Hey guys,
My A/T Temp light popped on yesterday and now it pops on after driving only short distances and won't go off. There is no indication that the transmission is actually hot; I can put my hands on the cooler and pan without burning them. The coolant is crystal green, and the A/T oil is beautiful candy-saliva red with no odd smells. There is no foaming of the A/T oil. Sensor is dry (or at least appears to be dry - it is located next to the cat, so it would have a natural tendancy to stay that way).
Was trouble-shooting with NathanC and he mentioned the diode on circuit on the wiring harness. I don't have any tools to check it, but I cut it out of the tape and it looks brand new.
I tried driving with the light on, but the drive felt sluggish and I pulled over to a friends house to check it out. Being that it's cold and snowing, I'm reluctant to take my chances and drive the rural 3hrs to Cincinnatti.
Anybody have any other hints to what might be going on here?
Here's a breakdown of my recent driving activity:
I have towed my car a few times with the truck fully loaded. The A/T light popped on in June for the first time under these conditions while I was driving 75mph in 95? weather (fan clutch is also bad). I was glad to see that it was actually working. I pulled over, let it cool off, and continued on. That's my heavy towing.
From Sept-now, I've been driving down a rugged 1/2mi gravel/mud/water road to get to our work site. I had driven down that road 4x/day, so 2mi/day. That's my off-road driving.
I just changed the motor oil on Friday and it was BLACK. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/scared.gif" alt="" />
Yesterday, I drove the truck @55mph for 2hrs. The A/T temp light came on just after slowing down. I was within a mile of my destination and pulled over and let it cool down. Light went off after 2min in P.
Today, I drove ~8mi, parked and met up with friends for 15min, got back in the truck and the A/T temp light popped on after about a half mile. Drove two more miles, pulled over to let it cool down while I investigated. I found nothing suspicious or hot. A/T temp light would not go off, so I decided it was a false positive and continued on. A/T temp light went off immediately upon pulling out of the gas station. Drove 1mi and the light came back on.
Drove several miles with the light on and decided that the car was performing sluggish and pulled over at a friends house to troubleshoot. That's where I am now. I'm stumped. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />
Other concerns:
I haven't changed the fluids on the truck in a few years - since I installed the new A/T & t-case in November '05.
Engine fan clutch is going bad, but engine temp is fine.
Radiator is busting at the seems - it has a slow steady leak which I've been carefully attentive to until I can get it repaired.
I'm expected to be on a project in Dayton, OH tomorrow, but called in and said I was having car trouble.
Any ideas?
-DougB <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />
