Hi everyone, I'm having an issue with my 1993 E350 5.8l van I hope someone here can help me with. I picked this site because it looks like there are a lot of very knowledgeable people here. Thanks in advance

The trans, E4OD, just started shifting strange the other day. Fluid is full, harnesses are connected and appear to be in good shape. The 1-2 shift is late, 25-35 @ 15% throttle and the rest are early. The shift points are controlled by the PCM so I pulled the codes. 32, 75, 52, 56, 21, 621, 622, 631, 629 and 626. The dtc 32 has been there for years. I replaced the EGR PS years ago to no avail. The rest of the codes are new. I know what they mean but I'm thinking there are too many codes to have that many bad parts all at once. I pulled the connector from the PCM and the pins look nice and clean. I cleaned them and put dielectric grease on them anyway and there was no change. I double checked the trans connectors and harness from under the van and things look to be in good shape. I suspect the PCM or wire harness is bad and would like to get some opinions from people who are very familiar with the eec-iv system.

 

Wow, thats impressive. I suspect a harness or connector issues. Information follows:

621 Shift Solenoid 1 (SS1) circuit failure (E4OD)
622 Shift Solenoid 2 (SS2) circuit failure (E4OD)
629 Converter Clutch Solenoid Circuit failure (E4OD)
631 Overdrive Cancel Indicator Light (OCIL) circuit failure (E4OD)
626 Coast Clutch Solenoid (CCS) circuit failure (E4OD)


Well, unless your transmission has VAPORIZED its probably an electrical issue ;D Your ECU also thinks the brake switch has vanished, the coolant temp sensor is out of range, and that the Transmission Fluid Temperature Circuit is shorted. Which is rather impressive, since there is no transmission fluid temp circuit. Your ECU probably went into limp home mode with so many faults. ALL of these circuits can be found running through Connector 121, and the main engine harness that goes across the top of the engine. CHECK THAT HARNESS. Pull the doghouse off and remove the air cleaner, and get your hands around it and feel the whole thing. I bet its melted somewhere.

The electrical diagrams show connector 212 and 121 as the location where almost all of those systems join. I would also checkthere; I would also check grounds. If you find no obvious faults, remove battery power for 30 seconds and try driving again, you may have caused a race condition/software fault in the ECU (stupidly rare, but happens!) You may also have a faulty ECU, but thats kinda low on the pole.

EDIT TO ADD: Connector 134 (top middle of engine diagram) may also be in trouble.

C121 & C134


C212


e4od wiring, pin numbers, and overview:


Edit to add correction: There IS a transmission fluid temp circuit! My bad; i've never encountered one on these vans!

 

thank you 95e150CW!

I went out right after you posted the first time and pulled those two connectors and a third one. They looked like they were put together yesterday. Pins are clean with the factory grease on them. I think I already checked C134 from underneath, reaching up around the bell housing. Of course that one wouldn't explain dtc 75, 52 or 21. Tomorrow I will look at the top of the engine. I was thinking about a bad ground earlier today and I confirmed the engine and body is grounded. Just for fun I ran a jumper from the battery to the compressor and drove it. Maybe there's another ground? I also looked for the PCM online and Official Ford Parts Site | Buy Motorcraft & OEM Ford Parts Online | FordParts.com and it appears to be NLA

 

I'm betting on that wiring harness. Anyway, that ECU is available. They are all over ebay, and i know of where i can personally find 3 93 350's with 5.8's and e4ods that probably still have their ECUs. E150/350/350 should share the same ECU if they have the same engine, emissions setup, and transmission. You can pull the ECU and look on ebay for its emissions calibration. I still am leaning towards a wiring harness, that one on top of the engine seems likley. If you search it all, and dont find anything, reset the ECU by removing battery gnd for 15 mins and reconnect.

Sadly, you dont have the same tools I do. I would have already connected the ECU pigtail and started probing all the circuits and sensors. Your next step might be probing wires for opens and shorts...

Edit to Add: It might be one of the voltage rails/regulators inside the ECU. Its not very common, and i suspect it would affects sensors mostly, but anything is possible. Worst case, the ECU isn't expensive even on overpriced ebay (most calibrations are <200 bucks) and swapping it out after verifying the harness and sensors are 100% might be easier than getting the pigtail and probing around.

 

Wow, i realized my last post was kinda useless. EESH.

Check pin 1 for battery voltage at all times. Should be fine since there were codes in the ECU.
pins 37 and 57 should have voltage when the key is ON.
pins 40 and 60 should have 0 volts, and should be solid grounds. Make sure you can get battery voltage through them when using them as ground.

Pinout below

 

I checked everything you said and then confirmed voltage to the trans connector and then checked the solenoids from the PCM connector. All was found normal so I pulled the PCM and found the problem. One capacitor has a leg burned or rotted off. I've ordered a new capacitor and it should be in my hands tomorrow. I'll post back with the results.

Thanks,
Andy

 

Glad that its such an easy issue!
Go ahead and replace all the caps. They do have a limited service life, and it looks like more than one cap is on its way out.

If you are experienced with soldering, please ignore the almost condescending advice below:

Get some liquid flux (radio shack carries it.) The board is covered in a conformal coating that you should GENTLY scrape off from around the cap solder pads top and bottom after you get the caps off. Use some alcohol to clean the area, and touch it with a bit of flux to clean the old pad. Tin the tip of your iron (i suggest using a temp controlled soldering workstation if you have access) to make it easier... You may have some damaged traces there, might want to make sure you have some hookup wire handy to bypass damaged traces. A board this old isn't going to be lead free, so make sure you use leaded solder.

Edit to add: Those drivers/fets/regulators (things clipped to the case) handle a lot of current, and the damage to the cap may be caused by one of those, might want to take a close look at them and see if any of them have damage. Its almost 100% likley that the cap leaked, rotted its insides and just came apart. Double check though so you arent reworking the board again later.

 

I replaced the bad capacitor with an exact replacement, sprayed some clear coat on the board where it was compromised in the repair area and reinstalled the PCM. Took it for a test drive and she shifts great. I checked for the codes and they're gone except for the EGR PS code and a new 512 code. I hope the keep alive memory failure code is there because the board was out for a while.

Problem solved, thanks for your help,
Andy

 

KAM is just from not having the battery connected, not the end of the world exactly