Transmission / O/D Off light flashing

[pupilot007]

I have a 2002 Explorer XLT, 91k miles. Recently, the "O/D Off" light began flashing very rapidly after driving 2-3 miles. There is nothing at all suspect with the tranny - everything shifts fine, overdrive can be turned on and off (although the light continues to blink very rapidly). I took it to the Ford dealer and the tech saw it and laughed! Said he has never seen the light blink so fast before. Checked the connections and everything looked good. They also checked for a code and there was nothing stored. The light will reset every time you turn the truck off. Any suggestions?

 

[jayton]

I have a 2002 Explorer XLT, 91k miles. Recently, the "O/D Off" light began flashing very rapidly after driving 2-3 miles. There is nothing at all suspect with the tranny - everything shifts fine, overdrive can be turned on and off (although the light continues to blink very rapidly). I took it to the Ford dealer and the tech saw it and laughed! Said he has never seen the light blink so fast before. Checked the connections and everything looked good. They also checked for a code and there was nothing stored. The light will reset every time you turn the truck off. Any suggestions?

Trouble is probably coming in the near future. If you read the posts on www.carcomplaints.com, there are a lot of folks that complain about the flashing light. If it isn't throwing any codes, it is hard to tell. Probably one of the solenoids. Just keep driving it until more symptoms appear so you will know exactly what needs to be replaced. Oh, and make sure you go ahead and get a backup vehicle figured out now in case it is out of commission for a couple weeks.

 

[410Fortune]

you need a scanner that can pull transmission codes
Not all scanners can get tranny codes.
if your OD light is flashing you have a trans code, this will tell you where the problem lies, my guess is the converter lock up solenoid, its easy to miss because the trans feels like its working fone 90% of the time, but its likely not locking up the converter in 3 and OD

 

[Charlie]

OD light of death!

Hopefully you can get it back up and 100% quickly and easily!

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! The solenoid blocks in the 5R55W tend to act up past 60k miles. I would suggest that you check the internal wiring harness first for intermittent connections then replace the block.

 

[BrooklynBay]

This thread is similar to this one: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=198504

 

[pupilot007]

Thanks for the replies. The transmission had failed once before I got the truck and a new ford one had been put back in, so the new trans is still under warranty. The guys who installed the new one think its an electrical problem. He gave me his wiring diagram of the truck and I noticed the compass is grounded in the same location as the O/D off light (below the left A pillar). The compass has never worked since I got the truck (always points S), so maybe he is on to something. Still, nothing seems wrong. I'll call him and make sure his computer can pull tranny codes as well.