Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Trans problems again

[ksterrett]

My truck is haveing the same old problems with its trans. again . The local dodge dealer rebuilt this about one year ago (20000 mi. ) and this seamed to solve its problems . Now when you are driving at 70-75 the trans will shift down to another gear and then back to OD and also when the cruse control is on around the same speed it will shut itself off ??? , I 'm ready to trade this truck off on something else , I just don't think that this truck is very trustworthy . Thanks for any help you guys can give me . Ken S.

 

[01smokinram]

transmission

Almost sounds like the kick-down cable is out of adjustment. take it to a transmission shop and see if they do free troulbeshooting to find out what the problem is or byte the bullet and get a good transmission installed by one of the high performance transmission builders.

 

[inarush76]

don't throw in towel

cold simply be brake switch bad or out of adjustment on cruise problem, other problem could be speed sensor glitching or a reflash may cure it. Good luck.

James

 

[TowPro]

Re: don't throw in towel

What is the common thread here.



You are running down the road with Cruise on and suddenly it shuts off.



You are running down the road in OD and Suddenly the converter unlocks.



Both of these can be accomplished by tapping the brake pedal with your foot.



OK, so your not tapping the brakes (your not driving with 2 feet, with one just resting on the brake pedal?), but a brake light switch on the brake pedal that is adjusted loose (or going bad) might "flash" your brake lights on a bump in the highway, causing both of the above to happen.

Originally posted by inarush76

cold simply be brake switch bad or out of adjustment on cruise problem, other problem could be speed sensor glitching or a reflash may cure it. Good luck.

James

 

[BillGotthelf]

All the above ideas are good ones but it could be gremlins in the pcm/ecm area. After checking dozens of 24 valve auto trans through a computer it appears that all had a problem with the TC locking and unlocking. Most happened for fractions of a second and were caused by voltage fluctuations to the lockup controller. On my truck it was fluctuating about . 12 volts. That was enough to cause it to unlock (56 times) and lock (184 times) in one second. Dodge knows about this problem and has come out with some "fixes" that may or may not work. It seems that these voltage spikes are caused by electrical interference from other sources such as battery, alternator, lift pump, etc. They appear to get worse with age. I cleaned up 90% of my problem by cleaning the small grounding pins on the ecm/pcm plug in behind the air filter housing. I have taken the info I have collected about the problem to an electrical engineer/hot rod builder and he has developed a small box that totally eliminated these voltage spikes in 3 different years (99, 2001, 2003) trucks we tested it on. It also seemed to give the trans a little more pep (eliminates some of the pcm info). He is still developing this fix but I am totally impressed with what he has done so far.

 

[ksterrett]

Hey Billgotthelf I think you might have something , I know my problems are electrical so this " small box " my have the answers to my problems . Can you give me so info on this box ? where can I buy one ? . Thanks for your help, Ken S.

 

[Dane]

I'd try connecting a "noise filter" used to eliminate stereo static on gas engines where the power is fed to the ecm/pcm. JC Whitney or you local car stereo store will have them. They are just coils in series and capacitors in parallel with the 12vdc supply line. While you're in there clean the electrical connectors with a product called "DeOxit" or other good electronic contact cleaner/conditioner. Pay particular attention to any ground straps. They can corrode where they make ground at the chassis.