RfX, so the gage block is .515H x .515W x .750D or long? Those T-15 FIPL mounting screws were a bear to remove! I had to remove the FIPL & bracket as a unit in order to remove the T-15 screws. Btw, the Sears "Screw Out" 3 piece set doesn't work for this! It's being returned to Sears today! I finally had to drill the T-15's heads off and remove the remainder from the underside of the bracket. I replaced them with some plated, slotted / phillips combo screws I had. And you'll love this, I bought a new set of Torx bits that came with security duplicates of every size except the T-27's, which I dropped below the pump last night at dark and after a much agonizing search, I found it, but when I tried to move it to retrieve it, the turkey disappeared from view. Figures, huh? I'm waiting for the sun to come up so I can fashion a magnet to attempt to retreive it. Like my father in law (a mechanic) always says, you couldn't place whatever you drop there if you tried, but it will fall where you can't see or reach it every time! Truer words were never spoken! Hindsight now tells me I should've been using the magnetic bit holder I found I had after the fact....LOL. I have "strorage & retrieval syndrome"....LOL..otherwise known as scattered....LOL. the pic will be appreciated, but don't go out of your way just for that. Btw, I have discovered I will have access to a digital camera this weekend also if there's any pic I can share let me know. Have a Good One.

 

If the shifting problem in on one gear change only, it's most likely internal leakage or the solenoid/valve body, and if it's the second, it probably is causing damage. Bad news, real bad.

 

Today is the day that my ORIGINAL problem posted is gone

Thanks to conversations, reading material (thanks again, dieselzen!!), and persistency-- it is a happy truck.

SOLUTION NUTSHELL:
*Ground needed cleaning
*Needed new FIPL-- old one could not be adj to meet specs
*Needed careful adjustment

A NOTE ON THE GAGE BLOCK:
If using a DVOM, and the targets are:
idle: 1.1-1.4V
WOT: 4.1-4.5V ,
you don't use the 0.515" gage block. WOT above is literally WOT with the stop screw hitting the max throttle stop (no gage block). The gage block is only used with the 'scanner tool' or a resistance set procedure I've seen. I used a DVOM voltage set procedure. From reading that procedure, it was not initially clear to me that this was to be done WITHOUT the gage block. The confusion came because the DVOM voltage set procedure was described as an alternative to the [preferred] scanner-tool proceudure. The scanner procedure was described first and mandated the gage block use. The verbage should have made it clear not to use it when performing the alternate procedure.

THE FOLLOWING WAS VERIFIED on my truck:
Ref Voltage=5.04V
Gnd Terminal Voltage on FIPL: 18mV (after cleaning grounds). So the system I put the FIPL into is good!

Adjusted FIPL results: Idle: 1.33V; WOT: 4.03V
(I've seen mfg variation in these FIPL's!) These numbers were the best I could get with 2 FIPL's-- one not too old and the other brand new.

The FIPL's have a Rtot about = 4.57kohms. There is just about 1.1mA of current drawn from the reference supply. With the gage block in place (only for kicks) the FIPL had a ctr term-to-gnd resistance~1900ohms. Then with the Vref=5.04 hooked up, it generated about 2.25V at this center terminal, which is about right. That gage block puts you in a mid throttle state.

Thanks to all! J.F.

 

archangel-- You got me...

I was originally thinking just as you'd stated. All I can guess is that the voltages being generated for the 2-3 shift and lock were too low (on the hairy edge of...) for the actual load on the truck. It would shift-bobble-then slam the converter. (When I say bobble I don't mean converter clutch chatter). Do the inputs from the sensors and control module affect timing only. It seems to me that they much affect line pressures as well.

Thanks

 

RfX.....I was thinking that the gage might be for the scanner only as well....Thankyou for the clarification on that. Now I can stop worrying about making a gage or finding the tool. By the way, the Ford dealerships will be happy to sell you the FIPL but they won't sell you the gage! Nice folks, huh? They did however, tell me that if I want to buy one I might be able to buy it from one of the wagon jobbers like SnapOn, Cornwall, MacTools, etc. But thanks to your careful perusal of the scanner vs. DVOM procedures, I won't need a gage! Thanks a million RfX!

 

Glad to hear you've got your FIPL situation solved, Jeff! And it's good to know Fairlane is on the way to getting his right.

My gratitude to you also Jeff for clarifying the test procedure. Yes, it makes sense that "WOT" is actually wide open throttle with no help from exterior source tools. If you don't mind, I'd like to copy your post as an adendum in the TPS/FIPL.wri to clarify this to others who may want the zip file in the future. I just feel bad for all those (literally around a hundred) who already have the file and might be attempting to use the gauge block set up to achieve the right conditions for "WOT".

Regarding what Archangel was saying. According to my 1992 Ford Tech. CD possible non-electronic sources for nothing more than a harsh 2 to 3 shift are:
"
1. High or Low line pressure.

2. Valve Body bolts not tightened to proper torque.

3. Intermediate clutch accumulator regulator or valve.

4. EPC Air bleed check valve leaking or damaged.

5. Direct Clutch Assembly.

6. Center Support Assembly.

Most of which will make the E4OD eat itself and makes an Archangel Tranny Tech. say, "Bad news, real bad".

Sorry about not posting sooner but I've had monitor probs. which are finally solved. R.A.

 

63Fairlane500--

Your feedback and content with something I've done / written about is... very gratifying. I have received-- if I can give something...well, that makes my day! Best Regards, Jeff.

 

There is one solenoid that controls the pressure last time I built one, but I was told their intent was to make the whole valve body one electrical switching system with no mechanical springs or valves in the valve body.
It's been a few years and I am unaware how far they have progressed beyond fixing the weak points.

 

dieselzen--

Right back at you-- gratitude, that is!

Certainly! Feel free to include and /or edit the content of my summary into your document. I don't mean my measured data to come across as authoritative; moreso as typical numbers one might see. Feel free to edit /use my FIPL gage block commentary as you see fit to benefit any others.

I'm very glad you decided to contact me in w.r.t. my original post!
Respectfully,
Jeff

 

DielselZen, ArcAngel, RxF: I'm at the "adjustment phase" on my FIPL and assuming the "new" FIPL is not defective, I can't understand why I can't hit the target voltage values. If I position the bracket to achieve 1.1 to 1.4 at idle, the most I can then achieve at WOT is 3.74. Conversely, if I adjust the bracket to achieve 4.1 to 4.5 at WOT, the least I can achieve at idle is 1.74. Am I doing something wrong or do I have a defective "new" FIPL? Also, out of curiousity, am I suppose to achieve either the low end or top end voltage value and then tighten the bracket and test for the "other" value, be it the low end or the top end? I have considered trying the "old' FIPL just to see if it will adjust to achieve the values. Lastly, would it make any difference where the position of the internal sprocket in the FIPL was turned when I mate it to the throttle shaft, or does it line itself by virtue of the fact that it can't do anything except line up? I would think that the fact that I am getting any reading at all would mean that it lines up when it's mated to the throttle shaft.

 

63Fairlane500--

Here's my thoughts and opinions on the FIPL, based on what I've experienced and learned. Best wishes.

GENERAL
The very best place to calibrate the FIPL is at a low to mid-throttle setting representative of typical acceleration and road speed cruising. Indeed, Ford does this via the gage block (0.515") and the scanner tool or whatever they use in production. Most of us don't have the scanner tool! The calibration here (mid-throttle) depends upon the accuracy of the gage block thickness AND that the MAXIMUM THROTTLE TRAVEL screw is precisely set (probably a reasonable assumption). A calibration that you could do at say WOT depends also on the MAXIMUM THROTTLE TRAVEL screw AND the resistance profile of the FIPL. The problem with calibrating at WOT is that this operating point is far away from where most of your FIPL operating points are for acceleration and cruising: you'd probably certainly get poor shift conditions. A calibration that you could do at IDLE is SUSCEPTIBLE to whether the Idle Spd Adj Screw has been turned. BUT IDLE is a more attractive place to set the FIPL than at WOT, because the FIPL output generated there is much closer to most operating points (of throttle) where we need the transmission to make a good decision.

I think you have a couple of options where you need to start, since you've got the increased the complexity by unbolting the whole FIPL bracket!

MAKE SURE THIS PART OF YOUR SYSTEM IS OK AND YOUR FIPL IS OK:
*CHECK THE FIPL FIRST WITH AN OHM METER: Is the resistance about 4.5kohms bet. the 2 outside terminals.
*CHECK WITH YOUR FIPL PLUGGED IN and ignition ON (probe where the wires go into the FIPL. That plug comes out...): Is Vref=5V (almost exactly)? Is Vgnd a very small? Ignore the FIPL output for now which is the center terminal.


TAKE ACTION:
1) Mechanically mount the FIPL to the FIPL BRACKET first! Try hard to mechanically CENTER those T-15's in the FIPL holes as you do this. This will provide some lee-way for later.
2) Loosely mount the FIPL / BRACKET ASSY to the pump with the T27's.
**NOW YOU HAVE A CHOICE, gven your equipment.
Choose one as a starting point:
a) GET OUT YOUR GAGE BLOCK YOU MIGHT HAVE JUST MADE: With
no wire harness on the FIPL, adjust the FIPL / BRACKET ASSY while measuring RESISTANCE from the center terminal to the top terminal (gnd) to get ~1900ohms. Gently tighten the screws-- you may be revisiting them!
b) FORGET THE GAGE BLOCK AND USE THE DVOM METHOD WITH THE key ON: Important: UNplug the power to the fast idle solenoid, ...AND be sure your throttle return springs are holding the Throttle Lever with low speed idle screw set against its respective stop. Probe that center PIN on the FIPL and turn your bracket assy to get V=1.250 volts as a good initial point. Tighten the big T27 bracket screws.

Go for a drive-- you might have to iterate. Hopfully, you'll only have to move the FIPL-- not the big bracket.
**NOTE on your drive
-shift timing
-shift harshness/smoothness
-how readily the truck downshifts when you get on it a little.
Use your observations to help you make an iterative decision.
A higher FIPL output voltage will make your truck wind out farther in any gear and it will kick down more easily to a lower gear.

A NOTE ON FIPL ADJUSTMENT RANGE AND SENSITIVITY!!
The width of the FIPL output voltage window at IDLE is not big (just by loosening the litttle t15 FIPL mtg screws.). WINDOW SIZE~200mV. But within this window, you'll achieve an unbelievably different behavior from that transmission. I RECOMMEND YOU START AT 1.250V AND USE A STEP SIZE OF 0.040V (40mV) in your iteration / drives. Don't give up!

 

RxF.....With here most of the way, with these exceptions / questions:
(1) Why unplug the power to the fast idle solenoid, why is this a factor in finding the correct voltage ranges?
(2) Why would I want to loosen the T-15 FIPL mounting screws? I thought they would remain stationary while I loosened only the T-27 bracket screws to facilitate rotating the bracket only to arrive at the proper voltage values?
(3) When you speak of "a higher FIPL output" helping the trucks gear performance, are you referring to idle or WOT?
(4) What am I looking for when I check for the low speed idle screw and it's respective stop? From memory as I sit here, I seem to remember two separate sets of linkages parallel to each other on the passenger side of the pump, and I assume that one of these is the low speed idle screw and stop?

 

63Fairlane500--

Let me describe the FIPL, electrically, first.

If you Draw the FIPL as I describe:
Draw two resistors: a LONG one (vertically) and the shorter one (vertically) right below it. The long resistor represents the FIPL. The short resistor represents ALL undesired resistance in the ground path between the FIPL and the groung wire to the chassis.

The Long resistor (FIPL) has 3 terminals on it. On paper, make the top one Vref, the center one Vf, and the bottom one Vg. Call the total resistance of the FIPL Rtot (bet. the 2 outermost pins). Call the THAT PORTION of the Rtot of the long resistor that is between Vf and Vg "Rf".

Finally, label the short resistor Rg.

THE DESIRED OUTPUT FROM THE FIPL ON THIS DIAGRAM IS Vf. And Vf is a function of throttle position.... Vf vs. 'throttle position ' could be plotted on a chart and would be a straight line plotted on a chart (throttle pos on horizontal axis). This line would run from lower left to upper right.

This line is the bahavior we need from the FIPL. ALL METHODS I'VE EVER SEEN TO CALIBRATE OR SET THE FIPL simple pick one point of throttle postion and you rotate the FIPL to move this line VERTICALLY ONLY! But we all know that a line is defined by both a POINT and a SLOPE! FORD's design assumes the slope is a constant. And that if you set the FIPL at one point..., ALL operational points vs throttle position will be right! Well...they will be IF several things are controlled: The equation for the slope using the diagram you just drew is: slope=Vref/(Rtot+Rg). From this you can see that there are three important components that matter.
*Vref: better be an accurate 5V from the supply
*Rtot: this is the total FIPL resistance. They'd better be manufactured like peas in a pod!!
*Rg: the resistance in your ground path. Better be close to 0.

What I'm pointing out is that all of these are counted upon to produce a constant and repeatable slope so that we can get away with calibration at one position of throttle and have the Vf at all other positions of throttle KNOWN.

The fact that a FIPL can produce about 1.1V at idle and 4V at WOT, is ONE WAY OF ASSURANCE that the obtainable slope is about right. It is my own preference to measure each of the components of that slope equation above as I descrobed in the previous post!!

(1) UNPLUGGING THE HIGH IDLE SOLENOID: The voltages just over 1V are for the throttle resting against the low speed idle stop (not the plunger of the solenoid). If the engine is hot it wont matter, as the solenoid won't be energized.

(2) It was never intened to adust the FIPL with the big screws. That's why the bracket was epoxied on. Fine tune FIPL adjustment is accomplished by turning the FIPL within the slop allowance of the small mounting sccrews and is usually sufficient IF the big screws are set right. I would try to to this as it's easier to tweak the small ones anyway.

(3) A higher Vf voltage in your picture at any given throttle position will tend to make the transmission wind out farther in all gears before shifting. The trans may also down shift prematurely earlier, too. This result will be the same, though I was referring to making the observation and setting at IDLE.

(4) Those linkages are your throttle cable and cruise control cable. You may unsnap them from the pump and would to so IF you were using the 0.515" gage block. There are throttle rtrn springs by the pump body: they are ALREADY holding the arm in the low speed idle position IF you've UNPLUGGED THE High Idle solenoid!

-JF

 

RxF.....the mathematical equations not withstanding, I don't understand how tweaking the T15 FIPL mounting bolts is possible since they are straight line thru bolts. The larger T27 bracket bolts seem more logical since the bracket is designed with the slots in an arc, which seem to be there for the adjusment of the FIPL. My bracket wasn't epoxied, merely bolted. However, my FIPL "was" epoxied, which would have made it even more difficult to "tweak" the T15 mounting bolts, which by the way I had to remove by drilling them out, as they too apparently were epoxied as Arcangel suggested. If there is enough "slop" in the T15 mounting bolts to allow a "fine tuning" of the FIPL, then I suppose it's worth a try, but for the life of me I can't see it as the FIPL sensor is connected to the throttle shaft and the bracket with the FIPL securely attached rotates as a unit when the throttle is moved either by hand or when the truck is running via the accelerator pedal. I don't mean this reply to be argumentative or exclamatory, merely a discourse in search of clarification and knowledge, Thanks.

 

63Fairlane500--

HI-- I believe that the only bolts that were epoxied when your truck was manufactured were the large ones holding the bracket to the pump. And I believe that except for rare circumstances-- once the application is set (i.e. F-series)-- the intent is not to use that big arc for normal FIPL adjustment. That bracket with those huge arcs probably covers numerous applications for the engine. The FIPLs in our application don't need anything near the magnitude of adjustment that this arc provides if the bracket is mounted right, initially.

The bore in the FIPL mounting holes is purposely larger than the OEM screw diameter that passes through them. This is intentional and is the intended means of ordinary fine-tune adjustment. On my truck this provided a 15% wide output voltage window adjustment (the 'output' voltage on the center wire, Vf). This 15% was the variation span obtainable divided by the nominal Vf.

I feel that because the FIPL is a precision variable POtentiometer (e.g. guessing 5% tol), and the Vref=5.0V (e.g. guessing 2% tol)is a precision voltage, the approx 15% adjustment of the output voltage is sufficient and should be able to encompass FIPL replacements, too.

Best Regards,
JF