recently i noticed my truck kicking in and out of overdrive at around 45mph. it wasnt that big of a deal until yesterday morning. the temp. here has dropped in to the 40s and i hadn't drove my truck for 3 or 4 days, well i go out yesterday morning and start my truck and it was slow cranking over once it was started i headed out of town and i hit a little hill at about 45mph and it started kicking in and out of overdrive really bad. it kicked in and out 4 or 5 times but after that it seemed okay again. could i have a bad battery causing it all?

 

Yes, bad battery could certainlly be a issue. Check both batteries separatelly. Remove alt and have it bench tested at same time. If both are old would recomend replacing as a pair.
That said, now need to check all terminals for corrosion, expecially grounds and battery terminals. You may find it necessary to add a capicator to alt positive teminal. It kills RFI(noise) that sometimes causes up-down shift issues. I had to shield some wiring also.

 

thanks Dozer for the reply. im going to test the batteries again tomorrow. i had them tested at a local parts store, but it was some young high school kid that is probably still looking for blinker fluid. lol

 

I'm glad you brought this up. I just bought a 99 2500 diesel. It had a problem with jumping out of overdrive. As part of the deal the dealership would fix the problem. They said they found a loose ground connection. I also have a 97 1500 with the 318 gas. For the last 2 years the transmission shifts fine all summer, then as it gets colder it has a hard time shifting on the highway. I have to let off the gas let it shift and then resume. Could this be electrical problem also?

 

i run the walmart batteries and i took them in an had them checked on there machine and one of my batteries ended up being bad, so far my truck is acting a lot better.

electroman: your problem with your 97' sounds more like a check valve in your tranny line, since your tranny should be the hydraulic version (47rh) instead of the electrical(47re). at least i think thats right, i could be wrong