Trannie or Electrical issue?

[tattskin]

This weekend coming home from a near by city my overdrive would not engage on the way home. I made a stop before going home and it would not engage in reverse. When I started back up to go home, everything worked fine. I pulled out my tune when I got home and check DTC and nothing besides the 0603 code. Today on the way into work and the overdrive off light was flashing. Pulled codes 0603 and 0783. Took it to the local transmission shop and was able to reproduce the results but was not convinced (after and hour of driving several times and pulling codes) that their was a problem with the transmission but need to replace the watch battery in the PCM. On the way home from work today, got the light again and pulled codes 0783 & 0732. In order to get the light to come on have to be going 50+ MPH and 2200+ rpm, if it shifts at 50 and around 2000 rpm it will not throw the overdrive light. Thanks. James

[jackson409]

Originally Posted by tattskin

This weekend coming home from a near by city my overdrive would not engage on the way home. I made a stop before going home and it would not engage in reverse. When I started back up to go home, everything worked fine. I pulled out my tune when I got home and check DTC and nothing besides the 0603 code. Today on the way into work and the overdrive off light was flashing. Pulled codes 0603 and 0783. Took it to the local transmission shop and was able to reproduce the results but was not convinced (after and hour of driving several times and pulling codes) that their was a problem with the transmission but need to replace the watch battery in the PCM. On the way home from work today, got the light again and pulled codes 0783 & 0732. In order to get the light to come on have to be going 50+ MPH and 2200+ rpm, if it shifts at 50 and around 2000 rpm it will not throw the overdrive light. Thanks. James

Sounds alot like what mine is/was doing. I am having a similar situation. I am driving down the road and when it hits overdrive the thing just start reving up and not engaging. I go to back up and it shutters and stops after about a foot. I shut it off and let sit a few and then everything is fine. It did it to three days in a row and then I finally pulled my chip out and hasn't happend in four days. I don't know if you have chip or tuned but try to go back to factory setting and see if it still does it. I am leaving mine out as long as it dosen't act up. The hell with going fast if I can't get there at all.lol.

[tattskin]

I have read on a couple different forums of people having similar issues and most of them ended up with have the tranny rebuilt. I believe that it is on it way out the door, but I have managed to keep the light from coming on. It has been by going slow and ensuring that the transmission shifts before or at 2000 rpms.

[jackson409]

Well I was was driving slow as well when mine was acting up. I was trying to conserve as much fuel as possible to see how much mileage I could get and was driving like grandmaw. I still had the issue until i pulled my chip. I haven't had it again since. I read where people rebuild and only to have this issue again later on. I think these chips jack with the PCM too much and cause shifting issues and then when ignored it will cause hard parts to finally fail. I nipped it in the bud and pulled that bad boy out before it got so bad. I hope this doesn't flare back up and bite me later. I was talking to a guy that works at the Ford truck plant here in Louisville KY where they are put together and all those guys have these trucks and they did the same thing according him. They got rid of the chips and programers too many issues from them.

[tattskin]

I just had my tuned. I never had a chip in it. I pulled the tune out when it first started acting up and it got better. I am not convinced that it is my trannie. I am beginning to think that my tuned corrupted some how. The truck does fine when keeping it at below 2000 rpm. If the truck goes above 2000, it shifts hard in every time after that (when up shifting) until I turn the truck off. It goes back to normal after that. I don't plan on putting a tune back in it any time soon. The Ford Dealership here said they can't flash the PCM back to factory settings.

[jackson409]

Originally Posted by tattskin

I just had my tuned. I never had a chip in it. I pulled the tune out when it first started acting up and it got better. I am not convinced that it is my trannie. I am beginning to think that my tuned corrupted some how. The truck does fine when keeping it at below 2000 rpm. If the truck goes above 2000, it shifts hard in every time after that (when up shifting) until I turn the truck off. It goes back to normal after that. I don't plan on putting a tune back in it any time soon. The Ford Dealership here said they can't flash the PCM back to factory settings.

Really? I wonder why. I called the ford dealer here and ask them if they could reflash my dads 97 7.3 because he thought he had a tune in insted of a chip and they said no problem. It would be anywhere from 90-180, basically 1 to 2 hours depending how much relearning the truck had to do. They say the PCM has to relearn or reteach itself or maybe everything else has to relearn to the new PCM settings and it could be fast or slow depending on how much things changed from the factory settings when you had it tuned. I found the chip in his and pulled it and put it back to factory. I would call another dealer.

[tattskin]

Hmm. I might stop by the dealership then. It sounded like a new guy or maybe talk to their diesel mechanic about it. I would rather pay the $85-170 than the $2200 to rebuild and the problem come back. The next dealership is about 30 miles away with a diesel mechanic or a diesel shop about 20 miles away. Having the dealership reprogram and knowing for sure if it was a tune related problem or is actually the transmission.

[jackson409]

Originally Posted by tattskin

Hmm. I might stop by the dealership then. It sounded like a new guy or maybe talk to their diesel mechanic about it. I would rather pay the $85-170 than the $2200 to rebuild and the problem come back. The next dealership is about 30 miles away with a diesel mechanic or a diesel shop about 20 miles away. Having the dealership reprogram and knowing for sure if it was a tune related problem or is actually the transmission.

Yeah, I think it has to be a dealer. I don't think any regular diesel shop can reflash your PCM back to factory. I may be wrong on that but from my understanding it has to a dealer in order to reflash back to factory. I guess they are the only ones with the factory specs or something maybe with rights to the Ford settings??? It may be a legal thing I forget the term (proprietary)maybe, but only Ford can use or know the settings. I am not sure.

[tattskin]

I miss understood them. They will do it for $89. They just think it is a solenoid going bad because if the tune had corrupted the PCM, then I would be having other problems and pull other codes.

[jackson409]

Solenoid or PCM? I would try the easiest and cheapest first. How much and where is the solenoid they are referring to? If it is one on the valve body of the trannie then you will have to drain the fluid and pull the pan and all that will cost more than 89. I would rather take my chance and spend the 89 first. If it don't fix it then do the soleniod. But it is your truck... let me know how it goes.