[DaingMaing]

So I had a CEL show up the otherday. I didnt really think twice about it because I thought it was from a misfire. I usually get one every now and then when the battery has slowly drained over a few weeks to the point of barely starting the car. It'll chug for a few minutes but once warm it levels out and runs fine. This CEL showed up while I was warming up the car, and charging the main battery with the alternator. I WAS NOT IN MOTION. I WAS PARKED.

Well I drove it to Montrose today, and noticed I didn't have 4th/overdrive, but it also seems to not have 1st as well. There is no pick up and go, just slowly gets up to speed. It drove like it was in a limp mode of some sort. I should also mention that Reverse is just fine as well.

I played around with the O/D button, and trying to coax the trans into shifting down to forth. no luck. Other than a bit higher MPG and higher trans temp, It really wasnt a problem. Once I got to a gas station, I checked the fluid and it did smell burnt, but not like burnt oil. It was more of an electrical/plastic burnt smell.

I stopped at the local Vatozone, and had them look at the check engine light cause: two things came up from the reader:

1.) Torque Converter Clutch malfunction (solenoid maybe? I dont recall exactly which one)
2.) 3-4 Solenoid failure

I have not heard of either of these, and am educating myself via the FSM currently. I thought I would ask y'all for some advice.

What am I looking at with the torque converter. As I said, I have second and third, and it seems to shift between the two just fine. If the converter clutch was bad, wouldn't the car be undriveable at highway speeds?

Second, is the OD solenoid in the valve body, on the outside of the case, or in the OD unit itself? the FSM is not clear on this

For now, its not an issue, but in a month I will be hauling some axles about 1400 miles, and although OD is not an issue; I may need 1st going over some passes with the extra weight.

I have a month to fix it, and need to get on this quickly.

ANY HELP IS APPRECIATED!

Below are a few clips from the troubleshooting guide in the FSM:

 

[4.3L XJ]

First thing I would do is get that code read at Autozone or something. That will tell you more than anything else right now

 

[DaingMaing]

First thing I would do is get that code read at Autozone or something. That will tell you more than anything else right now

I did, and those two faults are what came out of the reader. They didnt give me a code. They had a newer/cheaper device than those little orange ones they used to sell. They hooked it up to my jeep and then had to connect it to their system before getting the problems. They didnt help worth a ****. I asked them to clear the codes and the girl told me that they couldnt. I thought maybe that the PCM got a bad reading and put her into some form of as limp mode.

At this point, I am thinking it is the Solenoid Assembly in the throttle body. The problems are familiar to me but the codes/problems that popped out of the reader are what threw me off a bit. The lack of the actual chrysler codes made me think differently.

I have a spare from the transmission rebuild. BTW, it is about 25k miles since the rebuild. Cheap *** electronics... I'm just gonna slap the old ones in next week and see what happens.

 

[Gluckmysock]

Do you have a TV cable? I would try adjusting that. Do you have a small vacuum leak?

 

[DaingMaing]

Do you have a TV cable? I would try adjusting that. Do you have a small vacuum leak?

1ST: Yes, and I will be calibrating that first. It is possible it got out of whacki, but I am doubting it. This fault happened while I was warming up the jeep and not in motion.

2nd: Also possible. I had a small one in the engine compartment that concerned the HVAC system, but non the less, it could be the problem.

Thanks!

Any other advice out there?

 

[DaingMaing]

I have a spare from the transmission rebuild. BTW, it is about 25k miles since the rebuild. Cheap *** electronics... I'm just gonna slap the old ones in next week and see what happens.

So after spending seven hours replacing the TCC Solenoids in the valvebody, I've come to realize that it wasn't the solenoids. The wiring plug/harness melted at the plug and the wiring was shorting out. I'll post some pictures when I replace it in about a week.

I used this experience as an excuse to buy a code reader/scan tool.

The Autophix OM510 will read live data streams and everything my heep needs. 45 bucks out the door... not too bad. My old man has an older Actron that he paid over $200 for about 5-10 years ago.

 

[DaingMaing]

I probably should have immediately went to the wiring harness, given the history of the neutral safety switch plug:

 

[DaingMaing]

This is what the solenoid pack looks like with the governor solenoid and pressure switch still attached to the O/D - TCC solenoid pack / wiring harness. This was the older version I had left over from the transmission rebuild. BTW, the pack I took out is likely still good. The transmission shop is still in the good for those in the Kankakee Illinois area. Shift Rite in Kankakee did the rebuild and it is still going strong 30k+ miles later.

They did bust the wiring plug mounting tab off of the plug, but I really can't blame them for it. It is really easy to do, so if you're reading this 3 or 4 years from now; realize you can not hang on this tab. It is really brittle.

 

[DaingMaing]

The replacement of the TCC & OD solenoid pack is something that can be done in the car! You need some patience and time to do it right, but it is an easier repair if you have some mechanical skill.

Once you have the pan off and the filter removed, all you need to do is to remove these 11mm hex bolts from the valve body to get it loose to remove the accumulator and associated (2) springs. This isn't like other transmissions. There are no check balls and crazy small parts that will fall out of specific locations if you remove the valve body from the transmission.

DO NOT mess with any of the torx bolts in the middle of the valve body & you'll be fine. Like I said in the last post, be careful of the plug. You do not want to break that mounting tab or it'll be a pain in the arse to put back in correctly.

You can pull the valve body forward with the parking rod/sprag and rotate the valve body out of the trans. You can also leave the sprag in side the OD housing, and just remove the solenoid pack while the valve body is hanging from the parking rod, though I would not recommend it.

 

[DaingMaing]

As stated earlier, I should have went straight to the harness and looked there first. The plug has some melting issues. I still am not sure when she got hot enough to melt the wiring on the outside of the case. I am thinking when I moved back to Indiana about six years ago. I was going over Vail Pass in 1st and 2nd gear almost the whole way up; towing ~1.75 tons of shite.

Although you cant blame me too much when you see that particular area of the transmission under the Yeti. I had since wired in three temp gauge senders, complete with three grounding straps and one wire.

 

[DaingMaing]

So the new plug was soldered, shrink wrapped, taped up with Electrical tape, and also cloth tape for added protection:

 

[CT99XJ]

Wow, a ChryCo transmission where the solenoids WASN'T the problem. You really do get them all don't you? haha

 

[DaingMaing]

After I got the harness all done up and back in the Yeti, I was still getting a check engine light. It was the same code P0753.

So, I rechecked all of the connections and looked at the shotty installation instructions for the harness replacement. Then I realized there was one more thing to check: the relay. In my defense, neither of the fuses were blown, and the relay could have been shorted by a short in the harness. That is my story and I am sticking to it.

The red and blue pen marks was from me trying to figure out which wire was soldered to which AFTER I had it all wrapped up and put in place. I had to use the photograph from above. Trying to match up the color chart with the actual wires sucked. Then I remembered the FSM connector pin-out diagrams.

 

[DaingMaing]

Wow, a ChryCo transmission where the solenoids WASN'T the problem. You really do get them all don't you? haha

HA!

Yeah, it was my first blown relay too. I thought about checking it first :brickwall: but in the end; I am still certain it was the harness that did it. Not sure if it was especially wet under there that day, or what. I WAS WARMING THE DAMNED THING UP, when the CEL tripped. So it would make some sense that the relay was at least a part of the problem...

 

[DaingMaing]

Finally, for redundancy's sake: here are the pin outs for the TCC solenoid wiring harness for the 42re in ZJ years: (1997 isn't there but I would bet on it being the same as 96 & 98)

 

[Gluckmysock]

Veddy Nice! I appreciate the extra work put into the harness and wiring. Definitely makes for a much nicer repair. Especially when you have to work on it 2 years down the road.

1 question, why the rag tape? Just to give it a more factory install look, or is their a specific function you were seeking?

Thanks, Love your write-ups.

 

[CT99XJ]

I use rag tape on electronics too because it's a little more bend resistant than duct tape, but that's just how I use it. X2 on the writeups, I need to use his headliner one again to work on the 9er!

 

[DaingMaing]

... when you have to work on it 2 years down the road.

1 question, why the rag tape? Just to give it a more factory install look, or is their a specific function you were seeking?

I find that the electrical tape stiffens and gets hard after the elements get to it. If you look at the pictures I have of the temp senders in the post above(when I had just finished it from just under two years ago), those taped up connections have stiffened and unraveled to the point where one of the connections lost it's plastic coating and is now full of dirt and trans oil. I anticipate having to repair that connection eventually.

The cloth/tar-ish tape creates a water tight seal, and once the trans heats up a few times that tape is gonna be slightly flexible yet solid during everyday use. Also, once the dirt and dust gets on the outer shell, I think it'll be even more impervious to the elements.

Now, the last issue with the plug's wires melting most likely came from the internal temps of the transmission. I have the large cooler and the temp gauges for the trans oil installed since that event, and do not expect to have to ever pull it again to repair; mostly because I can monitor the internal temps at three different spots in the cooling circuit.

I wanted to have a water tight, element proof covering so as to not have any kind of chemical or oil on the wires that eventually could lead to degradation of the plastic sheathing of the wires. Resulting in having to do this repair again.

Ultimately, time will tell if this method will fail at some point, but I do not expect it to.

 

[DaingMaing]

One last thing before putting this thread to rest for the inter-webs archive: at least for the 90's ZJ(most likely the early aughts XJ and other associated JEEP 'RE' transmissions GC through 04) ALL of the wiring harnesses are the same color coding for the 42re & 44re's. FYI

If you have something other than a JEEP version of the 42/44re, your color coding will be slightly different.

 

[CT99XJ]

The XJ's will be different by default, as will certain 93 ZJs, as they were AW4s exclusively.