Just thought I would post for others that may run across this problem. My sister's '99 Grand Caravan was driving fine, but gear indicator was useless, as the PRND3L were always lit up with the box around every gear. After reading other posts here, I figured it was one of the speed sensors on the tranny, and since the speedo still worked fine, my first guess was the input speed sensor. Behavior changed slightly after replacing, but it still wasn't right. Back to the store, replaced the output sensor and all is well now.
A couple of observations that may help others:
- A 1/2 drive, 26mm socket is very helpful with these sensors.
- These sensors are magnetic, and my output sensor had metallic "mud" stuck to it- maybe I could have just cleaned the crud off and reinstalled? Worth a try if you haven't bought a new one yet, as I'm sure it would affect the output of the sensor.
- Once you replace a sensor, drive the vehicle a bit before determining the repair was unsuccessful- just 10 feet back and forward cleared the remaining weird indicator behavior for me. Afterwards, shut off the engine & restart and road test.
- The sensors look alike when installed- the output is closer to the driver's side wheel; input is closer to the engine (makes sense, huh?).
10-08-2006, 05:17 PM
