1998 Town & Country, Speedometer & Shifting Issue

[clearwat]

1998 Town & County LXi, 3.8L, 194k miles. So the van started dying sporadically and running bad. Took it to a shop, they suspected a wiring issue and chased through the harness and found nothing. They said it needed an ECM. I picked it up, replaced the ECM myself and it runs and idles like a champ. But now the speedometer does not work and the transmission is in "limp" mode and stays in 2nd gear. After reading around on here, I suspected the output speed sensor. I just changed it out, still in "limp" mode. The speedometer had acted up once or twice in the past by going haywire while driving and the transmission would shift, but it was few and far between. I am about to give up on this vehicle. Does the gauge cluster solder issue affect the speedometer and shifting, or just the function of the speedometer? Could the problem be the speed sensor on the input side? Should I just drive this thing to a transmission shop or a dealer and take a beating? Maybe its the transmission control module?

Any help would be much appreciated.

[RIP]

If you still have the old PCM try reinstalling it. The signal goes from the sensor to the PCM to the TCM then to the cluster via the CCD data bus. I've never read of a PCM fixing this but who knows.

[clearwat]

I already returned the old ECM for the core.

[Mbriggs]

In my pretty extensive experience with these vans, the instrument cluster solder issue has not affected the transmission, and I've had to solder 4 in my time. I also don't recall the speedometer acting wierd unless it was a speed sensor issue. When the tranny's really went, and I was stuck in limp mode, the speedo worked for me.

Do you know if it still has the original transmission? If so, 194k is getting up there. Mine have gone between 120k and 200k.

Have your tried disconnecting the battery for 10 minutes?

If you know a honest repair shop, a code reader will usually give a good idea of what is wrong. I've had really bad luck with dealers and transmission chains. I don't think that any parts stores still read codes for free.

Good luck!

[bjaymo3]

Originally Posted by Mbriggs

In my pretty extensive experience with these vans, the instrument cluster solder issue has not affected the transmission, and I've had to solder 4 in my time. I also don't recall the speedometer acting wierd unless it was a speed sensor issue. When the tranny's really went, and I was stuck in limp mode, the speedo worked for me.

Do you know if it still has the original transmission? If so, 194k is getting up there. Mine have gone between 120k and 200k.

Have your tried disconnecting the battery for 10 minutes?

If you know a honest repair shop, a code reader will usually give a good idea of what is wrong. I've had really bad luck with dealers and transmission chains. I don't think that any parts stores still read codes for free.

Good luck!

Parts stores will read the codes and supply a printout explaining the codes. All of this is free. They will NOT reset the codes as that situation could cause them to be liable down the road.