Took my 94 f250 7.3 idi turbo to get the IP replaced, I got it back and it was shifting extremely hard into 2nd gear at low rpm but would shift fine over 1800 or so rpm’s. Took it back to the shop and it’s been there the last 3 weeks with no updates except today when I told him I’d be coming to get it and it just so happens that it’s “all taken apart”. Told him to put it back together and I got it back today. When I put my multimeter to the tps/fipl whatever you’d like to call it, it’s reading .44 volts no matter how far I twist it clockwise and counter clockwise. Would this be a sensor issue or wiring harness issue? It’s showing .01 ohms to the ground and 5 volts to the other wire and from what I’ve read here and other forums that’s what they should be reading. I called today and ordered a new tps sensor but is there anything else I should look into while I have the tools out?

 

First, try replacing the battery in your meter. Second, be sure you're placing the black, negative lead of your meter, directly on the negative terminal of a battery.

A/T - E40D FIPL (TPS) Sensor Trouble Shooting & Adjustment (Diesel Applications Only)

 

for what’s it’s worth the multimeter is about a week old so I’d assume the battery’s are just fine, and I had my neighbor come out and give me a hand being it was a bit difficult holding both prongs by myself and engaging the throttle lol I triple checked every time I put the needle to the wire that we were on the negative on my battery. I guess I’m just looking to pick brains on if anyone’s had this same issue and if it’s the sensor itself or could be something else I should look into

 

Yeah, never assume the battery in your meter is good, when it reads off the wall. It's cheap or free (if you have rechargeables) to swap it/them out. If it's not the battery in your meter giving false readings, then it should be a bad sensor..........but it's odd it's way off like that. Generally they read ok voltage but they will get a dead spot, that's why I'd suspect the battery in the meter before replacing the TPS.

 

FWIW you don't have to hold both probes--just insert the positive probe into the back of the TPS connector and then you're free to use one hand to move the throttle while holding the other probe to battery ground.

 

I threw the new sensor in it and she runs like a charm now. Apparently it wasn’t even shifting into OD this whole time before I even had the hard shifting issue. Had to reset it a few times but found the sweet spot at .96v. I thought it running at 2k rpm at 65 was normal, well today I’m cruising down the highway and I heard it shift again and it was cruising at about 1600 rpm at 65. Took me an hour to do what the shop couldn’t do in 3 weeks. I’ll never take this truck or another diesel down the road into a shop again haha.

 

Try 1.2v at idle. There was a notice from FoMoCo recommending 1.2v. The firmer shifts reduce clutch slippage is what I've read. I also like being able to thoroughly wind out a gear before the trans shifts and the higher idle voltage seems to help.

 

I originally had it set to 1.2v but it was winding out to about 2200rpm before it shifted and I wasn’t super comfortable with that…I’ll look into though. The last thing I need is the tranny to start having issues. I just figured as long as it’s not giving me whiplash when it shifts than it’s fine as long as it’s within that .95-1.2v range. I did notice also it kept going in and out of OD when I had it set to 1.2v originally. Than again it is a bit hilly around these parts in north east PA

 

I live in the hills and I played around with a lot of different idle voltage settings before settling on 1.2v. I haven't had any issues with shifting in and out of O/D although I often turn O/D off and top speed around here is about 40-45mph. 2200rpm isn't very much--when I really step on it the engine will rev to about 3000rpm before shifting but it's still not a very hard shift. When I used a lower idle voltage setting I found the trans wanted to upshift too early which resulted in the engine lugging a bit.