Out plowing last night without a problem. Nice easy driveway. GO to drive down the road onto the next one and OD no longer works. Then I notice that my speedo isn't working either. PUll over, check the switches that go into the back of the tranny (have had problems in the past with that) and it is still attached and seems to be ok.

So, what I have. NO OD, NO speedo, gear linkage I think it loose as it has slid down a little where 'D' (3rd gear) is more on the 2 instead of 'D'. I did work on the TV Cable the other day, everything seemed to work great for 2 days after that. Tranny does kick into 'N' now and then unless selector is on the 2.

Taking today off to try and adjust linkage (shows in FSM) and hopefully all comes back. I also plan on taking off my speedo from tranny (wire tied on for now to hold it) and take a look at that to see if switch is still good (any way to test, meter??).

Anything else I should be looking for, Crank sensor? TPS looked ok last night, anything else would stop the speedo from working? I assume no sppedo, TPS doesn't know when to shift so I think all are related.

Thanks.

 

Well, at least you could still move the snow!

I don't think it is your crank sensor, because that would have killed your alternator too -- and I figure you'd 'a noticed that out plowing at night. When you say take the speedo switch off the tranny, I am thinking that you mean the inductive sending unit? A brute force check on that should be (I haven't tried it on THIS sender though) to spin it, and see if it puts out an AC voltage -- that will tell you if it is totally dead. Don't forget to check that the output yoke is tight, too, as someone had trouble with the drive gear slipping a while back . . . I hope it isn't wiring, that could be a PITA to find.

I'm starting to get jealous of your plow, by the way, hydraulic wings would be nice . . .

Good luck,

Alec

 

Good diagnosis, Alec. The other somewhat common problem has been the drive hex stripping out.

 

I think it turns out to be that thing hanging off the back side of the trans. 5 years ago, it fell out while driving down the road. I just used wire to tie wrap it back on and has worked great every since. Distance sensor looks ok, but the OD adapter's gears look pretty worn in side. Then I assume that the Pinion gear that goes from the trans tailshaft to the OD adapter has some gear off the tranny. Mine came out in pieces and I only have the part that goes into the adapter. Dodge says it should be a 30 tooth gear. I count only 12 on mine so the other end must still be in there . No speedo, no OD. Dodge wanted $35 for the new adapter and pinion gear. Not bad but will take about 4 days to get here. So I have noticed yesterday, I seem to be driving somewhat slow (not sure of speed, but motor revs around 1700 - 1800 rpm. Today, revs up around 2200 - 2500 rpm. . Maybe by the time parts come in, I will be use to hearing the motor rev so much that I will be driving like normal (65 - 70) but will be revving about 3300 - 3600 rpm or so. . Can't wait for OD to work again.

Thanks to all.

Wings do work wonders. Helps a lot getting close to buildings and stuff.