A442F shifting from 1st directly to 3rd

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SmokingRocks

hopelessly addicted to Cruisers
Joined
Oct 6, 2014
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Has anyone delt with this symptom? It started when I was towing a light load and was intermitent. It would miss second gear then 3 mins later it would have all gears then it would act up again. It holds 1st way too long sometimes not wanting to shift at all then it dumps it into 3rd. Its acting like theres no ecu control. I was working on chasing out ground loops and figured I had disconnected a ground but it all seems ok.

I did a fluid change and the old fluid was purple / dark red not burnt smelling or anything and there may have been some debris but overall it wasn't a major "oh no" moment.

No issues prior. Guessing it may be solenoids.... Pretty bummed because I was going to take it camping this weekend.
 
kickdown cable is fine, I pulled apart the round plugs near the starter blasted them with brake clean then compressed air and reconnected.

Going to get a test light on the OD OFF indicator light and see if I'm getting any codes.
 
Don't have any ready answers for you.

This PDF has a good troubleshooting guide however:

http://www.sugarlump.no/cruiser/HDJ-80_S3.pdf

Possibly your #2 Solenoid.

Does the transmission shift properly if you go through the gears manually?
 
I have the following codes now:

83, 84, 85: TCM communication. I've checked the harness at the TCM and I am getting all of the signals from the ECU. So I'm guessing that the issue is between the TCM and the Transmission.
 
If you have a 93-94 It's your ECU, if you searched those codes you'd probably find multiple posts on it. Only cure is the newer ECU. I don't know the part number but I'm sure you can find it, I had the same issue when I first bought my cruiser, found the ECU answer here and replacing it fixed the codes and issue. Also, 93/4 don't have separate TCU everything is in one box.
 
eh no there is most certainly a separate ECU its right next to the cruise control brain above the brake pedal (labeled as the TCU in the 93' FSM).

I doubt that its my main ECU since I'm still getting the right signals out, but I can easily swap my spare ECU in there an rule that out.
 
Had this problem recently rectified Search the threads you will see mine and a number of others all with similar symptoms. With the A442F/FZ setups it is susceptible to getting sticky solenoids and loose kick down cables. As a matter of good preventative maintenance drop your trans pan, drain the fluid, replace all the solenoids (4 of them) , new gasket, new fluid and Bob's your uncle. I would recommend getting the solenoids from Borg Warner dealers as you will get them far cheaper than through your local Toyota dealer.

Next go into your bonnet to the throttle area and check your kick down cable is tight enough (they stretch over time) this usually is only an issue when you cant engage a lower gear by planting your foot down. Failing to kick down is also another sure sign of seized up solenoids.

How to do is in your FSM but i can email you the document as its word doc format and PDF too large to upload here
 
I swapped my ECU's out tonight. Pulled the transmission harness off, cleaned all the connectors inside and out (noticed that the VSS2 had lost its retaining bolt and wasn't secure, guess that could have been an issue). Currently its not showing any codes, we'll see how it does on its test drive to work today.
 
PROBLEM REMAINS

It ran great on the way home for 15 mins, checked it in the parking lot and it was clear. Ran inside to grab my ipad to test out my homemade APRS system, started the snail back up and the CEL was on. 83, 84 & 85. So I can rule the ECU out.. I hope that whatever is happening isn't the root cause behind the unreliability of the 60170 ECU.

Recap of my remedial work from last night:
  • Transmission Wire Harness Check: I pulled the entire transmission harness off (that darn Slee Belly pan is a B!#%H to remove and reinstall alone), inspected it for damage none was found, so I cleaned the connectors and toned and ohm'd each line from EC1 & EC2 to their final connectors. All Passed that test. So I'm ruling out the wiring harness on the transmission up to EC1&EC2 (round plugs at the starter).
  • ECU Replacement: Replaced the 89661-60170 ECU with a spare 89661-60170 (Known to be 100% OK). I don't have the 89661-60221 ECU.

Now while I was inspecting the kick down cable I noticed that the wiring harness was touching the EGR pipe at cyl 5-6. When I did my rebuild I triple heat wrapped the harness here and also the EGR pipe. I could see a burn mark on the harness but it doesn't appear to have 'burned' through the second or third wrap. I might look there next, I do believe the wires pass through that section.

I guess tonight I can Ohm the lines from the EC1&2 connectors to the ECU when the engine is up to temp. If there is damage in that section of the harness it should show up then.

Thoughts?

IMG_1217_zps6cfioa82.jpg
 
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Wow bit of electrical work going on there!
Forgot to ask how is the condition of your NSS barrel plug near the starter ?
 
So I'm not convinced enough that the ECU is at fault since I swapped in a 60170 unit that I had. I'd run this ECU on my initial engine break in a year ago and know that it was code free.

Since codes 83, 84, 85 came back once swapping the ECU I don't think spending 300-400 on a 60221 ECU would be money well spent at this time.

SYMPTOMS AT THIS TIME:
  1. the transmission is shifting completely fine, it has not exhibited the 1-3 skip shift since a week ago (skip shifts were noted one 4 drives) No codes were present at initial skip shift issue.
  2. No TCM codes are present
  3. I noticed that yesterday on a 100 mile drive that everything was fine until I dropped to about 1-5% throttle. Then the engine surged off and on as if the TPS sensor was failing. Immediately thereafter the CEL would illuminate for about 5 mins then go out and the engine would behave normally again.
  4. Seems to be marginally related to heat (is fine when cold)
  5. Transmission temps rose sharply during symptoms

That leaves me with:
  • Water in a connector / Poor connection (I did wash the engine about a week prior to symptoms)
  • ECU (not putting much stock in this)
  • Faulty TCM?
  • Faulty TPS?
  • A short in one of the harness (I Ohm'd the wires from EC1 & EC2 to IH1 at the ECU and everything was <.3 Ohms, I did not test the neutral safety switch
  • Solinoids?
It would be helpful to know exactly what circuits trigger what codes. All I've got is a list that says "TCM Communication" "Wiring Fault" for 81-85.... Not very helpful
 
Forgot to ask how is the condition of your NSS barrel plug near the starter ?

I'd say it's standard. There was some corrosion on pin 6.

That was where I started actually. I've had both barrel plugs and the adjacent EC1&2 connectors apart numerous time throughout my trouble shooting. Each time I've thoroughly cleaned out each connector and securely reconnected them.
 
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