Hi there and this is my first post! Proud to be the owner of a 1990 Ford F-150 I found with only 50,000km on it! But I may have made a mistake.

While the truck is in excellent condition I have this problem which I've been doing all I can to figure out.

The truck shifts awful in OD. It has a 5.8 L with E4OD tranny. Stays in first for a long time then finally after 3000 RPM jumps into fourth gear. Will do second gear if I choose it on the shifter. Feels like it is trying to downshift into third when I am highway cruising but just can't.

So far I've changed the gear position sensor on the side thinking that might be it. Not. Same thing still happening. Then I got smart and learned how to check the codes using the paperclip method and come up with a koeo code 92 which is a shift solenoid 2 circuit problem. Sounds right since I am having tranny problems. So I thought must be the solenoid pack right, I replace the solenoid pack on an expensive gamble but didn't pay off. All I got was another clean red waterfall of tranny fluid and no improvement and still Code 92. So then I start looking at the wiring harness but I don't see anything wrong there. Wires look quite good. I was examining it closely. It was very greasy and dirty but upon further review there appears to be no broken wires. I even pulled out the wire which is for shift solenoid 2 and looked at it. Looks fine. Could it be the computer? I've almost given up. I will probably go to a local tranny shop but they'll probably tell me to pull the tranny and charge me a fortune. This sucks.

Can anyone here help me?

By the way tranny fluid is clean as a whistle and no metal in the tranny. Everything looks good there. This definitely seems like an electrical problem vs a mechanical one. But of course I'm no expert. Also changed the filter when I did the fluid. Fluid level good. Truck is in amazing condition. It is such a shame this electrical problem is happening.

 

Anyone know what to do?

 

Anyone got any experience with a Code 92? What can I do with this truck?

 

Check the wiring harness on the passenger side of the transmission. It sounds like a wiring issue...I'm not expert one of the other guys might chime in later in the next couple days

 

Ok thank you for chiming in, I pulled off the bulk head connector to the solenoid pack and pulled it down to examine it. But I don't see anything that looks too bad. All pins look ok. But I am not good with testing electrically with meters and things. I certainly wish I knew what was wrong.

 

I had a similar issue with the erratic shifting. Never did find out what it was. I changed the vss, flushed tranny, pulled the main harness connector everything looked as it was. It wasn't until I pulled the pcm from behind the speedometer and put it back together that the issue has resolved itself. (Knock on wood) Probably not much help but just what I went through.

 

Thanks. I have been contemplating pulling that computer and checking it out. Also looking at the pins there. As far as what I can tell from the service manual, there are only 3 things that can cause this Code 92. A bad solenoid pack (already done), a bad wiring harness (I don't know how to test but looks ok to me), a bad computer. So I should find this gremlin. But it sure burns my biscuit to have bought that solenoid pack for nothing. At least I will keep the original one as a backup. I can't afford these crazy prices for mechanics now a days. I need to be my own mechanic but I also enjoy working on vehicles.

 

Service Code 92 indicate the solenoid did not change state when requested by the processor.
Possible causes:
-- Damaged or misadjusted MLP sensor
-- Open or shorted harness
-- Damaged processor
Or of course a bad solenoid in the new solenoid pack and in that case a new solenoid pack.
Sounds like the transmission is OK.

Try grounding the wires to the solenoids and see if you hear a click at the solenoid pack. Shift solenoid #2 is the Purple wire with an orange stripe and shift solenoid #1 is a Orange wire with a yellow stripe.
But be careful so you do not ground the red power wire to the transmission.
If both solenoid click with the key on then the wiring is OK to the solenoids.

Note your PCM Computer is located in the drivers kick panel.
/

 

I can see we are going to need to talk about patience and possibly compensation before I tell you where your problem is.

You first posted at 11:42 PM (my time.) Then at 12:46 am, and 1:33 am. Hint: I sleep at night. I was asleep. If you want instant response I need better compensation that you're now paying me. I think $10/hour whenever I'm on call, plus $100/hour to answer your beck and call should take care of it. The on call will of course be 24/7, and since there are 168 hours in a week, I expect a check for $1,680 each and every week. Then you can ask a question anytime you want and I guarantee a 5 minute response time. Day or night. Deal?

If you don't want to pay that, you must wait for me to have time to answer for free. Here I am.

You have a wiring issue. Either you have a broken wire or a corroded splice, or a damaged pin in a connector. Your visual look at the harness is a first step, but hardly conclusive that there is nothing wrong with the wiring. It only shows that the problem isn't obvious.

You need to electrically check the circuit. Does it have continuity from the computer to the trans connector? Does the internal trans harness have continuity? Does the wire (when disconnected on both ends) have continuity to ground or to power? Either of these would show that there is a short in the harness.

Sometimes a shift solenoid code is a bad solenoid. Most of the time that code indicates a wiring harness problem.

 

Thank you so much for this great info. My question is where can I can access to ground these wires? Do I cut away a piece of the insulation of the wires to ground them when the key is on? I just am confused on which way to approach testing this situation.

 

I'm sorry to be so impatient but this problem has me really pulling my hair out.

My question is how do I check continuity from the one end coming out of the computer to the other end of the connector by the tranny? Is there some special way? The multimeter wires are too short to reach so far. Or do I just cut little chunks out of sections of the insulation of the wire in question? I'm a real novice when it comes to checking electronics but I'm eager to learn. I'm thinking maybe use a jumper wire on the one end so it can reach more to the front of the car where the computer pin is.

Is there a list somewhere of what each pin is in the 60 pin computer connector? So if I probe the one that is shift solenoid #2 and the other end to the wire which controls shift solenoid #2 to the solenoid pack then that should tell me whether there is continuity there or not yes? If there is no continuity then I have to narrow down where is the break in the wire. That could be hard.

 

To check the continuity of each wire unplug the harness at each end. Get a jumper wire to reach. Probe the back of the connectors, never push a probe into a connector in the end where it makes the connection. That will force open the pins and now they won't make a good connection when you plug the harness back together. This creates a new problem that you have to find and fix.

Don't cut the wires. That just invites more wiring issues.

There is a list of what each pin does. It's called a wiring diagram. I don't have one, but they are available.

 

Thanks Mark. I have found out from some searching that shift solenoid #2 is Pin 19 on the EEC-IV connector. So I will remove the pin wire from the transmission bulkhead connector (learned how to do this on the shift selector wiring harness) so I can attach a jumper to that end and then carefully backprobe Pin 19 of the computer connector. I will remove the connector to the computer first, and of course remove the battery cable first. So if the multimeter beeps she should be good. If not then there is a problem there somewhere?

 

If there is no continuity then you have a broken wire. Finding the break is nearly impossible. Whenever I've run into that situation I just run a new wire.

 

Well I'm quite proud of myself. I figured out using jumpers from pin 19 of the connector to the shift solenoid 2 wire that there is indeed continuity. Nothing wrong with the wiring harness. So does that leave only computer? I notice a capacitor inside looked like it leaked. Not burnt really but doesn't look particularly great on that computer board.

board.