I have a 1995 Xplorer that has started dying when I put it in reverse. By this, I mean it stalls completely as soon as I put it in. If I use the override switch, it will idle and run fine in reverse. Forward gears and neutral work fine.

It just started doing this about 6 months ago. Battery is fairly new and seems to have all the power I need to start. Can a bad battery cause this problem. I was under the impression that the spark plug is grounded out in reverse to limit power.

Any ideas what else could be my problem?

 

A dead battery can cause the damage to cause the issue you are having. By replacing the battery, it still may not work correctly as the damage is done already. Most of the time the reverse limiter box is bad. Simple replacement usually fixes it. On rare occasions there can be other problems. Check it out first.

 

Find the reverse limiter box and unplug te black wire and your problem will be solved but you will have to watch out in reverse because it will run as fast as you give it gas.