It appears I have a bigger electrical problem than just the OD switch.

I moved the column up (I never move it) to start removing screws and heard the ding,

ding sound of the chime that comes on when the door is open but no key in the ignition

switch. I moved it down and the ding went away with the door open, up/down ding, no

ding.
I dont mind doing electrical work, I just hate disassembling a hundred parts to get to the repair......

I am going to get an estimate to have it fixed before I tear it apart because I know after I fix it I will drive it a while before putting all the plastic pieces and other parts back

 

I don't want this to sound bad towards young mechanics but,, your van is over 20 years old so it would be a good idea to find a mechanic with some experience working on the column..
The last time I took my 88 in to have the toe in set, I ask the shop to center the steering wheel. Their mechanic tried pulling the front cover off the steering wheel without loosening the screws that hold it on and broke the cover what holds the cruse control/horn switches.
The steering column intimidates me about as much as a auto transmission does!
Oh and then there was the hubcaps that have the fake lug nuts. They had to buy me new hub cap after twisting off 2 hubcap lug nuts before saw what he was doing and got the manager.

 

Yes, definately find someone that knows fords or the E series. Im thinking some old timer at a dealership maybe, I know, Stealership

Years ago I took it to a local shop to have the plugs and wires changed and I was quoted some outrageous figure, I suspected they did not want to do it.

 

You center the wheel by adjusting the drag link, during an alignment, they often don't adjust enough, leading to a cocked wheel, I need to cut the air bags from my coils and replace them, get it aired back up, my camber was set with 35 psi up front, lifts is a slight amount, they have rot, now it's down just slightly.

 

After resetting the computer on Sunday, The hard shifting subsided for A day and a half and returned yesterday. Dont know what that really means.

I guess I need to fix the (Overdrive switch) short in the steering column before doing anything else.

Question: Does the ignition switch have to come off to remove the plastic column cover?
Ive changed the ignition switch once before.

Thanks.

 

I found out that the wires to the OD switch are fine and not cut or chaffed at all, It turned out to be the actual switch. I ordered one from Orielly yesterday, installed it in the parking lot, took all of 5 seconds and viola, The OD Light stays on and goes off and I can feel the trans shifting when I hit the new button.
I grabbed the shifter and wiggled it around vary harshly while driving and the light never went off at all.

I reset the computer and I will see in the next few days if this fixes the hard shifting issue, I can imagine the short playing havoc with the computer.

I did order a reman Computer anyway because I had the bad capacitor problem with mine a few years ago, I fixed it but the others might have gone bad as well.

Also fixed door open ding short, kinda wished i hadnt cuz that dinging is annoying, lol.

Thanks.

 

Got the remanufactured computer installed today. It did not fix the hard shifting problem but it does seem to be idling smoother and when I come to a stop the idle settles down quicker.
As far as not shifting into 4th gear, I took it on a test drive and I cannot tell if its shifting into 4th or not. I guess I need a tach and/or the mph specs for shifting. I rarely exceed 60 mph.

 

If you just replaced the ECU, you'll need to get about 50+ miles on the vehicle to get the ECU to get actuated to the engine, transmission.

Same as if you disconnect the negative battery cable for more than 20 minutes.

You wrote several times that you can't tell if it's shifting into 4th gear, it should be really noticeable while driving, most E4OD I have you can feel the shift into 4th (over-drive) at about 45mph, if your not jamming the skinny pedal to the floor all the time.

 

Thats what I left out of my post. I was wondering if the computer needed time to adjust to the rest of the vehicle, or something like that.
I will try to jump on the freeway next week on my way to work, see if anything changes.

Thanks.

 

Update: I installed the remanufactured computer on Saturday. Seemed to idle smoother.

This morning on my way to work (about 11 miles) it was not shifting as hard.

On my way home I was sitting in traffic with my foot on the brake and the van surged forward very slightly (never done that before) Then while accelerating I could barely feel it shift into second then into third, very smooth shifting for the next 3 miles while driving home.

Tomorrow morning I am going to take it on the freeway on my way to work and hopefully it will still shift smoothly.

I guess the new computer did something although that little surge was kinda scary and unexpected.

 

After driving about 65 miles since I installed A remanufactured computer and installing a new overdrive switch, The van is shifting great, at any speed and no more slamming into gear and the OD is working but I have a new problem.


While I am stopped with my foot on the brake the van surges forward slightly and the light on the OD switch goes off. It has never done this before. It did it once yesterday and two times today on my way home from work. It also stalled two times while sopped in traffic but started right up, seems to do it when hot. I had a stalling issue when hot before but I cured it by replacing the Ignition control module about 2 years ago.

Any ideas about what might cause this?

No CEL is on, I am going to check for codes when I get a chance.


Thanks.

 

It could be the relay that powers the computer.

 

Do you mean the relay might be causing the suging?

Today It had a bigger hiccup, It did not do the surge thing until I got home but this time it was worse.


I had put it in reverse and then all of a sudden the surge happened but this time it did not go down on its own, the idle revved pretty high and somehow I got the idea to hit the OD switch when I did, the idle dropped back down to normal.

UPDATE: I just pulled codes, I got a 632 (excessive clutch slippage )

and 311 (THERMACTIC AIR SYSTEM FAULT) Just the name sounds like it has some kind of relationship to the smog system or has hoses that can lose vacuumn and cause erratic idle.

What is the THERMACTIC AIR SYSTEM and what should I look at first?



These codes are with the new computer installed, I did get the 311 with the old computer but did not get the 632 with the old computer.



Thanks.

 

The hiccup could be the computer momentarily losing power. That will happen with a bad power relay.

 

Hey Mark, I think I was updating my post while you were responding.

I am getting a code 311 ( THERMACTIC AIR SYSTEM FAULT )
Does this mean I should start looking for vacuumn leaks?

I got this code with the new computer and old one.

Thanks.