(joey)

hey guys im stumped.i have a 4.8 hooked to a 4l60e from a 01 sierra.i pulled the motor to do some mods and installed a 3500 stall converter .when i re installed everything the trans only had 2nd and 3rd and the tach,speedo,fuel gauge,and temp gauge didnt work.so i did some research and saw it might be somthing to do with the ignition switch,swapped it and nothing.put the stock converter back on.nothing.changed the whole cluster.nothing.swapped the 4.8 for a stock 5.3 along with the ecu.still only 2nd and 3rd.checked for power going to the trans and seams to be fine.im about to change the shift solenoids but i dont expect it to help with the cluster problem.also the tach,speedo,temp and fuel will work when i press and hold the trip reset button. any ideas what could cause all this headache?

(joey)

forgot to mention i had a water leak when i stored it through the winter that for the fuse block under the dash wet.could it be caused bu corrosion in the block?

mrvedit

Don't bother opening the trans; that is not your problem. Until the speedo works the trans won't work anyway.

Seems pretty clear that the water leak caused your problem. You may need a newer fuse block.

(joey)

thanks foe the reply.i will investigate into that a little more

(joey)

ok so i pulled the under dash fuse block.i pulled every fuse out one at a time and held it to the light.some how when i checked them before i missed a blown 10 amp.it was a real small separation inside that i could only see when held against a light.strange.replaced it and it cured my cluster problem.hopped in and took it for a quick spin and still only have 2nd and 3rd.any suggestions on what to do next?try solenoids?

mrvedit

It would be an unlikely coincidence that a shift solenoid or internal part went bad while you changed the converter.
First, are you absolutely sure you have 2nd and 3rd and that the trans is not in limp mode, which is 3rd only?
Try scanning for codes; not all codes immediately turn on the "Check engine" light.
Since you removed/installed the trans:
After a scan, I would double check the shift linkage to make sure you are not "between" gears.
A bent pin on the trans connector is another possibility that has been reported here.

Of course, a bad shift solenoid A (also called 1-2 solenoid) exactly matches your symptoms. Since they only cost about $12 each, I would replace both; that also ensures you don't replace the wrong one. Solenoid A is spring loaded - maybe a 2 lb spring, but noticeable.

Good luck and let us know what fixes it.

(joey)

thanks for the reply mrvedit.i did a little more investigating. i disconnect the battery,connect it the next day,jump in the truck and pull away in od and i have 1st.take it on the road and it drives like normal.shifts up through the gears good.when i come to a stop and go to pull away its in 3rd.i manually drop it down to first pulls away in 2nd and up to 3rd when i shift.the whole way home i have to manually shift it with 2nd and 3rd.i also borrowed a code reader.i have a p0785 code....shift/timing solenoid.at least im finally starting to make some headway.

mrvedit

The P0785 indiceates you need to get the PCM tuned for your stall converter.

See
https://ls1tech.com/forums/automatic...0785-code.html

(joey)

man im missing the good ol days of turbo 350`s and 400s lol.strange i have to get pcm tuned.im running the stock converter with the 5.3 i swapped.weird

mrvedit

Sorry, I saw "3500 stall" in your first post and didn't follow that you already swapped back to the stock stall.
You probably should take this is a local trans shop and have then connect their scanner and see if they can command all the gears and get any codes.