95 Only shifting manually

[rrtat]

Hi everyone---hope I am putting thsi in the right place.

 

I've got a 95 SE V6 4WD Auto that was running just fine until very recently. Everything was functioning correclty and then next time I went to drive it it would barely take off---figured out that manually starting in first gear (1) and shifting up to second and then drive made it driveable but have been refraining other than testing things.

 

Fluid looks good and it runs fine---except for the fact it seems stuck in high gear if I simply put it in drive. I did notice that the light on the ec/power switch on the left side flashed 3 times when we turned the key on.

 

Have not been off roading or anything but I had loaned the vehicle to someone who probably drove half a mile on a flat front tire the day before this started. Nothing else out of the ordinary

 

I am not overburdened with free time and was gettign ready to sell this (extra car) but don't want to pass on somethign that is going to cost mroe to fix than I am asking for it.

 

Any input or pointers would be greatly appreciated.

[Terranovation]

I'm thinking they put it in 4wd 4H mode by accident, hence the drop in power. Hope they weren't driving on tarmac in 4wd mode that's a good way to destroy your transfer.

[ebayfish]

I know when that happened in my dodge 3500, it was the transmission synchronizer transducer, if I remember that correctly. Maybe this age one of truck has one too. The flashing ev/power switch was brought up in one of my previous posts. Is it flashing orange or green? You may need to reset your computer & check for loose electrical connections.

[Slartibartfast]

The tranny is clearly going into third gear, which is its fail-safe. This suggests that the transmission computer has found a fault. If it was just the transfer case binding up, shifting manually into lower gears would not be necessary or helpful.

 

You can download the factory service manual from here. The AT section has a bit where you can decode the flashes of the power mode switch to tell you what made the computer go into limp mode. That'll tell you what to fix.

 

Hopefully it's something simple.

[rrtat]

Ill look into those things----thanks very much.

 

I am 99.9% certain it was not in 4wd at any time.

[Jacob211]

Shift solenoid pack is bad.

 

I had chased this issue for 2 weeks.

 

shift solenoid A controls gears 1 and 3 and shift solenoid B controls gears 2 and 4. On my automatic tranny shift solenoid B is bad and won't into 4th gear. So with the gear selector in Drive it would start in 3rd gear unless manually put into 1st.

 

Instead of paying $300 for a shift solenoid pack. I eliminated my TCM and shift with toggle switches wired to the tranny. I know it sounds weird but it works extremely well.

 

I still don't have 4th gear but I can't lock the TC in 3rd. At cruising speed of 60mph my tach sits at 3000RPM it's a little high but not bad.

[ebayfish]

If anyone needs some good solenoids, ive got my old transmission sitting in the garage, maybe work a trade out

[rrtat]

Ok

 

Went through the FSM diagnostic process and it says shift solenoid b is bad. I did recently put some lucas in it as the trans fluid was a half quart low before this happend fyi.

 

aaAnyway, I do not want to spend 300-400 fixing it--I've got way too much into already (>3000K) and jsut need to get it in condition to sell as I need $ to fix other vehichles.

 

Any thoughts? If not how do I bypass the transmission control unit?

 

I am in central tx this thing has a strong motor, new ball joints, cv axles, etc, perfect body- even the heated seats work and I'd be happy to get $1200 out of it--but quickly so any suggestions on fixing it quick and cheap (any parts I put in has to go onto the price) to accomplish this wou7ld be appreciated. I wlill not scab or hide anything and screw someone over so "tricks" are not wanted.

 

 

[Slartibartfast]

You might check on the wiring to the tranny before accepting that the solenoid is in fact shot. I imagine the TCU wouldn't know the difference between a busted solenoid and a corroded connector. Might be a long shot.

 

 

[rrtat]

Ok...

 

I have not located the transmission contol unit--

 

I soent a couple hours today looking for it to test but no luck finding it

[Slartibartfast]

I was thinking more of the wiring on the outside of the transmission, if that's what you're talking about.

 

The transmission computer is in the back of the truck, behind the passenger's side cargo area lower trim panel. It's in the way of removing the factory audio amps, so there are a few pictures of it here:

[ebayfish]

I'm sending solenoid "B" to rrtat, I want to make sure he gets the right one. Pictured is 2 that were on the side of the main plate, which I had to drop to get to, the one pictured in bottom right was on the plate, visible as soon as I opened the pan. I noticed that 2 of the bolts for this one, were stamped "b" opposed to"7" as all others were. Is this "Solenoid B" or is it one of the other two pictured?

Edited December 9, 2014 by ebayfish