Re: A/T skipping 1st gear

Dabbler wrote:
> Well, as I wrote before, when in city with speed limits 35 or under, I
> like to drive with the AT gear in D3 position but in this case all I
> got was the torque converter acting like a slipping MT clutch. It was
> obviously not engaging the 1st gear.  Same in D4 position. I was able
> to start almost normally with the ****ft lever in D2 position.

It sounds as though the transmission is getting erroneous signals from the

computer. That could be a problem in the wiring or, less likely, the 
computer itself. I would pull the connectors off at the TCU and, using an 
ohmmeter, check the wiring. The troubleshooting procedure is in the
service 
manual. Concentrate on measuring the solenoid resistance.

You'll probably see high resistance readings where you would expect to see

the low resistance reading of each solenoid. Then you disconnect the 
solenoid connector at the transmission and take another set of readings.
If 
those resistances are correct, the problem is in the wiring between the 
solenoid connector and the computer. If not, one or more solenoids are 
defective. There are probably four solenoids to check, two ****ft control
and 
two lockup.

If you still have the old solenoids, measure their resistance. If they are

okay the resistance will be in the range of 12 to 24 ohms. If they measure

several hundred ohms or higher, they were truly bad.

I went so far as to connect LEDs to the solenoid lines of my TCU to verify

that the correct signals were coming out of the computer while I drove.

You might even invest in the tool to read the diagnostic codes.

-- 
Chuck