Archived Gear Vendors Over-drive

[dciapponi]

Anyone having a problem with their cruise control working in 6th gear over-drive with a Gear Vendors over-drive unit engaged and 3. 54 gears?

 

[Andy Perreault]

I had that problem with my truck ('97 5-speed 4x4 w/3. 54's). Very annoying. I knew someone with the same year truck, same gearing, etc. , and their cruise control worked fine in 5th with the GV on. My cruise control would work okay in 5th without the GV on, or 4th with the GV on, but not 5th with the GV on. I called Gear Vendors and they said they were aware of the problem, some Dodges work fine and others don't, and they don't have a fix for it. They said they'd put me on a list of people to contact when they figured it out.

Last summer my GV unit let go with a bang. My solution: I had it removed!

Andy

 

[Mundgyver]

What exactly is the problem Does the cruise control surge?? If so I have a fix for surging.

 

[Andy Perreault]

Originally posted by Mundgyver

What exactly is the problem Does the cruise control surge?? If so I have a fix for surging.

No, in my situation, it wasn't a surge, it just plain would not work. Hit the set button, and nothing happens, just like the cruise wasn't turned on. I even tried to "fool" it by setting the cruise in 5th and then engaging the overdrive, but as soon as I did, the cruise would disengage.

Andy

 

[Mundgyver]

Ouch !! Something does not sound right. Did you double check the wiring for the gear vendors unit. I think I would start there and see where it is tied into.

 

[dciapponi]

My truck has a little different problem. It engages (sometimes you have to hold the cruise button for an unusual amount of time though) and holds for a short period of time then disengages. I got some support from Dodge in the beginning but they finally diagnosed the problem as the PCM (computer). They said that the PCM reads road speed and RPM and that with the Gear Vendors unit engaged the readings the computer receives fall outside the specified range of the PCM and the computer shuts off the cruise. The guys at Gear Vendors know this and have refused to create a fix for the problem. It seems like a lot of people with 3. 54 gears have this problem. I have been going round and round with Gear Vendors (for 22 months now) about this problem and it looks like there is not going to be a solution the "3. 54 Dodge" problem. I've asked the for a refund and am yet to get a response. They told me that my warranty would not be jeopardized until they found a solution to the problem. I would not recommend the Gear Vendors unit to anyone that wants to use the unit on the hwy. with cruise control.

 

[Utah Willie]

Gear-vendors overdrive

My guess is that it is a GV problem, not Dodge's. I have a U. S. Gear O/D with 3:54s behind a five-speed manual. I have not had any hint of trouble. If my ECM reads road speed Vs engine RPM and cuts out because it falls outside the prescription, I would think it would do likewise with mine...

 

[dciapponi]

Utah, what year is your truck?

 

[jrobinson1]

Running a 97 2500 4x4 5 speed 3. 54's US gear OD no probs for 10k. Pull anything anywhere, OD works fine any gear.



I thought the ECM only checks to see if were over a certain speed regardless of gearing ... otherwise big tires would hose up cruise too. Are you running lrg tires and OD i'm on 285's



Maybe you have a vacuum leak and when OD is engaged you RPM's are so low vacuum can't keep CC on. Try same RPM's 4th over and see if CC engages.



I can see your frustration. It would be interesting to see if you truck would do the same with a US gear. I wonder if anyone with your prob has tried switching to US gear OD. Anybody?????



HTH



james

 

[Utah Willie]

Gear Vendors Overdrive

I drive a '99 3500. I carry a Lance (2500#) when towing the boat (5000#) or tow the Alfa... 13,000+. The OD was installed at 16k and I now have 55k. Other than the annoying CLUNK that tells me I've not synchronized my clutch/RPM/load properly, I've had no problem (KOW. . Knock On Wood).....