lock up converter

[larcarmon]

I have a 93 grand am with a 3.3l with 200,00 miles I just bought. It shifts fine but the converter does not lock up. Question is before I dig into the tcc solenoid what other possible solutions should i look for? I have checked wire connections and they all look ok.

The check engine light is not on, could it be the prndl switch on the tranny? Any help would be appreciated

[GTP Dad]

Welcome to AF!!

The TCC is located inside the transmission and is controlled by the ECM. The solenoid can either be bad or the torque converter. I would have to say that the torque convertor may be the problem because the solenoid usually fails to release not fail to lock up. It is also possible that the ECM could be malfunctioning and causing the solenoid to fail to lock but I suspect that the problem is with the converter.

[maxwedge]

A full scan with a trans function scanner will allow a tech to command tcc lock up this will determine if the solenoid is working and if the tcc is slipping or bad, anything else is guess work.

[larcarmon]

Ok I tried something today and I want to know your thoughts on this....I unhooked the tcc and went for a drive and the check engine light did not come on..do you think this is a problem with the ECM???

[GTP Dad]

No! Since the tcc will only lock up with a command from the ecm once you unplugged it then the tcc will not engage at all. Plug it back in and if it goes back to the way it was then the problem is probably with the solenoid not the ecm. You may want to get it scanned so that you can find out exactly what is happening. Without the scan then you really won't be able to know exactly what is going on.