when you try to kick it into passing gear it acts like its going into the lowest ger it has, it jerks and slams down and goes right back to 4th when you let off. i believe its in limp mode, it has all the symptoms of that.
it didnt show any codes at all the first time i had it read.
how would you check the wiring for power, with a simple tool?

 

this is probably very confusing to you guys, but im just as confused. You guys all have better knowledge about this stuff than me so please bear with me. Thanks guys!

 

Please do what I said earlier and manually shift through the gears.

You'll need a long length of road and constant throttle. Start out in 1st with OD off, then work through until you're in drive, then re-enable overdrive. You should feel/notice 3 shifts, maybe 4 if your torque converter lockup is noticeable. This will verify that the wiring is correct and functional.


The only thing E4OD limp mode does is default to maximum line pressure and disable torque converter lockup IIRC. Which will make it shift very hard and harsh.

Full electrical failure to the transmission causes it to default to 4th in drive, and 2nd in the 1st or 2nd range

 

i manually shifted it and it had 3 shifts that you could feel. but it feels to go into 4th as soon as i reenable od. when you kick it into passing gear it will turn a bunchof rpms and jump into ger violently.

 

i took a tester to the plug and only 2 terminals in the plug light up. how many are supposed to light up??

 

It isn't just how many are supposed to light up. There are many solenoids the computer energizes at specific times to do specific things.

The fact that it goes into each gear when manually shifted indicates that the major solenoid connections are correct and functioning.

 

so if all of that is functioning correctly, then what could my problem be? i noticed that the speedometer is jumpy when it hits high gear.

 

It could be a bad PSOM or computer causing all of your problems.
You might try unplugging the RABS module and the speed control module then see if it works OK.
You could also have bad bearings in the rear end.

 

where is the RABS module located? ill try that.

 

The RABS module is located behind the glove box.
The Speed Control Module is located under the hood at the driver side hinge of the hood.


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The jumpy speedometer is a key thing you left out!

The way it works, is the speed signal from the sensor from the differential first goes to the speedometer module, which then sends it to the computer. The computer uses the speed information to shift. If the speedometer is jumping around, than the computer is also getting a speed signal that is jumping around.

Common things to go bad are the VSS sensor in the rear end, the Speedometer module itself, and the RABS module.

 

i replaced the vss sensor, now i just need help on what the speedometer module looks like.
is there a way to bipass the RABS module to see if its the problem?

 

Every time you check your current speed you're looking at the speedometer module. It's built right into the speedometer itself. It pops out of the cluster assembly as a module.

 

so do i need to unhook it and get a new one?
or can i unhook it and see if thats the problem?

 

If you remove the speedometer module, then your computer won't get a speed signal.

Try disconnecting the cruise control module and the ABS module first.