I have a 1999 dodge 2500 4x4 cummins. the auto in this thing is acting crazy and getting worse. here are my symptoms..

It doesnt seem to be slipping, it is more of a not complete gear engage. Amost like it is stuck in neutral when you first shift from park to drive or any other selection on the column, then POP!! right into gear. It has the most problems when it is cold.
when i am driving on the road and it shifts into overdrive, it shifts back and fourth like it cant make up its mind what gear it wants to be in. but if i mash it, everything works great. i can floor it all day long and it will shift and perform perfect.
when i turn corners, it downshifts almost to neutral, its real weird, only when i turn corners.
And when i come to a stop, instead of sownshifting to 1st, it goes to neautral, so when i start going again it pops back in after a sec of revving.

Anyone have any idea what is happening here?? its like it is confused.....

PLease help, its getting real bad, and now starting to leak...

Thanks

Steve

281-924-1989

 

"it leaks" "slips when turning" .....that sounds like classic low fluid scenario.

"shifts in/out" YUK!!! What's happening is your JTEC controller is seeing a voltage input and locking and un-locking your torque convertor clutch. Easy cheesy first thing I'd do is to clean the batteries and make sure they are in good condition.

"And when i come to a stop, instead of sownshifting to 1st, it goes to neautral, so when i start going again it pops back in after a sec of revving." .....possible back to that low fluid thing, but I've also seen cracked l/r band servo cause this.

 

thanks for the info, the leak is not bad, coming from forward lines. fluid level is perfect.

 

A few months ago my auto was acting up. When i got to about 4th gear the the rpms were going up and down like it couldnt decide what it wanted to do. I felt pretty sure it wasnt the tranny but I took it to the dealer and he said it was probably my battery. We popped the hood and one of the batteries was corroded and he said that was the one for the electrical system. The factory battery was still on the truck and it wasnt in the best of shape. Put a new battery on it and the problem went away. I dont think this all your problem but maybe some of it.

 

My truck is an 01 and I had a similar problem just last week. It was shifting in and out at about 35 MPH. "Hunting" is the term used if you're going to do a search.

Solution is clean you ground wire on batteries. There is also a ground wire on Pass side battery that goes into the wiring harness up under the alt. mounitng bracket on top of the alt. Make sure the connection down near the battery is good and clean. Then, take some alum foil and wrap around the ground wire for just where it comes out of the harness and down to the battery. You probably need to wrap it with some tape or eventually cover it with "something pretty". You're getting feedback off the ground and it's effecting the PCM. You might want to clean the PCM ground wire also. You just have remove the air filter box and it's easy to get to.

 

i keeo hearing about adjusting the bands.. what does this involve, i am not familiar with that

 

There is a link somewhere on this site for the band adjustment....

Sounds like it may be more than just loose bands, though -

The other posts seem to be spot on, it may be e-noise, you should probably go through and clean up all the connections....

Keep up posted, this is a problem than several others seem to have / have dealt with!

Good luck -

Rauschbo

 

I had to clean the battery terminals and posts on mine to fix the problem when mine did it a year or so ago.

 

which battery are you guys findinf withthe prob

 

Battery on the Passenger side was the problem with me

 

Just double checking....
Are you aware that you need to set the parking brake, start the truck, run it through Forward & Reverse, leave it running in Park or Neutral to check the fluid level?

Sorry if this seems stupidly simple, but we've seen it before.

The dropping out of gear especially in corners sounds like a classic "Low Fluid" condition.
Try adding a pint or so of ATF and see if it still happens.

 

yes sir, i have done it multiple times.. just bc people have reccomended it so much

 

I'm wondering if the trans filter might be clogged, or has come loose.

 

Yep - hunting is the ECM's confusion from noise, etc. (dare I say factory programming? )
The slipping symptoms are low fluid pressure for sure - just have to find out why... I had to deal with all this stuff on my '98.

The good news is, even if they're not working right, they'll usually won't leave ya on the side of the road.

 

Yer right about that.
I drove mine about 300 miles from Raleigh NC to Arlington Va with the auto tranny in limp mode.
The trip took approx. 5 hours @ ~55mph = ~2800 rpm with no OD.