Interesting Problem

[Precise1]

I was climbing a long, slow windy hill today. It's cold misty weather and the pathy was pulling fine, I watched the coolant temp gauge, but it never went up to 40%. I stop at a stop sign near the top, tried to accelerate, and virtually nothing happened. RPM and noise but nothing more than a surge of movement, even when locked in 1st. (Only tried it twice and for a couple of seconds). I look at the dash to check the coolant temp gauge and for the A/T temp idiot light and nothing. Nothing as in the entire dash is dead other than the battery light dimly illuminated. No tach, speedo, heater, etc. Lights, signal, stereo works fine. I had OD turned off climbing the hill, and it's a paved road.

 

I back a few feet to get out of the way, popped the hood and let it idle in park 5+ minutes to cool off the tranny in case the A/T temp light had come on. The dash could not have been dead more than a few minutes anyway. The motor runs perfect.

 

I get turned around and I think the tranny is in safe more (second gear) I can get it to start rolling reasonably when locked in first and can manually shift to second (with a jolt) I did not feel any other shifting occurring (not that I tried much). I limped home on back roads about 40 mph, stopped and got beer and got home. Reverse seems to work fine for the little bit I tested it. Instant response, power, just like normal. Once I shut it off, I tried to restart it. Nothing, the dash is still dead and the ignition does nothing, not a click anywhere.

 

I haven't checked anything yet (drizzly rain and I decided to have a beer first) but I'm positive the battery is fine and the connections are good...

I'm thinking some sort of relay or something and about to start searching and reading the FSM. #1 is get the dash working to do the diagnostics on the A/T, right??

 

The funny thing is I have a tranny temp gauge that is already mounted in the dash, just not wired or sensor plumbed because I was waiting for the inline filter element so I could do it all in one shot. It would have given me good info, unless it was tied into the dimmer circut and I lost that too.

 

B

 

Fluid looks good yet smells slightly petroleum (don't understand how that can be); I doubt that is the issue.

Edited November 22, 2009 by Precise1
more info

[Terrano1992]

Check fuses and fusible links at first...

[Tungsten]

if you run a bypassed cooler, your transmission probably went into safe mode from uphill driving *shrug*

[Precise1]

It quit raining so I messed with it a bit.

 

Check fuses and fusible links at first...

Fuses all looked fine, and I swapped out the 2 fusible links and the main and check relay from the parts truck (damn, that's handy!!). No difference...

 

if you run a bypassed cooler, your transmission probably went into safe mode from uphill driving *shrug*

It wasn't like I was towing up Everest!! I have an after market cooler, is that what you mean??

10 minutes moderate load on the tranny, that can't be an issue or no one would keep them.

 

One thing I noticed is a section of wiring harness that was laying against the passenger collector flange and I can see the copper of one wire, but the rest of the damage is cosmetic. Damn, I hope something didn't short the tranny brain!! The exhaust shop must not have have tied them up when they replaced the O2 sensor, I know I did!!

 

Anyway, maybe it means nothing, maybe it is the key. I still don't have any dash or ignition power though. Still searching, etc. The annoying part is that I was going to take it to get the ARB fitted tomorrow. Doesn't seem likely now... :sigh:

 

B

[JesseLivingston]

That's brutal. My only advice is to keep drinking beer and hopefully it will repair itself. I've had lot's of strange things happen to my trucks but nothing like that! Good luck and don't forget the beer.

[headpeace]

thankfully u got it home, that's all I got

[Precise1]

That's brutal. My only advice is to keep drinking beer and hopefully it will repair itself. I've had lot's of strange things happen to my trucks but nothing like that! Good luck and don't forget the beer.

Yes it is odd, and yes, beer helps salve the frustration but it does not solve the problem. Any good advice or information to share??

 

thankfully u got it home, that's all I got

Thanks and yeah, that;s what I told the GF. Ok if the tranny crapped out, but at least get us home and not make us wait to pay a tow charge. I'm still thinking that this is electrical (wishful thinking?) though. If not the M/T tranny swap is sitting in the driveway.

 

Ideas and info still welcome of course. I'll be diving into this first thing tomorrow...

 

B

[TerranoNZ]

Check fuses and fusible links at first...

 

That happened to me after getting the trans back in... I kinda knew that I would of left a harness loose.

Dash went dead and no shifting, I limped in to course, found the wires that had melted on the header. Tied it up out of the way...Still nothing.

Checked fuses and found 1 dead, replaced it and vroom

 

Hope yours is that easily solved B. It could be worse..... BELIEVE ME

 

I'd be checking for more melted wires.

 

 

Now..... FIX MY COOLING PROBLEM

[GrimGreg]

I doubt you over heated or otherwise mechanically did any damage to your tranny B. There is probably some electrical signal that wasn't getting to the tranny ECU. Whatever is causing your dead dash is probably the source of all trouble.

[Simon]

Yeah, sounds electrical to me as well.

 

You said your battery light was slightly illuminated? Have you checked the battery for voltage since you got nothing after shutting it down? Maybe your alternator gave up?

 

Anyways, I spent a good 45-60 minutes just looking at all the hoses/wires that run anywhere near the headers. There were a few that run down the inner fender that I was concerned about, so I tied them back.

 

Also, with your body lift, double check that the grommets in the body are in place, and properly protecting the wires that travel through them. Sometimes, the grommets pull out, instead of the wires pulling through them to give you the lift. It's possible some of the wires to your tranny got frayed/broken.

[Terrano1992]

Fuses all looked fine, and I swapped out the 2 fusible links and the main and check relay from the parts truck (damn, that's handy!!). No difference...

Next step - "Ignition Relay" (blue relay at the top of fuse panel). Dashboard and A/T control unit are powered through this relay and one common fuse. Look at page EL-7 of 1994 FSM.

[Precise1]

Ok, looked at EL-7, went out and checked the 10 amp fuse labled "meter" and it was blown. Replaced it and the truck fired right up with gauges working. Haven't driven it yet, but I'm about recheck the header bolts, take the winch off of the ARB, and go for a drive (with spare fuses).

 

I'm both happy that it is that simple and embarrassed; I thought I checked all the fuses... Now, let's see if it was justa fluke, or if there is a root cause...

 

Thanks T1992, you chased it down faster than I did from 1/2 the world away!!

 

B

[Terrano1992]

Glad to hear you have a problem solved.

The funny thing is I have a tranny temp gauge that is already mounted in the dash, just not wired or sensor plumbed because I was waiting for the inline filter element so I could do it all in one shot. It would have given me good info, unless it was tied into the dimmer circut and I lost that too.

Take the power directly from ignition relay (through additional "in-line" fuse, of course).

Or you can create "uninterruptible power source" using 2 suitable diodes. Connect anode lead of each diode to a circuit point where you want to get power (for example, to "Meter" fuse and "Fuel pump" fuse), then connect cathodes together and take a power for additional gauges from this point. Don't forget about fuse rated equal or lower than maximum current allowed for used diodes.