Another autobox problem on another 80

[mussy]

My gearbox woes continue this time on another 80 my Blue one.

It is also a 1994 12V auto HDJ 80 VX

While I was in Africa with the lads, this one went into a Swiss mechanic for a general service.

Now when I drive it I can only describe that the gearbox from time to time "is not happy".

By this I mean it doesn't seem to want to change up nor down and sometimes changes with a thud!

As I said it is not regular and I cannot seem to identify the scenarios to replicate.

From searching the www, it seems to point to possibly cable? If so how do I adjust this and is it a measurement.

As always the help and advice given on this forum is appreciated greatly.

merci

Mussy

 

[Chris]

Do you mean the throttle position sensor cable? The one that people often mistake as a kick down cable? It runs from the passenger side of the engine near the fuel filter down into the bottom of the auto box near the dip tube. There is a standard slack clearance in there it's something like 1.3mm IIRC. But the biggest issue with is is that it gets very stiff and doesn't release. I showed on your green one if you recall. Just try pulling it in and out by hand first it should be smooth ans snap back just like the throttle cable. If it's all stiff and scratchy the only option is to replace it which is not hard at all. It's like a bike brake lever and cable really. Can't say that IS the issue but it free to check and needs only a look see. There needs to be a little bit of slack in it. Look at that first and then we'll worry about how to adjust it. What this does in essence is talk to the auto box to tell it what the revs are going. If this is out of kilter than you certainly can get the symptoms described.

 

[mussy]

Here's hoping

So spent the last week researching what the problem could be. Found this great manual... http://www.sugarlump.no/cruiser/HDJ-80_S3.pdf

This afternoon I adjusted the throttle cable as it was way out f the norms ie 15 mm instead of 0.5-1.5mm!

This made a huge difference and the car now performs well.

On the way home tonight I noticed the o/d light was flashing.... mmm not good. So I do the diagnostic (thanks Chris for the phone guidance) and come up with code 6.5 which looks to be solenoid related...

Figure give it a cheeky chance and cancel the code and see if it reappears....pulled the dome fuse... took it for a drive first mile nothing then the o/d light come back...

ok pull the fuse again for longer.. then check before driving off and the code is not cancelled out.

Figure ok pull the negative from the batteries and the fuse and wait 1 hour.

Check.. success the code is cancelled out.

Just took it for a 5 mile drive and no flashing light.

Tomorrow will take it for a longer journey, hoping like hell it doesn't come back...pray for me...

 

[mussy]

So took it for a 30km journey today towing a light trailer... and ...... so far nothing, nada, nichts... no O/D flashing light.... fingers crossed that it's all sorted...

 

[Rich Sims]

thank god for that!

 

[StarCruiser]

Long may it continue mussy…

 

[mussy]

The story continues..

So Tuesday morning, decided to take this one to work.. A couple of minutes into the drive and the o/d light starts flashing...grrrrr...

Thing is the car feels ok, on the way home same deal, car is driving fine but light is still flashing.

Yesterday, my wife was driving this one because we had quite a large snow fall and I haven't fitted snow tyres on her car. She calls me mid morning telling me the car is not acting right...mmm

Last night I take the her out for a spin, no flashing light car is running fine.

This morning, take the car to work. 34km drive, the gearbox at the beginning was horrible, once warmed up was much better...also no flashing light.

Had a bit of time so got it onto our four post ramp and did the following....

- changed the accelerator cable as it was starting to deteriorate.
- changed the gearbox oil again (did it 2 weeks ago) to improve the quality as you cannot drain completely in one go, only around 6 litres from 15.
-Looked for all electrical connections and made sure they were well connected and not damaged. All seemed ok but did try and plug them in and out.
- checked the diagnostic code and code 6.5 is back which is as per the manual "severed timing solenoid or short circuit - severed wire harness or short circuit"

Drove it back to home tonight and it was fine but the engine was warm because to check the gearbox level we let the car run for 20 minutes and checked the 'hot' level which is more accurate.

Another thing I need to add is that for about a year my rev counter does not work on start up and then after the car warms up it starts to work.

I am starting to think that these conditions could be related...any thoughts????

I will need to clear the diagnostics and see if my cable changing, wire wiggling, 2nd oil change has made a difference....

Update at to come when I have the news.

Any help or comments welcomed!

 

[joinerman]

Part of the wiring loom runs along the side of the engine above the oil filter, i have heard many people say that this section can give box problems, chaffed wires if i remember correct.

 

[mussy]

Cleared the diagnostic, drove to work and back and a few errands 70 km total, car running fine, diagnostic still showing clear....fingers crossed.

 

[mussy]

Quick update, I have been using this car every day as a daily drive and running errands...it drives fantastic, my advice to anyone that that has auto gearbox problems is the following...

- check your oil level
- make sure your oil quality is good and if not flush and refill...
- check your cables for condition , how they operate (easily or not) and if they are still tight as Mr T guideline.
- download the auto manual above in my thread.

With this I managed to save myself thousands ...

mussy

 

[Geert]

I had a broken electrical wire next to the oil filter. This caused the O/D to flash. It was one of the wires coming from the big round grey connector. Was a horrible place to fix the wire, so I let a friend of mine do it