1996 Bravada Shifting/Transmission Problem
mglaccum
05-05-2005, 10:45 AM
My wife and I bought a 1996 Bravada several years ago and we really enjoy the interior comforts and driveability during winter here in midMichigan. The previous owner apparently had an automatic starter put in but disconnected it or at least it was not working when we bought the car. It was not important to us that it worked.
We have, however, become aware of some problems with the vehicle:
About six months ago, we started to notice that the car would die, sometimes while driving! Kind of infrequent but nonetheless disturbing. During this time, I discovered that while turning the key in the ignition successive times in a row, the car would simply not start, not even show any life, no display lights or anything. Then, it would work fine. Annoying. We finally had a mechanic check this problem and he found what was left of the starter inside and removed it. It seemed that our troubles were over. But...
About this time, the car started to have trouble starying in gear. Basically you would be doing 70-75mph on the highway, say 2200rpm, when you would feel the car shift into lower gear. Now the engine is doing 3000rpm. This would occur about 20-25 minutes after start-up. You end up losing 4th gear/Overdrive?
The same mechanic who took care of the electrical problem told us that we were looking at having to replace the transmission. Well, we felt a second opinion was needed. We took it to another mechanic who recommended a transmission specialist to take a look at it. This guy thought that it might be a bad sensor/solenoid of some kind. However, he replaced it and found that the same problem continued. Soooooo.....
he recommends an electrical specialist who has it in his shop right now. So far, he has changed the 'gear switch' and replaced the computer system and reprogrammed it but still can't seem to solve the problem.
It makes me wonder if the wiring somehow was screwed up when the automatic starter was taken out. And.....
I am left to looking online and see what other people have had transmission problems with their Bravada.
Any thoughts? I am not a mechanic but hopefully I have been able to give enough of a description of what I am dealing with.
Thanks,
Matt
We have, however, become aware of some problems with the vehicle:
About six months ago, we started to notice that the car would die, sometimes while driving! Kind of infrequent but nonetheless disturbing. During this time, I discovered that while turning the key in the ignition successive times in a row, the car would simply not start, not even show any life, no display lights or anything. Then, it would work fine. Annoying. We finally had a mechanic check this problem and he found what was left of the starter inside and removed it. It seemed that our troubles were over. But...
About this time, the car started to have trouble starying in gear. Basically you would be doing 70-75mph on the highway, say 2200rpm, when you would feel the car shift into lower gear. Now the engine is doing 3000rpm. This would occur about 20-25 minutes after start-up. You end up losing 4th gear/Overdrive?
The same mechanic who took care of the electrical problem told us that we were looking at having to replace the transmission. Well, we felt a second opinion was needed. We took it to another mechanic who recommended a transmission specialist to take a look at it. This guy thought that it might be a bad sensor/solenoid of some kind. However, he replaced it and found that the same problem continued. Soooooo.....
he recommends an electrical specialist who has it in his shop right now. So far, he has changed the 'gear switch' and replaced the computer system and reprogrammed it but still can't seem to solve the problem.
It makes me wonder if the wiring somehow was screwed up when the automatic starter was taken out. And.....
I am left to looking online and see what other people have had transmission problems with their Bravada.
Any thoughts? I am not a mechanic but hopefully I have been able to give enough of a description of what I am dealing with.
Thanks,
Matt
blazee
05-05-2005, 11:36 AM
Is your check engine light on? Don't let anyone replace your tranny, this sounds like a problem with either the ignition switch or the wiring. (the same wiring that was connected to the remote start) The transmission power circuits are connected the ignition switch, loss of power on some of the circuits will cause the tranny to go into "limp home" mode. (tranmission boosts pressure to maximum and shifts into 3rd so you can make it to safety) A problem with the switch or switch wiring will also cause the engine to die suddenly and random dash light malfunctions.
Schrade
05-22-2005, 10:29 PM
Blazee's pegged it Matt! Try this... Unplug the battery, and plug it back in after 10 minutes - could be more - you're clearing the computer memory - then do a test drive, and WATCH FOR ELECTRIC GLITCHES!!! If all's well, you got a ign. switch problem.
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