hey guys, my overdrive light keeps flashing on/off , I would like to repair it myself, any suggestion?

 

get a roll of black tape and tape over the light. Just kidding there are many posts in here regarding same thing just take some time and look through this site is awesome.

P.S.
You can thank my dad for the black tape idea. He truely is a backyard mechanic. LOL

Stoney

 

Unhook the battery for 5 minutes to clear the code. If it starts flashing again, get it checked out.

 

I agree with marragtop. Disconnect the battery. If it comes back on soon then get it checked out. Over the years my O/D light has come on a couple of times. I've reset it and it won't come back on for many months if not a year or more. I think sometimes fault codes are accidently set. You should reset it quickly. The hard shifting that setting a code causes is very rough on your transmission.

Mason

 

Good ideas! I'll try them.

 

I have to agree I just spent 3067 bucks on getting a new trans into my X, however you can take it to Ford and they can pull the code from the trans and tell you why it is flashing and fix the problem if it comes on again.

 

I agree with Mason and Marragtop. I had the same. When it first happened, I had a loud bang in the tranny when it downshifted into first. Had the tranny replaced for $2100...a bargain! It was good for a few years, then it happened again! My regular mechanic said it couldn't be the tranny again!
He searched around and someone told him to check the connections to the tranny. He did. Seemed fixed. 6 months later...happened again! He tried again, but no success. I finally broke down and brought it to Ford, they said I need a new tranny and PCM...about $3500+!!! I have over 150,000 miles and there is no way I'm gonna spend that kind of money on a truck that is almost worth that amount anyways!!! After doing my own research, I found that disconnecting the battery for 10 mins clears the codes on the computer, so I tried it, and it worked!!! I figured this is what my mechanic did, without realizing it and thought it was the connections!! So now it costs me 10 mins of my time instead of $1000's!!! I really believe that once the PCM gets that code in it, it screws up the shifting pattern, causing the banging in the tranny. All is quiet for now. Of course I expect it to come back because there has to be something tripping it in the first place, but with the amount of miles I put on, I'm just gonna drive it til it drops. Good luck.

 

When the blinking OD light comes on, the trans goes into what is known as 'cripple' or 'limp' mode. This was intentional on Fords part in order to cause rougher shifting to enable you to get the truck to a repair facility. Due to the strain it puts on the trans, you need to limit how far you drive it with the blinking OD light on. On my '95, it comes on every 6-9 months. At this point, I carry a 5/16" wrench in the truck so I can just pull over, disconnect the battery for 5 minutes, hook it back up and be good for another 6 months. I've seen many posts where people have spend thousands on trans repairs only to have the light come back on. It also looks like this problem was specific to the 95 and 96 models. Haven't seen many posts on other years with this problem.

Mike

 

Just to ditto Mike's above email. I have a '95 with exactly the same situation. I could have written his post myself.

Mason

 

Awesome information, and thanks a million, or (3500.00).

 

I have tried disconnecting the battery and it works very temporarily. My O/D light comes on about once ever week or two. Could this have anything to do with the Catalyic Converter?

 

No that is transmission related that means your tranny is finding a problem like an early warning device, Ford can pull the codes on it but they refuse to sell the information to outside shops, kind of their little way of sticking it to you.

 

I have the same thing occurring on my 99 4.0 SOHC. The light doesn't immediately start flashing after I shut the vehicle off and re-start. It will start flashing sometime down the road (could be minutes, hours, days later). I have not noticed the rougher shifting when it happens, so I haven't got too excited about it. Autozone could not find any codes, so I guess I will have to take it to a dealership. I have a service CD that mentions something about torque converter slippage??, but again I haven't noticed any difference in performance when this starts.

 

Ford's little way of securing some of your hard earned cash even most transmission shop's can not pull the codes from them. This goes back to the late 80's and 90's when these aftermarket companies started producing the palm scanners and handheld devices for do it yourselfer's. Well they took a big chunk of cash from your local dealer now they are finding way's to get it back, just look at the new SOHC few want to mess with it internally but if it was an old pushrod engine you would have people turning wrenches all the time. Good luck with it and I hope it is nothing major. Some Ford dealers do not even charge to find out what is wrong with it.

 

I have a 95 XLT 4WD, have had the same problem with the overdrive light flashing. It was accompanied by other symptoms, however I don't think they were related. About 2 weeks before the O/D light began flashing, All my Radio Presets reset themselves, as well as the clock, overnight. The Explorer Started just fine the next morning (wierd). Around this time, my Speedometer began to bounce while I was driving, instead of reading a constant speed. Once the O/D light began flashing, I took the advice I found on a forum and disconnected the battery. This cleared the code, however it began to come back on almost a daily basis. I changed the Tranny filter, and gave it all new fluid. Then the Transmission began to shift in and out of overdrive while I was driving a constant speed. I finally broke down and took it to a dealer to have the Transmission diagnostic ran. They told me that the Vehicle Speed Sensor was bad, and that the Rear Transfer Case "Drive" and "Driven" gear needed to be replaced. I have replaced the VSS, and the flashing has not returned, however the vehicle still shifts in and out of OD. I am going to confirm that my fluid level is right on the Tranny, but does anyone else have any Idea why the sparaddoc shifting?

David

P.S. Sorry this is so long, but since this is a popular problem, I wanted to be as clear as possible.