Their transmission controllers are stand alone, but if they are going into a vehicle that still requires the original PCM, it can be made to work with it in some cases.

I'd be interested to know how the newer controllers work, since the price seems to be the same but they have some extra features.

So far, I had a wire break on mine near the connector in the cab, and had to limp home in 2nd gear. Other then that, its been perfect from day one.

 

So is it the OEM computer that throws a code and causes the tranny to go into safe mode everytime a sensor or connector isn't feeling right? If you replace the OEM computer with the Baumann TCM will it prevent it from doing that? I'm gonna check the 6 connectors you are talking about tomorrow. I've checked all of the wiring that I can see from the VSS forward and I can't find a problem with it and the speeodometer everything else in the cluster work fine now. What else can I check? I know there is the one on the driver's side of the tranny, can't remember what it's called some kind of position sensor or something, I checked it but all I can tell you is that it's there and doesn't have any obvious defects that I can see. I just don't understand why it can be driving along perfect as sunshine and for no apparent reason throw a code!

 

Yes, if the OEM computer senses something out of whack, it will throw a code (sorry, I didn't mean to suggest you should replace it with an aftermarket PCM).

It can be frustrating tracking down electrical falts like this, but its still cheaper than taking any drastic action. I suspect many E4ODs get rebuilt because of gremlins like this, only to have the problem re occur and the shop tell the customer they are SOL because the transmission is fine (often the truck gets flogged or in rare cases converted to a 5 speed at that point).

 

No worries, I knew you weren't suggesting that. I was just wondering if replacing the OEM computer with the TCM would cure it if I couldn't track down whatever little issue is causing the OEM to send the code.

 

no doubt.we hear stories all the time of trans shop telling folks their trans needs to be rebuilt,when all it was,was something basic (or perhaps even just a torque convertor.)
don't jump to conclusions.
LSO, there are some other places too check after the VSS,along with that internal part that sends the VSS single.......whats that part in rear axle called that does that?...anyway those go bad sometimes too.i want to say "ring tone" but i don't think that's it.hmmm
anyway,how about the door jam light switch and the fuse for that?
i had mine go bad which left my dome light on,so i pull over and just remove the switch............bad idea!!!!
it worked all the way home,but when i went out the next morning,she finally set the code and went into limp mode.i stopped and turned right around and thought,ok what changed lately? i quickly recalled pulling the door switch,so i plugged it back in.
no wait,actually i didn't..... i pulled the fuse......that's what frigged it up.i then put that fuse back in,and then just pulled the faulty door jam switch and all was fixed,that's how it went.since replaced the switch.
why ford thought it was a good idea to place a fuse that's on with something else,that is required by the trans PCM,i just don't know.
they were having a bad day i guess.
also you need to inspect your brake lights etc are all working properly.this can mess with the trans as well.
don't give up.you'll find the trouble.

 

Holy ****!! You mean to tell me that the interior light switch on the driver's door not working screws with this transmission too!?! The interior light doesn't come on when I open the driver's door but it does when I open the passenger door so I'll check that. Do you remember which fuse it was? You're talking about the tone ring in the rear end. I don't think it has any problems, the speedometer is working fine now and it's accurate. Checked it with radar, one of the few advantages of being a cop! LOL. See, this is why I hate my E4OD!! It may be a good tranny mechanically speaking but it is too damn sensitive to every other little think in the truck! That's why I was wondering if replacing the OEM computer with the TCM would prevent it from doing all that.

 

i don't recall which fuse,but you look on the cover to find the interior light.
sounds like this fuse is ok though if the dome light comes on when you open the pass side.though you may want to unplug the faulty switch just in case anyway.
this was a very poor mistake by ford.iv told myself,if i was smart i would reroute whatever it was (i can't recall now.but you'll know when you look at the fuse panel) to pull the wire from this circuit and place my own inline fuse for whatever that is.but then i got to thinking,i guess it doesn't matter much,as long as i keep everything in good working order anyway,so i let it go.i found that pretty dumb of ford though when it happened.what if i kept driving and let my trans shift late and bang into gear? it wouldn't have been good for it that's for sure.

 

Okay I went out and checked some things out and took some pics. First I'll give some history on this truck. It's a 1993 F250 4x4 regulary cab 7.3 IDI. My father in law bought it in 1994 with 1100 miles on it. In 2007 he parked it because the tranny was shifting hard and he thought it was going out he said this was the exact time the speedo and tach stopped working. When he parked it the truck only had 88K miles on it and has been drove very, very little since then. He gave it to me in December of 2008 and it had set since he parked it without being moved or even started. It is in great shape with only a few little dings here and there from him using it on the farm. The seat looks like it has never been sat in!

Well I checked all of the fuses in the truck and they are all good. All of the brake lights, turn signals, hazard lights, and marker lights work. In fact the only thing I can find that don't work is the cruise control but the fuse for it is good. The driver's door doesn't have a switch to let the dome light come on when you open the door and I don't see anywhere that it could have ever had one. The passenger door does have a switch and the dome light comes on when you open the passenger door. I checked all of the fuses in the power distribution box under the hood and they are all good but two of the relays weren't seated in all the way. I did find a white wire that comes through the firewall on the driver's side that, along with a black wire runs into a big red wire that I traced to the plug in that's in the bed for the trailer brakes. The white wire was bare in one spot so I taped it up with electrical tape. I don't know if this could have been causing a problem but who knows with this tranny!

I checked the connectors that are under the brake booster and all of the ones I could find on the tranny and they all appear to be connected good.

I did find this along the driver's side of the frame, see pic below. It looks new and wasn't there before I took it to the Ford dealer so I'm not sure what they did here, looks like it runs into a connector going in to a brake line or something.


I also checked this, see pic below. I think its called the manual position sensor or something. I pulled the lever forward and the truck started rolling forward so I got my big *** out from under it quick! I started the truck up and put it in reverse and drive then park and checked the lever again and it had returned to where it was before i messed with it.


The only other thing that I could find that looks out of place is this, see pic below. It appears to work a flapper in the heat/AC system in the dash cause when I move it I can hear something in the dash opening and closing. As you can see in the pic there is a vaccum line that has been cut from it but all of the heat/AC vents work fine.


Sorry for the long post but I'm really trying to get this figured out before I do something drastic and swap the tranny for a ZF5!

 

that harness is a ford recall update,so rather than the truck burning down due to an always hot wire,and possible leak of brake fluid,that will burn out and stop power going to the brake master plug.

finding a bare wire running to your trailer brake lights and patching that up will hopefully = success.
try her out now.
at some point real soon,go ahead and find yourself a rubber grommet for this too,so it doesn't happen again.

the E40D needs all it's sensors to give the brain the info to send to the trans.changing the brain to a more advance one (in the way of more program options/features etc) will not change this.it's still electronically controlled and everything needs to be in working order just the same.

 

I will do that! Thanks for the help guys!

 

Never heard about the dome light thing before but I can vouch for the thing in the differential being called the "tone ring".

You may want to pull the VSS again and see if its dirty or covered in metal shavings.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Ford have some issues with the connectors on the early MPLS switches being prone to corrosion? Worth a shot to take a close look at it and test the switch. I believe you can buy the MPLS with an "updated" connector kit to swap the connector to a newer design.

<img src="http://www.hightechome.com/Ford/MPLS.gif">

The main one you're after is the Transmission circuit test. Backup lights = Do the backup lights turn on. Start circuit = "Does the truck start in park/Neutral and not other gears" (assuming it wasn't bypassed at some point). The transmission circuit uses ladder-logic set of resistors. The computer can tell what gear is selected based on how much resistance it senses. Bad connection or bad MPLS can make the computer think you're in say Reverse while you're in drive etc..

*edit* OH... and don't forget to block the wheels when you do this test so you don't nearly run yourself over again

 

Reverse lights come on and truck starts in park and neutral bot not other gears.

 

good, but you still need to check the ohm values of each of the gears for the transmission circuit as that's the one the computer uses.

 

tpc or the wires going to it