Anyone ever have an issue with the Reverse Lockout Solenoid malfunctioning?

It seems like almost every other time I try to put my car in reverse, whether the cars warmed up or not, the solenoid just shuts off and stops working. It doesnt lock me out, it just makes the shifter feel like I'm pushing dead weight to get the car in reverse. And then other times its totally normal and slips right in. There's no problems with gear grinding or anything like that, plus the tranny was rebuilt last spring, so that's why I'm thinking its a problem with the reverse lockout solenoid.

Anyone have this problem before? If not, anybody know what would most likey be the cause?

 

I have this problem too sometimes. It'll partially engage the reverse gear, I'll lift my foot off the clutch a little to let it slip so I can get moving, and it'll make a noise (a lighter grinding noise). I just throw it in neutral and pump the clutch a few times, seems to clear it up as it generally goes right in (after pushing hard.) I thought this tranny needed you to really push hard to put it in reverse?

 

this could be cause you need to bleed the clutch

 

Trippinholyman, i see what you saying and it sounds like you've got a different problem than I do. It sounds a lot like what sepno77 said- you might just have to bleed your clutch. Either that or something could be wrong with the transmission internally.

With my problem there's no grinding whatsoever, and it's completely intermittent. The problem is pushing the shifter to the right, the shifter gets difficult to budge as soon as i pass the row for 5th and 6th. Once I get it all the way to the right so that its inline with the reverse gear, pushing it forward into reverse easy and totally normal.

The strange part is that its completely random, sometimes the shifter can be pushed all the way to the right with ease, and almost as often it feels like it doesnt want to budge.
The transmission is newly rebuilt, and the B&M shifter works completely fine, which is why I'm thinking its an electrical problem-- probably with the reverse lockout solenoid.

Anybody else think they have an explaination/solution?

 

i know i sound like and am making you sound like a total retard, but when you go to put it in the gate past 5/6 row, are you completely stopped or less than 3mph? if you aren't i think it wont let you.

 

lol its ok

I'm completely stopped when I try to put it in reverse. I know the whole point of that solenoid is to prevent you from getting into reverse if youre moving.

 

it may not be the solenoid that keeps you from going into reverse. the worst thing you want to do is fight trying to get it into reverse. the next worse thing is letting the clutch out slightly and grinding the gears to get it into reverse.
try this... with the clutch engaged shift into second gear and then try for reverse. if that doesn't work then put the tranny in neutral, let the clutch out, re-engage the clutch and try for reverse.

 

i had that exact same problem when i accidentally put my !CAGS resistor in. instead of connecting the resister to the wire that gives power to the skipshift solenoid, i put it to the reverse lockout solenoid. I would check that connection. it may be loose or not making contact all the time or something else must have happpened to it.

 

did u find the problem?

 

+1, Trippinholyman's problem is completely unrelated.

Just about a week ago I had a problem putting my car into reverse. Seemed like all of a sudden I had to push the shifter to the right 3 times harder than ever before just to get it to line up and go into reverse. No grinding, no noise, just extra pressure. I was also throwing a MAF circuit malfunction code. Turned out that I had a bad ENG SEN fuse in the block under the hood. Replaced it and all was well, no codes.
However, your problem is intermittent, don't know what your cause could be, but checking that fuse couldn't hurt. Try finding a reverse lockout solenoid from a junkyard maybe and see if your problems disappear.

 

Ok guys, thanks for all the input.

SS_RRR, I drove the car all day sunday and reverse felt normal every single time I used it, so I had to wait until it started acting up again which was a today. I tried what you wanted me to do and it didnt make any difference, the shifter was just dead weight- so I'm still thinking its an electrical problem.

Z28_LT1, I checked the solenoid plug like you said, it was in and all looked well so I left it alone. Unfortunately it was a really busy weekend so I havent had a chance to tinker with it, but I might try unplugging it and leaving it unplugged for a day or so to see if the problem remains. If it does then I'll know the problems probably got something to do with a bad electrical connection to the solenoid. I've got a feeling somethings loose somewhere in the circuit.

ss.slp.ls1, I dont have a check engine light on but i'm plannin on checking the fuse you were talking about tomorrow just to be sure. I'll probably end up doing like what I described a few lines up and leaving the solenoid unplugged to see if the problems becomes constant (which I've been getting a strong feeling it will). And if I'm really feeling ambitious, I've got a Fluke Meter that I'm gonna use to test the voltage on the connector while the solenoid is working properly, then try to catch it again for a second reading while its not working properly. If there's no difference in voltage between the 2 readings then it looks like I've got a broken wire, blown fuse, or bad connection somewhere. If I get 2 different voltages then I think its safe to say I've got a faulty solenoid.

That's my plan and I'm sticking to it, and hopefully I'll have a chance to tackle this soon. I appreciate the help guys, and I'll post up the results as soon as I solve this problem.