Hi all
I have lost low, overdrive and lock up in the converter. It all was working fine untill we were on a hunting trip with camper on and jeep in tow while going up the forest service road about fifteen miles I had the trans in low going slow up the hill to camp and the same when we left low all the way down. When we hit the highway the truck wanted to start off in second gear and when up to speed it would not go into overdrive and the converter will not lock up at any time. When we got closer to home I started trying different things and found it will go into low if I put it into nutural then to low and manualy shift to drive. I did try to reset the computer with disconecting the battery and I did check the tv cable and all connections. Fluid full and does not smell burnt at all. Any ideas would be very helpful. I was planning on a DTT trans later on, just not this soon as I just put a new Blue Chip injection pump on . Truck has 95000 miles on it . Thanks in advance. Larry

 

Check your fluid first off, going that far at that slow of speed I'm betting your fluid is roasted.


phox

 

I'm betting your solenoids or governors went out on you. Happened to me and it did the same thing your's is doing.

 

Check the relay/fuse box under the hood- probabily a fuseable link burnt out- dealer only part. If the tranny loses power to the governor and relays this is "limp mode". I will caution you to inspect the tranny before replacing that link!!

I had this issue last winter and I am fighting the insurance co over it because this issue caused an engine fire.

In the tranny valve body there is a pressure spring which is held in place by a metal clip- said metal clip apparently can break (semi common in the 518 tranny I am told by the tranny shop), it usually falls harmlessly to the pan bottom and poor shifting results. My clip fell on the OD soliniod shorting out the main 12V power feed into the tranny, toasting itself and the governer solinoid causing the fusable link to fail.
Here's the dangerious part:
Upon replaceing the fuseable link cartridge (and keeping a meter in line looking for a possible problem- seeing no abnormal voltage OR current spikes) the short caused the wires at the main wirting harness transmission harness to fry- literally vaporizing the connection pins from both plugs for that 12 feed wire, melting the plug and the harness.

Now, the master wiring harness is a $1600 item, special order from Detroit- takes 4-6 weeks to get, plus it's a major installation. The soliniods and relays in the tranny plus harness needed to be replaced also, and the clip that caused it all in the first place was replaced. My mechanic was able to find a wiring harness intact in a junk yard by chance (1 out of 10 yards happened to have one) and spliced it in for a temporary fix until I can replace the whole harness. Total cost close to a grand! Close to $2500 still to be spent on the new master harness.

 

I say BIG BLUE WINS THE PRIZE!!! .....most likely you need the gov transducer and solenoid. The dealer parts guys should be VERY familiar with the part number.....also, while your there, get the re-usable pan gasket, new filter and some ATF +4. Also be sure to check the l/r band while the pan is down. Kickdown band is adjustable external.

 

Thanks all for the info . I took the truck to the dealer and they say it needs a new trans they think the converter came apart? They tell me there is metal shavings it the valve body causing it to hang up? I took the truck home and pulled the pan to see for myself it had no metal but was very dirty with black clutch material this could be from all the third gear starts? justme can you tell me where this fusable link is? I do have power to the trans fuse and the relay the relay does click with the truck running when you pull it out and reinsurt it . Thanks for all the help Larry

 

I would still love to see the governor psi reading with a scan tool. While a trans failure is always likely the "wouldn't go into first unless pulled manually" and "no od or lockup" are pretty big indicators that the above mentioned solenoid and transducer is inop. Any chance you have a second opinion close by?

 

Problem solved. After a lot of reading and cussing I pulled the pan down again and removed the solenoids and did a ohm test on them and found the two solenoids one had continuity and one did not so I bent open the bracket and found a broken wire in the coil at the connector it looks like it broke from vibration. I soldered in a short piece of wire and put it all back together and to my suprise the trans works perfect now I still need to replace the solienoids and service the trans. I am sure it took some of the life away but a least its working again for now. Many thanks for all the advice. Larry

 

for future reference- in the 94-97 under the hood in the inner fender drivers side behind the battery is a black box that contains relays and fuseable links. Links in the Dodges are cartridge type fuses (dealer only parts too dammit). One of those is for the tranny. May be inside the dash for the 98+ I don't know.