Transmission cable fix
I have mentioned here that I had a part of the wire/cable that runs from the TCM (transmission control module) to the transmission turned into a melted mess during a long road trip. Read more here.
Well, the temporary fix worked for 7 years. That fix was to simply cut out about a foot of the cable (10 wires) and crimp in new ones. They finally fatigued and my EV went into limp mode. I knew what it was.
So I located a 2001 donor Eurovan that had the same cable and connector. I cut it and installed. I did find out that the pinouts are different between years, though the colored wires are the same.
After carefully figuring out the correct scheme for connecting the wires, I installed and tested. Success.
One note that might come in handy for some people is that if your Eurovan is in limp mode, it might just be a wiring issue. And if it only shifts into some of the gears it might also just be a wiring issue. When I connected the new cable/connector the first time with the wires connected by color (not correct cause of difference in pinouts), I was worried that I had a more serious transmission issue. Not the case once I corrected.
It makes me wonder if there have been and Eurovans put to pasture because of a transmission issue that could have been fixed with checking the wires.
My 2002 Eurovan had a trans go bad but I already had a donor Eurovan with a rebuilt transmission. My brother in law swapped them out. The transmission works great but it is very stiff to put into gear and virtually impossible to put into 2 or 3 gear. It’s been fine in P-N-R-D but Can’t get into 2-3 without extreme force. Is this the same issue you are describing here?
Thank you!
When mine had issue, I was unable to put into 2nd or 3rd.
A test might be to disconnect the Trans cable to “force” limp mode and see if that changes anything.
If it exhibits the same behavior shifting, then you can assume that your TCM and cable aren’t helping… and might be worth a look… especially if you know the donor transmission was “good”.
Have you inspected your TCM? actually opened it up and looked at it?