Arcumenicus Posted November 24, 2006 Share Posted November 24, 2006 I'm a DIY'er with past mechanic experience, way in the past. I'm wondering if anyone has seen this driveability problem. The hot trans is hunting, shifting between OD and kickdown speeds. Its fine when cold. It seems to be going out of gear when holding rpm and road speed with no load coasting. Under load on grades it pulls OK most of the time. I've replaced the Throttle Position Sensor. The Coolant Temp Sensor checks out. I haven't checked the Trans Speed Sensor because I don't know how. Looking at some troubleshooting guides I see maybe the filter is plugged, main control solenoids, and other things. Could it be a bad wiring connection, and where would that be? Ha! I haven't been under it much. I appreciate your help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ziyad Posted December 9, 2006 Share Posted December 9, 2006 Check the transmission range sensor at the top of the transmission. This tells the ECU which gear you have selected and will causes erratic shifts when failing. Also, the vehicle speed sensor may cause a similar issue, but this will also show up as wrong readings on the speedometer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcumenicus Posted December 28, 2006 Author Share Posted December 28, 2006 Thanks Ziyad. I got hold of a Ford technical manual and have been learning many new things. Ford has a Rotunda trans tester which is very nice. I got the resistance values for the TR Sensor however, and can now test it with my VOM. Its a bit lame trying to be a DIY'er! going very slow, but it's fun. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Haines Posted December 28, 2006 Share Posted December 28, 2006 ....don't miss the fact that electronic/electrical checks are only half of the job.To know exactly whit is wrong the pressure tests with gages from the test ports etc has to be done.By the book is the only way with a CD4E...wild guesses ,in most cases,doesn't get to the real problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcumenicus Posted January 20, 2007 Author Share Posted January 20, 2007 Sorry it took so long to reply Terry. I agree about guessing. I learned way back in tech school that guessing is a waste of time and material. That was back when almost all cars had carburetors! I don't know why I waited so long to learn about automatic transmissions! I'm looking at clutch packs and bands right now. Planetary gear sets. Torque converters. You know the Sturtevant brothers had a patent on an AT in 1904? That was about the same time that Packard invented the steering wheel and the Wright brothers demonstrated controlled flight! We live in a great country! Henry Ford had a few patents as well. Ford is our American heritage. I'm waiting for a set of insulation piercing leads for my Fluke meter to test that TR sensor that Ziyad told me to look at. Process of elimination. I'm thinking it's more a problem with the solenoids and the valve body. Have to wait see. Still haven't narrowed it down to whether the problem is electrical, mechanical or hydraulic! You know this car had some bad press. Funny about human nature when people sense something like blood in the water. I've taken it to a trans shop, no dice. I called the Ford dealer and they told me to get rid of the car! Ha! I don't care. I'm having some fun with mechanics. I don't believe all the bad hype. You take care Terry. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcumenicus Posted January 28, 2007 Author Share Posted January 28, 2007 Man! am I having fun. I got a code scanner which said there was an open in the TR sensor. I removed stuff on top of the trans, looked at C191 connector and found it was full of oil or AT fluid. Got a wrench and removed the 2 bolts holding the TR sensor to test it. Its easy to remove for testing. Bad sensor. It had an open just like the PCM said. I used RadioShack contact cleaner and Advanced Auto dielectric grease to assemble the connectors. I don't know what else. I got some good reference material if you're interested. "Automotive Technology," by Jack Erjavec 4th edition. That's the best 50 bucks I ever spent! Hope my problems are solved. I doubt it! This car has 250K miles on it. A/Transaxles are fascinating. Check out this attachment. The_Most_Powerful_Diesel_Engine_in_the_World.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcumenicus Posted February 3, 2007 Author Share Posted February 3, 2007 Ack So! I was right about this car! Someone got rid of this car because of a bad window regulator switch and a bad TR sensor! You know you can get a good deal on something with minor problems. Ha! I shouldn't feel good about someone else's lack of knowledge. Runs good now. MIL is off. No codes. Now I can do something else other than auto repair since the pressure is off. I'd really like to spend some time looking through a microscope. Microscopy. Sounds like a problem in the crotch area. Thanks for your support, gents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
etinkerer1 Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 My '95 Contour started having the same symptoms about a month ago. It started acting up on a Friday evening, on the way to go shopping. Got it up to cruising speed then out of the blue started acting goofy, jumping out of gear & slamming back in, & showing a lot of slippage in drive at traffic lights. Generally acting like it was low on fluid, but fluid just above full mark on dipstick. No symptoms in reverse though. And like the other guy, it only seems to occur when engine is warmed up. On a cold start, it runs fine & shifts fine. Tried draining fluid from sump & refilling with 4 qts like some sources suggested, hoping problem would somehow go away. It didn't. The last time it occurred when I got home I hooked the code scanner to the OBD port & did a KOEO scan. After reading through the manual (SunPro CP9015), became familiar with the way codes were being sent. The live scan gave 111 code repeated twice, then separator code, then Continuous Memory Code of 668 came twice. (Transmission Range Sensor signal voltage too high.) Followed instructions to clear (erase) 668 code & hopefully next time I drive car, when it has another siezure, the 668 CM Code will come back. I serviced the starter motor early in June after the brushes wore out, in the middle of nowhere, after getting gas, turned the key & nothing happened. Not even a click. (I didn't hear the relay click in the fuse box upfront from inside when turning the key at the time.) That's another adventure. 4-1/2 hours to get the starter out, with cables attached, about 1 hour to disassemble, clean, grease, & install new brushplate assy., (which I had to get from a starter rebuild shop for $35, 'cause auto parts stores don't sell starter brushes anymore, only remanufactured starters, which can run from over $160- $200+ plus core charge, depending where you buy it), reassemble & test. Another 4-1/2 hours to put starter back in. No room whatsoever under there to swing a wrench or anything! Only enough wiggle room to barely get starter out & back in. I had the ground connection (negative battery cable) to transmission bell housing with starter mounting bolt fairly tight, about 35-40 ft/lbs, set with torque wrench, & plenty of grease to guard against oxidation. My first thoughts are if the signal voltage is too high on the transmission range sensor, intermittently, only when warm, there might be another ground connection opening up somewhere when engine warms up, causing the range sensor signal voltage to intermittently spike up & generate 668 CM code, & throw the transmission into shifting dropout siezures. Stopping the car, running shift lever down to first gear back to park, (or neutral & reverse), then back into drive, the problem sometimes goes away, or transmission goes into failsafe mode, & as long as I keep it under 55mph, I'm ok. Maybe problem is internal to sensor, or maybe just another ground wire corroded externally. Ford Contours are notorious for oxidation on electrical connectors, so before I bite the bullet & get another sensor I'll check connectors & terminals first. I know the locking tab on the connector on my range sensor (or shift lever position sensor, as it's called) broke off a couple years ago, & I'm using cable ties to hold the plug & sensor together. They still look pretty tight, no sign of plug coming off. I will investigate further & post a follow-up (hopefully a shorter one than this), of my findings. I hope the sensor or ground wiring is the problem. I can follow the instructions on page 7B-3 of the Haynes manual to replace & adjust the sensor if necessary. I don't know if you can get 'em aftermarket, or if it's a dealer item. Gotta do some checking around. If a $1500- $1800 bill is needed for a new tranny, I may as well trade the car in. Can't see putting that kind of money into it. It needs new coil springs & struts in the back too, & engine needs gaskets- it's leaking oil thru valve cover into spark plug wells & around oil pan like a sieve. If I can fix the tranny problem I'll worry about the other problems later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
etinkerer1 Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 (edited) Date='Jul 23 2007, 09:10 PM' post='52213'] My '95 Contour started having the same symptoms about a month ago. Got up to cruising speed then out of the blue it started acting goofy, jumping out of gear & slamming back in, & showing a lot of slippage in drive at traffic lights. Generally acting like it was low on fluid, but fluid just above full mark on dipstick. No symptoms in reverse though.... Follow up #1: CM Code 668 did come back next time tranny had a seizure. Transmission range sensor is a dealer item, but it runs about $55- $60 for a new one at my local Ford dealers. Much better than the alternative fix, had I not researched it. When I get the new one in & drive car for awhile & am satisfied problem is fixed, I'll post another follow-up. Edited September 13, 2007 by etinkerer1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rico Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 Date='Jul 23 2007, 09:10 PM' post='52213'] Follow up #1: CM Code 668 did come back next time tranny had a seizure. Transmission range sensor is a dealer item, but it runs about $55- $60 for a new one at my local Ford dealers. Much better than the alternative fix, had I not researched it. When I get the new one in & drive car for awhile & am satisfied problem is fixed, I'll post another follow-up. OK... so did it work? Has ANYONE with these symptoms actually fixed it? I hate the prospect of throwing $$$ at a car...without a reasonable expectation of results.... Thanks to everyone that are posting their problems... but we're not posting much about the results. Rico Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
etinkerer1 Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 (Final follow-up) I bought a replacement transmission range sensor (new) from a seller on eBay, & it was shipped with a new-old-stock rear spring I won in an auction from that seller. The part number on the replacement sensor is SW-6274 (6L8Z-7F293-AA) & it is a little bit smaller than the original, but mounts exactly the same. (I didn't need the cable tie to hold the harness plug in anymore, since the part of the electrical connector on the old sensor that held the harness plug in was what was broken, but that happened long before the sensor failed electrically). I finished installing the new transmission range sensor, & adjusting it according to section 6 of page 7B-3 of Haynes manual. Since I have the 2.0L DOHC-4 engine, I had fun getting wrenches under the air filter housing on the left side & the EGR tube from the exhaust manifold on the right side to get the 2 mounting bolts out. I then had to take a short, large square shank screwdriver, slip it under the old sensor, close to the shaft, & turn the screwdriver with channel lock pliers until the old sensor popped off. I put a little anti-sieze compound on the shaft & also on the mounting bolt threads before putting the new sensor on. After adjusting the new sensor & snugging bolts, I was ready for the next step. I then hooked up the Sunpro CP9015 scanner to the "EEC Test" port, & just for the heck of it, before erasing error codes, I decided to check them one last time. The KOEO test was the same, 1-1-1, 1-1-1, then separator code, then continuous memory codes: 6-4-6 (which I didn't have before) came only once, then 6-6-8, 6-6-8. I ran this test again to confirm the codes sent. (I imagine the 646 Improper Gear Ratio first & second gear might have been the result of the old sensor failing, & was a by-product of the 668 original fault.) I then erased the codes with the scanner. As of this post the car has been driven for 2 weeks with no sign of transmission jumping out of gear & slamming back in anymore, no symptoms at all like it had been having. (But when making a cold start, I have to get the engine screaming before it shifts from first into second. It was also doing that long before the range sensor failed. I have become used to that. Once it warms up though, operation is normal.) Problem solved! etinkerer1 Date='Jul 23 2007, 09:10 PM' post='52213']My '95 Contour started having the same symptoms about a month ago. Got up to cruising speed then out of the blue it started acting goofy, jumping out of gear & slamming back in, & showing a lot of slippage in drive at traffic lights. Generally acting like it was low on fluid, but fluid just above full mark on dipstick. No symptoms in reverse though.... Follow up #1: CM Code 668 did come back next time tranny had a seizure. Transmission range sensor is a dealer item, but it runs about $55- $60 for a new one at my local Ford dealers. Much better than the alternative fix, had I not researched it. When I get the new one in & drive car for awhile & am satisfied problem is fixed, I'll post another follow-up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rico Posted November 4, 2007 Share Posted November 4, 2007 (Final follow-up) I bought a replacement transmission range sensor (new) from a seller on eBay, & it was shipped with a new-old-stock rear spring I won in an auction from that seller. The part number on the replacement sensor is SW-6274 (6L8Z-7F293-AA) & it is a little bit smaller than the original, but mounts exactly the same. (I didn't need the cable tie to hold the harness plug in anymore, since the part of the electrical connector on the old sensor that held the harness plug in was what was broken, but that happened long before the sensor failed electrically). I finished installing the new transmission range sensor, & adjusting it according to section 6 of page 7B-3 of Haynes manual. Since I have the 2.0L DOHC-4 engine, I had fun getting wrenches under the air filter housing on the left side & the EGR tube from the exhaust manifold on the right side to get the 2 mounting bolts out. I then had to take a short, large square shank screwdriver, slip it under the old sensor, close to the shaft, & turn the screwdriver with channel lock pliers until the old sensor popped off. I put a little anti-sieze compound on the shaft & also on the mounting bolt threads before putting the new sensor on. After adjusting the new sensor & snugging bolts, I was ready for the next step. I then hooked up the Sunpro CP9015 scanner to the "EEC Test" port, & just for the heck of it, before erasing error codes, I decided to check them one last time. The KOEO test was the same, 1-1-1, 1-1-1, then separator code, then continuous memory codes: 6-4-6 (which I didn't have before) came only once, then 6-6-8, 6-6-8. I ran this test again to confirm the codes sent. (I imagine the 646 Improper Gear Ratio first & second gear might have been the result of the old sensor failing, & was a by-product of the 668 original fault.) I then erased the codes with the scanner. As of this post the car has been driven for 2 weeks with no sign of transmission jumping out of gear & slamming back in anymore, no symptoms at all like it had been having. (But when making a cold start, I have to get the engine screaming before it shifts from first into second. It was also doing that long before the range sensor failed. I have become used to that. Once it warms up though, operation is normal.) Problem solved! etinkerer1 Hi Rico, Yes, it fixed the problem! I got one from a seller on eBay for $44 new. I had it shipped with a new-old-stock rear spring I bought from this seller on an auction I won. After replacing the sensor & adjusting according to Haynes manual instructions, I hooked up the trusty Sunpro CP9015 scanner, erased the 668 code (which by now also had a 646 code flash once before the 668 came twice when checking continuous memory codes), & it hasn't jumped out of drive while cruising since! I'll give the information out in my next follow-up post, coming shortly. etinkerer1 Wow, Thanks man, that brings a much needed "LIGHT to the end of the TUNNEL"; This situation has been driving-me nuts... Some F O R D Literate assured me that I was about to spend a "pretty penny" on a "new" or "rebuilt" tranny; OHHHHH NOOO the car cost me $1000.00, I'd rather donate to the local "Fire-fighters" for trainings if you know what I mean I still shall definitly use a trusty SCANNER, but also makes me nervous of the thoughts of a endless list of codes popping up, who knows ??? Anyway, I'll give a try, and also will try to post it, so maybe, in the future, people don't have to go to the same strugle that we've been... PS: got a new issue alredy, just now noticed that my "FAN" isn't working (Unless I turn the A/C on), and the temperature seemed to be playing a large role in the tranny/cruising/bucking trouble; changed the Temp sensor and it didn't work either,,,,,, Oh boy Once again Thanks, I greatly appreciated your response and the help of the other ones here as well ! ! ! Ricardo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent005 Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 Does anyone have a pic of this sensor, or where exactly on the tranny it is located? I can see the neutral safety switch on the top, the reverse on the back, and on the drivers side of the tranny Im guessing thats the speed sensor, any help would be appreciated. Im asking cause my sister has a 95 GL with a blown head gasket shes keeping around for me for spare parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shannon Cisco-Serrano Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 Wow, Thanks man, that brings a much needed "LIGHT to the end of the TUNNEL"; This situation has been driving-me nuts... Some F O R D Literate assured me that I was about to spend a "pretty penny" on a "new" or "rebuilt" tranny; OHHHHH NOOO the car cost me $1000.00, I'd rather donate to the local "Fire-fighters" for trainings if you know what I mean I still shall definitly use a trusty SCANNER, but also makes me nervous of the thoughts of a endless list of codes popping up, who knows ??? Anyway, I'll give a try, and also will try to post it, so maybe, in the future, people don't have to go to the same strugle that we've been... PS: got a new issue alredy, just now noticed that my "FAN" isn't working (Unless I turn the A/C on), and the temperature seemed to be playing a large role in the tranny/cruising/bucking trouble; changed the Temp sensor and it didn't work either,,,,,, Oh boy Once again Thanks, I greatly appreciated your response and the help of the other ones here as well ! ! ! Ricardo Rico, I too had fan and heat issues along with the transmission range sensor issues. My resolution was to make it so the fan is on automatically. Just ordered a trans range sensor through O'Reiley's for $44 and will install when it arrives. Now, what am I to do about my fan and overheating if I put it back to original way? Because thermostat- good, radiator- good, hoses- good. So, what sensor manages fan? Also, tried adding freon, but couldn't get it to cycle? Help!!!! Thank you, Shannon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rey Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 (edited) I had the same issue with the transmission on my 97 ford contour GL 2.0 gas. Replacing trans range sensor bought from O'Reiley's fixed the issue. Have O'Rieiley's search for a "neutral safety switch" which is actually a transmission range sensor. NOTE: When the issue occured, I eventually had this trouble code P0708 which means:Transmission range sensor circuit high input. It took several days of driving with the random shifting problem to get the check engine light to come. After that, I could check the code. Edited August 26, 2012 by Rey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Kersey Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 (edited) I would almost certainly suspect the Trans. Range Sensor. It's located on the top of the trans under the battery. I have a 2000 Contour SE Sport 2.5l V6 Automatic. I had the same problem. It's a $33.06 part if you get it from Rock Auto.com and they ship it right to your door. That made my CEL go off too, and 3,000 miles later it hasn't hunted for a gear since! Hope this helps.. Edited October 21, 2012 by Rob Kersey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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