I was cruisin at a consant 50 the other day and tapped the brakes to "unlock" the tc but nothing .. . ive also tryed it going 60 , 70 , 80 and got nothing. I cruise w/ constant pressure on the gas .. all the other autos lockup but mine refuses. i even put the "shift up" light in my cluster to see when it locks and got no lighting yet.

Any ideas? anyone know where the tc lockup connections are?

 

TCC connection is under the car, on the driver's side of the trans, "above" the pan bolts. Your brake light switch might also be on the fritz- mine is. My tcc won't lock unless I tap the side of the brake pedal with my foot. One of these days I'll replace the switch...

 

If the TC is not locking, you'll overheat the trans real quick in the tall gears if running low rpm's. I would strongly suggest replacing the lockup solinoid (they only cost aprox $20 at any aftermarket performance trans shop)

 

do you guys have a picture of where the lockup solinoid is located?

 

Don't have a pic. However, drop the pan, it is in front of the valve body center of transmission. Two bolts hold it in place. Nothing else under there looks like it. Has an open coil of wire on it and when removed the entire under-the-pan wiring harness comes with it.

After the two bolts are removed it pulls straight down out of the trans. Has a snout on it about 2-1/2" long w/an O-ring seal.

P/N for a '92 MY is: 10478100

RBob.

 

alright fellas, wanna make sure i'm understanding this right. If you're driving down the highway doing eh, 50-60-70 mph w/o much pressure on the gaspedal (say just enough to maintain the speed) and then you minorly depress the brake, the TCC will unlock? or...is it that the car will be on the highway just cruising and if you tap the brake it will lock? Just confused on the two...i've been driving my bird around for a while and when tapping the brake pedal while crusing on the highway i've never noticed any difference in the way the car felt, and come to think of it never have since i had the transmission rebuilt a couple years back. Was it possible that after rebuilding the trans the mechanics did something different to the setup? Or is my setup broken? or....am i just majorly confused.

 

Tapping the brake UNLOCKS the torque converter. At higher cruising speeds, and usually in the city, it will lock. Feels like an extra gear almost. Try wiring up a simple switch into the ALDL connector. Connect it to the upper left-most and upper right-most two pins, side by side, so that when you flip the switch, it bridges the two pins together. Drive around 30 mph or so..just enough to get the car into 2nd or 3rd gear, but at a lower speed than the converter SHOULD lock at, and flip the switch. If nothing happens, your TCC solenoid or some connection in there might be dead. Oh and remember to disengage the switch after the test, and don't try to slow down or brake with the switch on...it can make some nasty noises!

[Note: I just corrected this...I had the wrong two pins listed]

 

Start from a stop and count how many "gears" it goes through by observing RPM changing

Shoudl be 4

the 4th is the TC locking up.

 

If I remember correctly, Doesn't the stock 700r4 lock the convertor in 3rd also? I recall having rpm drops in third way back when. My built trans only locks in OD- THe electronics inside are basically removed to the bare minimum and I only need 1-12v wire hookup to it.

 

IIRC it does, but either way, he should feel a 4th

 

Wait, I meant 5th.



Dammit, now I'm all confused.....yes, 5th

 

i feel it go through four gears... putting the switch in the aldl wont screw anything up will it?

 

No, BUT use the switch cautiously. Dont accelerate or decelerate with the switch on...maintain speed. Otherwise the converter can make some nasty noises. I'd flip the switch at about 30-35 and see if it happens.

You should feel a total of 4 "shifts", or 5 total "gears", one of which is the converter.

 

While on the same topic, I can somewhat relate.

When I first drive my car for the day, it will go through "4" gears and not drop the RPMs down for a while, but then once it does it can sometimes just randomly jump back up while going over 40MPH...

I can be driving at over 40 MPH and no "5th gear" for a little while. But yet if I take the shifter, place it in D not OD, there is a change in RPMs.

So my logic is, my car is going through all the gears, but the TC won't lock up immediately in 4th gear and then sometimes it will lock and for lack of better terms "unlock" without any additional pressure on the gas or inclines...

Could my car perhaps be suffering a similar problem?

Thanks!!