Cold Shifting
 

I've had this problem for a couple of years. Let me know what you think it might be. <br><br>When the night time temps fall below 45 or so my tranny will not shift into third all the time. I will get on the highway on my way to work and it tops out at 50-55mph in second. Sometimes if I backoff the throttle and hit it again it will kick up to third. Sometimes I get stuck driving for 10 minutes at slow speeds and it will finally kick up. Now in third on the highway if the speed drops to 50mph or lower in traffic it will drop back to second or bounce back and forth between second and third. This will go on for 30 to 45 minutes. Once the day warms up it goes away but if it stays cold all day it can be intermintent. Never happens in the warmer months of the year.<br><br>Transmission or fuel system?<br><br>Jay

Re:Cold Shifting
 

I know this shouldn't be temperature related, but alot of problems like that are from the Throttle Position Sensor. Maybe the cold weather makes the connections all funky in the sensor itself ???<br><br>I had a service van (dodge 360-auto) that had to be neutral dropped to get it to go into overdrive in the cold at highway speed. Never did figure out what the problem was there, but it was the tranny...Similar problem?? ???<br><br>J-eh

Re:Cold Shifting
 

My truck does the same thing, but not as bad. I've been told the oil &quot;thicken's&quot; when it's cold. When your warming it up try putting it in neutral or drive with the parking brake on to warm up the transmission fluid ???.

Re:Cold Shifting
 

Well, Im glad to know Im not alone.<br><br>My truck does something close to that. <br>While it shifts into third ok, the lock up function does not engage until the tranny warms up.<br><br>I can feel it shift, 1st, 2nd, 3rd... 3rd.... 3rd... no lockup.<br>Once I stop and start a few times (Warming the tranny) I get the lockup back and the truck works fine from there on?<br><br>Im guessing its just due to cold fluid. I dont really know.<br> ???<br>Rich

Re:Cold Shifting
 

Mine does it too. Won't go into OD until it warms up. I once asked a service manager at a local Dodge dealership about and he told me it was normal. ???<br><br>I have had my TPS replaced once and that mad no difference.<br><br>I have also have a second intermitten downshifting problem. When cruising down the highway with the OD Off button in the off position (disengaged, in otherwords, I am in OD and the converter clutch is engaged) the OD Off engages for no apparent reason. The RPMs shoot up and the OD Off light comes on. I hit the OD Off button to disengage and the RPMs drop back to where they were as the OD and converter clutch engage. Then everything is fine. Anyone ever seen that before? Happens about once every 6 months (7k miles).

Re:Cold Shifting
 

My 95 does the long shift into OD,when it's cold and won't do lockup until 40 degrees. In the owners manual it tells that its normal.

Re:Cold Shifting
 

jsc01: Regarding the problem of dropping out of OD intermittently, since the &quot;OD off&quot; indicator is also coming on, the OD Off switch might have a flaky set of contacts. You could try spraying contact cleaner inside the switch the best you could and then operate the switch several times. If the contacts are the problem, this might correct it.

Re:Cold Shifting
 

I'm beggining to see a pattern here! I wonder if this common to a particular tranny. How do I tell which automatic I have ??? How about the others who are experiencing similar problems? Year? Transmission?<br><br>Very curious indeed [undecided]<br><br>Jay

Re:Cold Shifting
 

jbolt,<br><br>If your driving a 93 you have the A518 tranny. It is a 727 with an OD unit.<br>Intermittent OD is most often caused by the TPS as Lil' Dog mentioned.<br>Also, OD will not engage if the tranny temp is below a certain temp but it does not take long to reach the right temp unless your in serious serious subzero temps.<br>No third gear is a different story. Your throttle valve linkage may be out of adjustment, or you could have some sticking internally going on, fluid level is off, VB problem, or something else.<br>BTW, the A518 is a pretty good tranny so don't discount it yet.<br>May I suggest you call Bill Kondolay at DTT<br>Here's the link for his site...<br>http://www.dieseltrans.com/<br>Toll Free: 1-866-504-4002<br>They will give you all sorts of info and tips, even if you're not a customer of theirs.<br>While your at it say hi to Bill or Shanti for me too..<br><br>Bob.<br><br><br><br>

Re:Cold Shifting
 

[quote author=DieselDaze link=board=16;threadid=6389;start=0#59973 date=1036094371]<br>Well, Im glad to know Im not alone.<br><br>My truck does something close to that. <br>While it shifts into third ok, the lock up function does not engage until the tranny warms up.<br><br>I can feel it shift, 1st, 2nd, 3rd... 3rd.... 3rd... no lockup.<br>Once I stop and start a few times (Warming the tranny) I get the lockup back and the truck works fine from there on?<br><br>Im guessing its just due to cold fluid. I dont really know.<br> ???<br>Rich<br>[/quote]<br><br>when you are in this situation of 'no lockup', what is the max mph you can get up to? <br><br>I have had a problem of erratic shifting. i get up to 2200 rpm and then back to 2000 rpm. it does this several times if i have the accelerator to the floor going up a hill, sometimes just on the flats.<br><br>also, i cannot go faster than 65mph now?? is this a sign that the trasmission is bad or the TPS/temperature sensor?

Re:Cold Shifting
 

Sorry to sound dense here but what do you mean by lockup?

Re:Cold Shifting
 

&quot;Lockup&quot; means the converter clutch is engaged. At least that is what I am taking it to mean.

Re:Cold Shifting
 

I took my truck to the local transmission guru and he said the problem was in something he called a &quot;FIPLE&quot; (sp?) switch. If you're looking under the hood, it is located on the engine toward the top front of the driver's side. He said it was caused by a connection on the switch in the 45 to 55 mph range that just wears out. He said a new one would cost about $300, so he took mine off, rotated it a little and stuck it back on and charged me $75. It helped some, but I still think I'd like a new one. Trouble is I don't know exactly what I'm trying to find. I could use some help on exactly what this thing is called.