A340e Sluggish takeoff? Lockup Solenoid Problem?

[Z2TT]

Hello,

I have a 1989 Toyota Soarer GZ20 with a A340e trasmission.

Some people may remember the thread where I had a problem with the error light showing up during a real sluggish takeoff, so I read the Toyota Supra repair manual which said to test the resistance of the 3 solenoids. I had to find pinouts for my ECU, which I found in the 1g tech thread. I tested the resistance of S1 S2 and S3. S1 and S2 showed 14.5 Ohms, however S3 which I believe must be the lockup solenoid (can somebody confirm this?) showed infinite resistance.

My knowledge on automatic transmissions is very poor, but I believe the lockup solenoid puts the transmission into overdrive.

The problem that I sometimes have while driving is when I take off at the lights, the car revs a lot and accelerates very slowly, at the same time the error light begins flashing, then after the car picks up some speed the transmission begins to behave normally. I dont have this problem everytime I take off, but its very common, it happens everytime I drive.

Like I said I believe the lockup solenoid is for putting the transmission into overdrive, so would it be causing the slow takeoffs?

Thanks.

[Hibba]

If anyone of the solenoids is kaput it will put the box in to limp mode.

e.g.
1st is 1st
2nd is 3rd
and
3rd is OD

[woggin]

i was gonna say rooted box, but when i saw that it wasnt every time it was obvious that it isnt the box......try resetting the ECU and the Tranny (disconnect battery)....

thats about all i can think about!!!!

[Z2TT]

If anyone of the solenoids is kaput it will put the box in to limp mode.

e.g.
1st is 1st
2nd is 3rd
and
3rd is OD

I dont understand, can you please explain this in a bit more detail?

I know one of my solenoids is gone or it is making bad contact, but I want to know why a lockup solenoid would cause the problem when starting at takeoff. Shouldn't it only cause problems when trying to go into overdrive? example never going into overdrive?

Thanks.

[madmont]

One solenoid is activated for first gear. If it is not working and you have it in "D" it will take off in overdrive and be a bit slow. Then you would expect it to change into third because one solenoid is not working and then into overdrive. Unplug the transmission and see how it behaves when shifted manually.
As Hibba said
1st is 1st
2nd is 3rd
and
3rd is OD
R is reverse

[Hibba]

I dont understand, can you please explain this in a bit more detail?

I know one of my solenoids is gone or it is making bad contact, but I want to know why a lockup solenoid would cause the problem when starting at takeoff. Shouldn't it only cause problems when trying to go into overdrive? example never going into overdrive?

Thanks.

Because as i said if there is a problem with any solenoid in the box, it will put the whole box in to Limp mode. e.g. it doesn't use any of the solenoids in the box, and cuts power to all 3

[orangeute338]

sorry to bring up a old thread but i did a search on google and this came up and instead of making a new thread, im pretty much having the same dramas, just wondering if anyone worked out what the ohms should be on the solenoids? i have one about 4ohms and one about 5ohms and the lock up one is infin, L is 1st, 2nd is 3rd and d is 3rd and I can turn o/d on and off...o/d is flashing but when i bridge the plugs to check the error codes the engine check light is just flashing on off on off (no codes)...first thing in the morning the box works fine for the first min goes from 1 - 2 - 3 but then next time i stop and take off its back to limp mode....so how would i find out which solenoid is the prob or if its a speed sensor or just clogged up valve body or something(i just did a fluid flush and didnt help)

cheers

[George]

orangeute338 read your error codes first

[dumbass]

it's probably not really limp mode it's just the solenoids not working
when dsolenoid 1 is on u get 1st gear
solenoid 1 and 2 on u get 2nd gear
solenoid 2 on u get 3rd gear
no solenoids on u get overdrive

now if solenoid 1 fails u take off in 3rd
if solenoid 2 fails u take of in 1st then change into overdrive
it's nearly always faulty solenoid
but if u do want to test the wiring u need to hook up text lights
to solenoid 1 and 2 wires right near gbox then go for drive
the ecu puts out a 12v positive trigger to the solenoids
so if the test lights come on then it's prob the solenoids inside
gbox

[orangeute338]

I have checked the codes and nothing comes up when i bridge the plug the engine check light flashes constantly. But od does flash so there should be a code i would think. I tried to check the voltage at the ecu solenoid wires but was hard while driving going to get a helper and check properly. I have 1st when in l and 3rd when in 2nd and d and od in d when i switch it on so maybe its mechanical blockage in valve body. If one wasnt workin i shouldnt get 3rd right?

[George]

What year/model is it?
With older toyotas, bridging te1 to e1 reads engine codes via warning light, and te2 to e1 will bring you transmission codes flashed on o/d light

[orangeute338]

engine and trans is out of a 93 jzz30 - car is 86 gz20, ok i didnt know about the trans codes with te2, so yeah i bridged te1 and e1. In the connector in the engine bay on the side of the motor where I bridged te1 and e1, im not sure if the te2 terminal has a wire in there but ill check it out(im sure there would be), its full of white lube so bit hard to see, ill see what codes i can get with the o/d light and te2 and e1, cheers

[George]

One more thing: if that's a conversion, some wires may be unconnected by mistake. Like there's a pin in diag. connector but it doesn't run to the ECU. It happens because part of engine wiring comes through body wiring, and the latter needs to be manually reconnected.

I see that kinda mistake here and there with JZX100 engines conversion, so it may be the case with your TE1 pin not doing anything.

Because bridging TE1 to E1 must ultimately lead to warning light flashing. If there's no single code, it will flash at higher rate.

[orangeute338]

yeah its working because i did have a code 14 from when i had the igniter unplugged to find the tach wire, so i cleared that code and when bridging the te1 and e1 it just flashs fast = no codes. i just bridged the te2 and e1 on the ecu since there was no wire in the engine bay plug for te2, but when bridged i just got fast blinking on the engine check light and the o/d isnt flashing, but i just remembered i just had the battery out cos it was flat so the codes would have been cleared...will need to go for a drive to get the codes again...lol

[orangeute338]

i just went for a boost and all is working properly, so im thinking maybe the problem could have been a few things, i flushed the fluid the other nite, so might have just been shit fluid it was a bit brown, also i think it might have been low on the fluid and also i charged the battery may have not been sending enough voltage to the solenoids...so i think it maybe fixed, i will keep my fingers crossed tho. thanks for the help guys

now i just need some better gearing, first is about 60, second 110 and third i think is about 150. at the drags i only managed a 14.7 with no second gear and cutting out at 150km/h before the finish line, i thought it was speed cut or something but i think it might have just been 3rd on the limiter(didnt have a tacho at that stage and didnt go into o/d)