Overdrive issues, OD off button

[Ck_asdf]

Hello, I have a 95 Ford Explorer, and for a while now, overdrive hasn't worked. It worked when I first got it and for a while, but then one day I got on the Interstate, and realized that it wasn't in a hurry to get up to 65mph. I had to press the pedal harder to get it to go faster, but the RPMs climbed to around 3k and never shifted into overdrive. As I was going down the road wondering what was going on, I looked down at my dash & saw the "O/D OFF" light flashing.

I talked to my mechanic and he sent me to a transmission guy, who told me he could replace the shifter for $70, as he said the wires inside of it probably rubbed from moving back & forth, causing a short and making the computer shut off overdrive.
I didn't have the money at the time and just lived with it for a while, but I want to fix it now, and when I called my mechanic again, he said that he could fix it for $150, which is more than what the transmission guy said. I called mr. tranny back and he said he'd have to check his prices again to see if the part went up in price, and when I called him back later, he didn't answer.


Anyway, my thoughts are this: instead of spending all that money, what about just clipping the wire where the stick meets the steering column, reset the codes, and be done with it? Sure, I won't be able to turn off overdrive, but would that be such a problem? I do more highway & Interstate driving than I do anything else, so it kills me in gas to not have OD.
Would that be a bad idea to clip the wire?

I wanted to just disconnect it somehow wherever it plugs in, but I can't find the other end of it. I removed the plastic wrap on the steering column and I see it goes down the column toward the front of the car for a bit, then turns and goes down toward the ground on the driver's side of the steering column, where it disappears from sight. Does anyone know where it ends up from there?


A bit of a diagnostic note: if I unplug the battery for a few minutes, plug it back in, then drive the light doesn't come back on until I hit about 55 ... which is about the speed at which it would normally shift to overdrive. At that point, the light comes back on.
Also, I popped the OD button out and tested it with a logic probe ... the button is a momentary switch that's normally open. So it really would seem that clipping the wire at the base of the stick would solve that problem, at least until I could deal with something else, right?

 

[92exp4x4]

Try seaching the 95 and newer threads in the forum, this one is for earlier models 91-94 specifically.

I would assume that the 95 automatic is electronically controlled but i do not know to what extent. The earlier trans has 3-4 shift and torque converter lockup controled by the PCM. Your 95 may be fully electronic but i do not know for sure.

It sounds to me like you have an issue with the shift solenoids in the trans. Check for codes and see what is in there. You can still do the paperclip method on your 95.

 

[gmanpaint]

I had the same problem on my 95 when I got it. Driving with out the O/D on for long periods can harm your transmission. It will get hot with the T/C not locked.

I dropped the steering column enough to get to the connector on the other end of that wire. It is a small white(IIRC) plug in type, that connects on the topside of the steering column. One Nut to remove the shifter, and its out. I replaced it with a new shifter and plugged in the wire, put it all back together, and I had O/D once again.

This is really not that hard to do, about 30 mins is all.

If the O/D light is flashing, that is a trans code. When the O/D is off it simply stays lit full time.

 

[Ck_asdf]

Oops, I must not have been paying attention to what I clicked for the forum, sorry. Plus, I used to have a 94 which I often get confused with my current one.
When you talk about paperclip method, are you talking about paperclip testing?
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=255962

To the second reply, I tilted the wheel down as far as it goes, but I still cannot see the end of the wire, because like I said it disappears down the driver's side of the steering column within the dash.
Which nut to remove the shifter are you talking about?
There is a white circle around the shifter where the wire comes out, but I imagine that is just a piece of plastic to help not have jagged metal edges.

 

[Ck_asdf]

Okay, I just did the tests & here are the codes:

KOEO: 335, then 539
CM: 648, then 648 again
KOER: 336, then 632

Not sure what this stuff means, but the link for the codes says:

335
(O)
EGR feedback signal is/was out of range - EVR or PFE

336
(O,R,M)
PFE sensor signal is/was was high - ">PFE

539
(O)
System shows voltage at PCM pin 10 Is A/C on ?
[The AC may have been on - I had the heater on so long I got hot, turned the AC on for a bit, & might not have turned it off for the tests; so maybe this code doesn't matter?]

632
(R)
E4OD - Transmission Control Switch (TCS) should be cycled once between engine ID and Goose test
[Is that the button on the shifter?]

648
(M)
Transmission 4th gear failure - Transmissions

After I got these codes, I reset them by turning the key off, then back on, then in the midst of displaying the codes again, I pulled the wire out, which caused the fuel pump to sound, letting me know the codes were reset.

 

[gmanpaint]

To the second reply, I tilted the wheel down as far as it goes, but I still cannot see the end of the wire, because like I said it disappears down the driver's side of the steering column within the dash.
Which nut to remove the shifter are you talking about?
There is a white circle around the shifter where the wire comes out, but I imagine that is just a piece of plastic to help not have jagged metal edges.

When I mentioned "Dropping" the column, I was not referring to tilting it.

You have to remove the dash panel both plastic and metal under the column in front of your knees. There are nuts that hold the column on the truck. You loosen them just enough to let the entire column drop just enough to allow room between the column and the instrument cluster to get your hand in there to get to the connector. The collar behind the steering wheel has to be removed to expose the shifter nut. This is how you can replace the entire shifter and connect the O/D.

If you have small enough hands & arms you might be able to get to the O/D connector without messing with dropping the column, but I could not.

 

[Ck_asdf]

Okay, thanks for clarifying. I'll try that, I was just afraid to mess with the mounting bracket for the hood eject handle, but if that's the only way, I'll go for it.

My mechanic was telling me that a new shifter would have to be bought from the dealer, and that it's $90. That's a bunch of money for me right now. What if I just disconnect that wire like you say, and leave the shifter attached as it is, then reset the codes? Would that allow me to drive in overdrive? I know I would lose the ability to drive without overdrive, but that doesn't matter as much to me.

 

[gmanpaint]

Without the shifter and the O/D switch connected you will not get into O/D.

Driving without O/D will harm your trans and lead to a much larger repair bill, up to $2,000!!

I was able to buy a used steering column with a good O/D switch/shifter for $20, did the repair myself.

Your call, do it right, or suffer the consequences.

 

[Ck_asdf]

might you be able to suggest a good place to get one of those for $20? I'm guessing you mean shifter, not steering column? or the whole thing?

and by the way, thanks for all the helpful suggestions so far!

 

[gmanpaint]

I got lucky. I just happened to be at the right Junkyard at the right time. I got the entire steering column.

They all vary in price. It will be up to you to call around and haggle price with Junkyards.
You can look in the Craigslist ads for vehicles being parted out, call them, & make an offer for the shifter itself or the entire column.

 

[Ck_asdf]

Without the shifter and the O/D switch connected you will not get into O/D.

Okay, just as an experiment, I removed the plastic & metal in front of the knee area and found where the OD OFF wire connects to that little white harness like you were talking about. I disconnected the wire, reset the codes, and now the truck is running like a champ! I haven't had it on the Interstate yet (I don't live near it, closest roads have speed limit of 50mph), but I'll test that out soon enough, maybe tomorrow depending on what I have to do.


Anyway, I know some stuff about electricity, as I took some engineering classes & such. The way that button is wired is it's a momentary switch that's normally open, meaning that there is no circuit until the button is pushed. Nothing about that changes by removing the wire - it's still an open circuit, just now a "more" open circuit if you could call it that. If I wanted to, I could probably just touch a jumper to the two sides of the wire harness to disengage overdrive, and do the same thing again to re-engage it.

Anyway, pushing the pedal down gives a much more smooth performance than it has since the overdrive stopped working. It shifts from 1st to 2nd and then to 3rd very smooth, and then finally kicks into overdrive and rides at 55mph at around 2500rpm (instead of 3k rpm).

 

[gmanpaint]

Sounds great! Good job! Glad I was able to help you locate the connector, tell you how to do it, and help you get your O/D back! I appreciate you pointing out my mistake as well! I stand corrected, thanks for that! That just made my day, really.

Sounds like you know what your doing, good luck with your rig and any future problems you may have. You got it covered

 

[Ck_asdf]

Cool, well I'm glad you didn't get in a tizzy over someone saying you're wrong. People like that are crazy, if they're wrong they just need to accept it, so thanks for that.
And I didn't say it in any way to try to look like I was better than you, just a logical statement about how that circuit works is all.

Thanks for all the help, and while I may not always know exactly what I'm doing, I can generally follow instructions pretty well if I have a basic idea of what's going on.

 

[Ck_asdf]

I spoke too soon.
I was driving to church this morning, and after a few minutes of 55-60mph the OD OFF light came back on. This is with me driving without the wire to the button on the shifter plugged in.
It is still driving "okay" - about the same as before when the OD light was flashing & the wire was plugged in, maybe a bit better? So I'm guessing maybe the wire in the stick was part of the problem, but there's more to it than just that?
I drove on the Interstate for a few miles after church and it's like it's been before - around 3k RPM to sustain 65mph, which seems higher than it was when I had overdrive.

I did some testing, here are the results:

KOEO: 335
CM: 648, then 648 again
KOER: 336, 411, 632


This stuff doesn't look too good ... what do these codes mean, and how difficult & expensive is it to fix them?

114
(O,R)
IAT sensor out of range - IAT

335
(O)
EGR feedback signal is/was out of range - EVR or PFE

336
(O,R,M)
PFE sensor signal is/was was high - ">PFE

411
(R)
Idle speed system not controlling idle properly (generally idle too high) - ISC

632
(R)
E4OD - Transmission Control Switch (TCS) should be cycled once between engine ID and Goose test

648
(M)
Transmission 4th gear failure - Transmissions