And so we do begin to celebrate the birth of a new category – the 1996 Plymouth Voyager. A van that could only be described as Satan’s larger blue sister (and by Satan, I am of course referring to the seldom missed 1992 Saturn SL).
When I bought the Plymouth Voyager, I thought to myself – at last, a decent vehicle. And then everyone told me that a Plymouth is in fact a Dodge, and that Dodge has a reputation for its unreliable transmissions. Strange, no one ever speaks up before I sign up.
It wasn’t long before the power steering pump exploded, and I spent more than $150 replacing components only to find the rack and pinion also leaks and will need replacing – but not before the mighty transmission problem is solved!
Yes, the Saturn has sent its sister to ruin my life. On a trip home from a gig one night, I came off the highway to a stop sign. I was on the phone with my wife at the time, I pulled out and started accelerating… 1st… 2nd… neutral — wait, that’s not right? CLUNK! And we’re back in 2nd, and apparently 2nd is the only gear my transmission has now.
After much research, it has become apparent that when this transmission is stuck in 2nd gear, it generally means it is in limp mode – or limp home mode as some people have dubbed it. Limp home mode is meant to give you just enough power to push the van over the side of a cliff with yourself in it.
On comes the diagnostics. Like a fool, I bought a solenoid pack without really diagnosing things properly. Replacing the solenoid pack made no difference. The truth is, although I tested the original relay pack, I did the test with an analog multimeter which incorrectly lead me to believe that the solenoid circuits had shorted out when in fact they hadn’t, they just have naturally low resistance. So, now I have two working solenoid packs.
I decided to re-start with a circuit diagram, with the helpful aid of a skilled electrical technician over at geometroforum.com (thanks mwebb). I found that the ground wire on the input sensor had no continuity, and of course this means that the input sensor circuit is broken. I repaired this – and suddenly the van would rev up in 1st gear and clunk into 2nd. Previously it would go from 1st to 2nd to neutral and then clunk into 2nd. PROGRESS! I’m not sure if I’ve progressed forwards or backwards at this point.
Anyway, I picked myself up a pair of sensors (both the input and output sensors) from a junk yard. I plugged these in, and the same problem persists.
I intend to spend no more money on this transmission, instead I am going to start seriously testing it.
One thing I’m going to try before testing it – purely out of curiousity involving what I read somewhere – is splicing the +12v supply to the solenoids and providing power to it directly from the battery. Apparently, when the TCM (Transmission Control Module) activates limp mode, it de-activates the transmission by shutting off the relay that provides +12v to the solenoids. I read somewhere that splicing this wire and bypassing the relay will make the transmission work again. Although, obviously, if it does work I still haven’t solved the underlying electrical cause, but I would be able to at least confirm that my transmission mechanically functions!
My plan over the next few days:
- Put the van on jack stands so I can accelerate but not have to chase the van down the road with a multimeter in one hand and my will in the other.
- Test the input sensor’s voltage to make sure that it corresponds nicely to the engine speed.
- Test the output sensor’s voltage to make sure that it corresponds nicely to the vehicle’s speed.
- Test both sensors again, but while wiggling the connectors on the sensors to see if I lose connectivity.
- Wire up test lights to all four solenoids on the solenoid pack, so I can see what (and/or) if the transmission is trying to engage.
- Replace the ‘overdrive’ wire on the solenoid pack’s harness connector, as this is the single wire responsible for activating the solenoid that engages 3rd gear. I have already tested continuity on this wire, but it became apparent that the wire could still be damaged despite having continuity and therefore might not be capable of carrying the amps required to engage the solenoid.
Beyond this, I’ll have to come up with another course of action. This is a test that I’ll be taking pictures of, and posting more posts about.
If I can repair the transmission successfully, I’ll be removing and rebuilding the rack & pinion in another post.
