LT1-LT4 Modifications 1993-97 Gen II Small Block V8

Transmission / Speedometer Problems

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Old Apr 29, 2012 | 09:55 AM
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Default Transmission / Speedometer Problems

When I'm driving on the highway in 4th gear the speedometer jumps around like crazy reading anywhere from 30-50mph and the trans will down shift back and forth from 3rd to 4th.

The trans is a 4L60e that has no known problems. I did a search and could not find anything like this, hope you guys have some answers.

Also, could this be causing a misfire if I was driving it hard in the lower gears. The reason i ask is because i was getting it dyno tuned and the tuner was complaining about the speedo moving around and there was also a bad misfire after 4K.

Thanks!
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Old Apr 29, 2012 | 01:14 PM
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Transmission shift solenoid??
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Old Apr 29, 2012 | 09:25 PM
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Now the car won't shift out of 1st. Any thoughts?
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Old Apr 30, 2012 | 08:27 AM
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Whats the flyid look like?
Miles on tranny?
Could be a dirty valve body or a solinoid malfunction. Need to do some test on it.
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Old Apr 30, 2012 | 08:49 AM
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The trams has about 5k miles on it.
Fluid is fine, not sure of the valve body?

I spoke to a mechanic last night and he told me that the VSS (speed sensor on the tail shaft could be damaged and leaking trans fluid inside the plug causing it to short. I unplugged it last night and there was some fluid inside the female section of the plug, not sure what it wast, too little and too dirty. On the pigtail there was oil on all the wires, both ends of the rubber wire seals and also inside in-between the rubber seals. I cleaned all this real good and I'll see how it drives this morning.

All this fluid could deffinently cause a short. I'll check the female section of the sensor after I drive it and see if it is leaking.
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Old Apr 30, 2012 | 09:46 AM
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so cleaning the plug did nothing, still is stuck in 1st or maybe another gear. all i know is that it is not changing gears.

Im going to try to replace the VSS and see if that can fix the problem. Could this even be my problem now or could i have burnt up some clutches when the car was shifting from 4th to 3rd and not it wont shift because the clutches are bad???
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Old Apr 30, 2012 | 10:27 AM
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Try replacing the VSS. If the speedo was jumping around like crazy just before you had the problem with it not shifting out of first there is a good possibility either the VSS is bad or the wires that go to the VSS are damaged. PCM uses the VSS with other sensors to choose shift points at different throttle positions / Load and speeds.
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Old Apr 30, 2012 | 08:57 PM
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Originally Posted by jaycenk
Try replacing the VSS. If the speedo was jumping around like crazy just before you had the problem with it not shifting out of first there is a good possibility either the VSS is bad or the wires that go to the VSS are damaged. PCM uses the VSS with other sensors to choose shift points at different throttle positions / Load and speeds.
I did that earlier today and it might solve the problem with the speedo but it wont shift out of 1st still.

So one problem might be solved but i gained a new one lol.

I'm having my soon father inlaw come by tomorrow with a tech II and he is going to check for a few things to try to narrow the problem down. He named a bunch of things he could look at and test but if anyone has any suggestions let me know.
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Old Apr 30, 2012 | 09:08 PM
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I would immediately suspect the VSS before anything else. If the PCM doesn't see a consistent pulse from the VSS it can do all sorts of weird things, including not shifting out of first. The VSS wiring is pretty lengthy and can easily become pinched because of how it's routed. The fact that it's covered in split-loom tubing doesn't help much either.

If you're handy with a multimeter you can check the wiring for continuity.
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Old Apr 30, 2012 | 09:56 PM
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I'll try that out tomorrow evening. If it's not the sensor then there is a good chance it could be the wires. We are going to check the VSS on the scanner tomorrow to see how it's acting, if it's crazy that will make it point to the wires.
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Old May 2, 2012 | 03:47 PM
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sounds like the trans is junk
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Old May 2, 2012 | 06:41 PM
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Originally Posted by tricked94camaro
sounds like the trans is junk
Trans better not be junk after what I payed lol.

It ended up being the connector to the VSS. The multimeter and tech II did the trick.

I'm waiting on a new pigtail to come in the mail big you don't here back from me then it worked.

Thanks for all the help!
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Old Sep 28, 2012 | 07:14 AM
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Where did you get the pig tail? I'm having the same issue but dont know if it's my vss or the wire.
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Old Sep 28, 2012 | 07:16 AM
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eBay. I have a brand new vss too if you need it.
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