Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) Winter transmission problems

[Houston Dually]

I have a 1997, 3500 extended cab, 4wd, auto, fully loaded, with stock Cummins. A couple hundred miles shy of 100K. I’ve had an on-going “seasonal transmission problem” for the past (3) winters. Bear with me because this description will get lengthy……



Whenever cold weather hits here in Pittsburgh, PA and the air temp goes below 35 or 38 F, from a dead cold morning start up, the transmission starts out in second or third gear and will not shift. I’ve tried to manually shift thru the gears, but this does not help. Allowing it to warm up, doesn’t help either. The only way I have found to get around this is as follows:



Once I have traveled an eighth of a mile on up to a quarter mile, I have to stop, shut her down, wait 20 to 30 seconds, then fire back up. Once I go thru this process it shifts just like a champ. Anytime after that, if the truck sits cold for several hours, I have to repeat the process before going on my way.



My local Dodge dealer was absolutely no help in diagnosing this problem. Over the course of (2) winters, they put it on the diagnostic machines many times. They proceeded to change various parts on the engine and transmission during 8 or 10 different service visits without solving anything. Fluids have been changed and I don’t know what all else they did. And of course, they had no problem charging me for the work either.



The last time I was at their shop (early Jan 2003) they wanted to change out the entire wiring harness, at a cost to me of $2200. 00. They suggested (“guessed”) that there may be a short somewhere. However, what they didn’t realize was that I had kept previous service paperwork. They had investigated the wiring harness the previous winter, making a point of mending a wire that had the insulation rubbed off at the fire wall. They claimed it had shorted out one of the computers, which they replaced, and said the problem with shifting was fixed. Wrong.



At that point, I reminded the service manager about the previous harness work, he then had a bout of amnesia when he saw the papers, and I then put a stop to that with an up-close and personal “discussion” with him and one of the owners. It was very heated, to say the least. I have since cut all ties to my local Dodge dealer “with extreme prejudice. ”



The problem being intermittent and seemingly weather related doesn’t help matters. Once a nice day comes along then the truck functions fine. If the truck is shut down and re-started, the problem goes away. I’ve now gotten into a habit during the cold months, of starting and stopping just like it’s normal procedure. But on the bright side…. …. . summer driving is great!!!



I hope that with all the knowledge and savvy of the good members and Cummins owners of TDR, that maybe someone out there can help me here. Appreciate your comments.



Thanks,

“Houston Dually”

 

[Hammer]

Houston. .

I am not sure what to tell you other than this and you have a couple of options. Drop Andy Sebek(TDR User SmokinRam) a PM and see if he can help you as he is located in Mt Pleasant,PA. The other option is to contact Doug Conrad at ADT in West Virginia. I do not have any numer for Andy But I'l add a link to Dougs business below. One of them should be able to help you... ... ... Andy



www.smokindiesel.com

 

[Howard Durand]

If you can, the next time you get ready to start out, put some direct heat on the computer with a hair dryer for a few minutes and see if that makes any difference.

I can hardly believe that a wiring harness problem could cause such a predictable result. It is most likely a piece of hardware that changes with temperature and the hardware that controls the transmission is the computer.

 

[CarlJensen]

Sounds like your temp sensing circuit is going senile on you. Sensor feeds computer data that it uses to set shift routine. Bad computer, bad sensor or wire associated with these units. As said contact SmokinRam, he has a lot of good info.

 

[DavidGardner]

My trk. does this when it is cold or it has sat for a few days. I have to drive it for a mile or some times two until the trans temp warms up enough for the computer to alow it to upshift into 4th or od. I read in my owners manual that this is normal and the trans temp has to get to a pre determined temp (over 100 degrees I think) before it will allow the upshift. My trk has over 172,000 miles on it. My DTT trans has 90,000 miles on it and does this. Soon as everything warms up all o. k. Hope this helps.

Dave Gardner

 

[Houston Dually]

Dave,



I have tried to allow the transmission to warm up also. But mine never does return to "normal operation" even after running several miles. On different occassions, I had to drive it to the dealer which is about 5 miles from my place. It never up-shifts. I had to keep it under 15-20 mph so as not to ruin the transmission while it ran in second or whatever gear it decided to run in... ... The dealer had also mentioned that this is normal proceedure sometimes in cold weather. I handed the keys to him and told him to run it till it got "warm. " He came back a half hour later scratching his head and said it still wasn't shifting.



For now, I just do my usual 'cold weather routine' and shut it down, and then restart it.



I am also going to send a message to SmokinRam per the previous messages and see what he has to say about all this. It's really one for the books.



Tim

 

[Houston Dually]

Hammer, Howard D. , Carl J. and Dave G.



Thanks for the suggestion on my transmission problem. I'll pursue them and let you guys know what happens. I'm also going to drop SmokinRam a PM since he's in my local area.



This one really is a head scratcher. Thanks again,



Tim F.

"Houston Dually"

 

[tp0d]

Tim:



Have you changed out the transmission temp sensor at all? Sounds like there is some definite problem somewhere in that line... Hmm a good way to diag the wiring would be to run a new line directly from the sensor to the computer. Mebe when the weather warms up, we can attempt that, but then again the problem wont surface. . hmmmmmmm... well, if you have the skills to attempt that, I can ref the service manual and get some computer pinouts... otherwise, mebe we can meet somewhere where theres a warm garage, and see if the wiring is at fault. .



As for cold running, my transmission has always shifted into 3+/od even at 0°, doesnt matter. I usually run 2nd gear for a bit until I feel its warmed up tho. I also warm it up in neutral while warming up the engine to get the fluid moving thru the warm block heater core.



I`ll get back to ya with those wires. .



-jerry