay") that not only connected the starter solenoid and backup lights but also gave the computer(s) information on what gear the transmission was supposed to be in. The neutral safety switch/range sensor is usually still mounted on the outside of the transmission but the gear shifter linkage/shifter selector shaft runs through the switch before ever connecting with mechanical pieces inside the transmission.

Ford Neutral Safety Switch, Chrysler Shift Lever bushings, Toyota Neutral Safety Switch/Range Sensor

The symptoms are surprisingly similar whether it is a problem with a newer range sensor system or an old-style neutral safety switch with mechanical throttle and shifter linkage. Symptoms may include:

• Starter only works if the gear shifter is moved to neutral
• Backup lights do not turn on
• A lugging engine starts to overheat because the transmission is not downshifting correctly
• Erratic gear shifting
• A shuddering or slipping sensation because of rapid, excessive torque converter lockup and release
• Cruise control system will not work because it is unsure about what gear the transmission is in

The newer vehicles are also likely to generate computer trouble codes, activate dash warning lights and/or go into a limp-in mode where the transmission just stays in one gear. PRNDL indicator lights may randomly turn on and off.

The newer neutral safety switch/range sensors are often exposed to water, salt, heat and other hazards that can damage the many delicate electrical contacts inside. The solution is to unplug and unbolt the old switch/sensor and take care to install the new switch/sensor so it is oriented on the shift shaft just like the old part was (often with the gear selector/shift shaft in the neutral position).

Old-style neutral safety switches are also exposed to a hostile environment and wear out. If the only problem is the backup lights do not turn on or the starter only works with the transmission in neutral, then just replacing the neutral safety switch may be enough. However, if some of the other symptoms above occur, then the problem may be with the mechanical throttle/shift linkage. Instead of bad electrical signals like with a newer system, there are bad mechanical movements because the linkage is out of adjustment since parts have bent, stretched or broken. Missing or worn plastic "shift lever control rod bushings" (found under "Transmission-Automatic") are often the culprit. The transmission cannot be solidly put in the right gear or downshift in response to accelerator pedal movement because the mechanical linkage is broken or sloppily loose.

Systems have kept changing. Most new vehicles built since around 2020 have become even more drive-by-wire. There is no longer any mechanical gear shifter linkage or distinct, external neutral safety switch/range sensor.

Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com

To read more of Tom's articles, choose from story titles on the Newsletter Archives page.

I work on a lot of cars for family, friends, etc. and I've collected around 900 magnets in total. My 4Runner is even on one! I think this might be one of the largest collections!

Mikey in Wisconsin

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