99 Windstar Flashing OD Light

[FordGuy81]

Last week I changed the tranny fluid & filter in our 99 windstar. We left PA the next day and drove to Disney World. The entire way there and half way back (where we are now) the tranny did not give any issues. It was very smooth and shifted good. About half way back the OD light started flashing.

The tranny seems to shift just fine when driving down the highway, the only time anything is out of ordinary is shifting from park into the other gears, it is a bit harsh.

I am about 440 miles from home with 3 young kids, and not sure what the issue may be.

My code scanner did not find any code for the tranny. I know it can read tranny codes because it picked up a code on my BIL's 2000 GM minivan.

Any ideas what may be the culprit, especially with no codes? I checked the fluid and it seemed fine, it was in the cross hatch area and I didn't find any leaks.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

[wiswind]

I would fill the fluid all the way up to the FULL mark.....
You are correct, the flashing O/D light is a transmission issue.
I just looked, and most of the actual transmission codes (the only ones that I see with a quick look on AlldataDIY) are P codes but some are P1xxx.......and some are P0xxx.
I am not sure what all the difference between the 2 is, but P0 is "generic" and P1 is more manufacturer specific.....so a code in the P1 may not always show up.
I am FAR from an expert on this, but did read this about P1xxx being more manufacturer specific than the P0xxx codes.

For this reason, a more sophisticated (expensive) code reader might be needed in order to reliablly read the code(s).

Without knowing the code(s) leaves one doing a guessing game....as you have no real symptoms to go from.

So....this is why my first advice is to make sure that the fluid level is up to the FULL mark, as measured warm, on level ground, motor at idle, transmission in PARK.
Also.....I am guessing that the fluid that is in there meets the Mercon V specification.

Yes, as the Transmision Range Sensor (TRS), aka neutral safety switch could be getting intermittent on one of it's many contacts.....but...again that would only be a guess (on of the least expensive)......among the many other possibilities.

[FordGuy81]

Wiswind,

Thanks for the reply. I am going to add more fluid to the tranny and see if that helps any (w/o overfilling of course).

You are correct, I flushed and filled the tranny with Mercon V.

Also, I added a bottle of Lubeguard to the tranny when I did the flush (red bottle, red cap).

Before I did the tranny flush, I had a bit of TC shudder and since flushing that is completely gone.

Without knowing if any codes are present or not is like shooting in the dark. All I know is that my code reader did pick up a code on my BIL's van for a tranny sensor (don't remember which one).s
Though whether it would read tranny codes on my Ford is anyone's guess.

[glennet404]

FordGuy

Does the flashing OD reset itself after you turn the ignition off and restart - or is it on all the time ???

Glenn

[FordGuy81]

glennet404,

well we just got the van home with the o/d light flashing for ~400 miles (yikes!)

After shutting the van off, the flashing o/d light does seem to reset itself. After we would pull over for gas or whatever, we would start the van and the o/d light would stay off for a mile or two before coming back on.

At first, it would only shift hard into gear when shifting from park, like a clunk into gear. I added a quart of ATF and that seemed to make it a little better. Once driving down the highway, it would shift between gears just fine.

Shortly before we got it home, it started shifting hard through first and second when pulling out from a stop, but still shifted just fine once we were going.

It is definitely weird that it resets itself after turning the van off, even if just for 5 minutes.

Any ideas?

[FordGuy81]

Guys,

Would it be a good idea to just replace the TRS? I have read on here where the TRS seems to have a high failure rate and was just wondering if I should just replace it.

Could a faulty TRS cause the symptoms I am experiencing?

Perhaps it worth mentioning, last night we checked into a hotel and after checking in I went to a nearby Walmart. Going to and returning from Walmart, the OD light never once came on and I never exceeded 40 mph. The van ran just fine.

The next morning we left, and within half a mile, the OD light came on and this time our speed was above 45 mph. Faulty VSS perhaps?

[Ed_Strong]

Seems like your problem is related to the OD operation since it only seems to happen at over 45MPH and that's about the speed where the OD would kick in. Probably the TCC (Torque Converter Clutch) solenoid, (if there's one on gthis trannys!)

Have you tried driving over 45MPH with the OD switch off? If the OD light doesn't blink at you that might lead you in the right direction.

[glennet404]

Hello-

The harsh shift from 1st to 2nd gear is usual after the OD light goes on. The adaptive control in rhe computer gets shut off - this helps to smooth out the transmission shifts. Sure sounds like your transmission is having a problem locking up the converter or shifting into OD. Also - it could be the VSS (vehicle speed sensor. What RPM was the tachometer showing as you were driving about 60-65 MPH ??

Furthermore - I do believe you are throwing a code that your code reader is not seeing. You should get to a tansmission shop ASAP and spend the $100.00 +/- to get the codes read.

Glenn

[FordGuy81]

glennet404,

Yeah, as soon as I can, I will get the codes read at a shop.

At 60 to 65 mph the rpms were ~2000 to 2300 rpm or so. One thing I did keep my eye on was the tach to see if it would fluctuate without any change in road speed--it didn't. The tach would move up around 3000 when the tranny downshifted into third at 65mph or so. When shifting back into OD, it shifted fine and the rpms went back down to where they were previously. Once it was in OD the rpms stayed consistent to the road speed. It seems to shift in and out of OD just fine.

Could these problems be a result of flushing the tranny? After flushing the tranny, I put at least 1600 miles on it before any problems showed up, and it ran better than ever.

One thing I forgot to mention earlier is that a few times after stopping, we could smell tranny fluid. Though I looked everywhere and could not find any leaks and the fluid level remained where it was.

How hard is it to replace the VSS or TCC on the Windstar. It took me 10 min. to replace the VSS on my Ranger, similar on the Windstar?

[wiswind]

The vehicle speed sensor, which is where the speedometer connects is a real pain to replace on the windstar due to its location.
It is on the back side......about the middle, above the front catalytic converter.....
So...the job would not be hard....but the location makes it difficult.
I have not changed one, but there are some posts on here from folks who have.
I would do a search and read what advice they have to offer from their experiences.

I would agree that a reading of the codes with a more advanced reader than our generic OBDII readers would be the best way to go.
Hopefully, it will end up being something not expensive, but if it is a major internal repair, you don't want to waste precious money on things that are not defective.

As to the fluid change being part of the problem, I would say ONLY if the wrong fluid is used, or if this is the first fluid change in many miles over the recommended change interval.
For a fluid change that is way past the recommended interval, another fluid exchange in short order is often needed.....because the new fluid may "clean" and the extra fluid change will flush out the junk that the new fluid picks up.

In your case, I would not invest more until I learned as much as possible from the code(s).

[FordGuy81]

Thanks wiswind,

I just took the van for a drive through town not exceeding 40 mph. Every shift was as it should be and the od light did not come on. I started out with a cold tranny and even as it warmed up everything seemd fine. There was no harsh shifting from park into the gears and no harsh 1-2 and 2-3 shifts. I drove ~ 8 miles throgh town with no OD light on.

On the way home, I exceeded 40 mph. Though it didn't happen right away, eventually the OD light did start flashing. Though I didn't get any real harsh shifts, they were more pronouced and as the van slowed down and downshifted, i could feel those shifts more. After pulling into the driveway, I began shifting between PRND, it wasn't real harsh but it was much more pronouced and more audible.

And after turning the van off and restarting, the od light did not come on.

The van was flushed and filled with Valvoline Mercon V fluid and I added a bottle of the Lubeguard. I outlined the procedure in a post I started last week and was going to report back on how went, but then this issue showed up.

As the van was used when we bought it, I have no idea when the last fluid and filter change was done. I know we put ~ 25K on it or so after buying the van before I changed the fluid.

I am going to wait and see if there are any codes present before I start shotgunning parts at it.

It seems strange to me that my code reader found tranny codes on my BIL's 2000 GM van, but wont pick up any on my '99 Ford?

After getting the system scanned and sorting this issue out, perhaps another fluid tranny flush is in order as you suggested.

[HighMileage230000]

My 1997 does something similar. O/D flashing after travelling highway speeds for 10 miles or so, and then the pronounced shifting and hard "slams" into gear/reverse from park. I checked my trans fluid and added just a little (maybe 1/8th of a quart) and the light hasn't come on since then.

Also no CEL here. I hate transmissions.....

[FordGuy81]

I added about quarter quart of ATF to the tranny and I quite sure that is is completely FULL.

I went for a drive and though it took longer for the light to come on, it eventually did. The entire time, even with the light flashing, the van shifted just fine.

When I got back, I shut the van off then did a restart. The light was not on as has been the case. The light only comes back on after driving it above 45 mph.

Then I thought I should force a code to see if my scanner would pick it up. I unplugged the TRS connector with the van running and the OD light started flashing again. My scanner picked up code P0708 for the TRS circuit High input.

Are there other types of codes that the tranny would throw out that I might not see? My scanner does pick up the "P" codes for the tranny. The CEL is not lit.

My wife is taking the van to Ford tomorrow to have them scan it, but I would hate to give them a $100 just for them to tell me that they couldn't find anything.

One other question, anyone know what is the cylindrical part with the white connector on it next to the TRS on top of the tranny?

[glennet404]

FordGuy-

As was mentioned previously there are a number of transmission specific codes that are not picked up by a standard code reader.
I think your doing the right thing in getting it to the shop for analysis.
Let us know what happens.

Glenn

[FordGuy81]

Okay, my wife just called me from the Ford dealership. They said they got Code P0741 for the TCC.

First question, why would my code reader pick up this code on my BIL's 2000 GM van, but not the Windstar? I also used my scanner to pick up code P0708 for the TRS (I forced this code by unplugging it). Seems odd to me. Could have saved $70 if my code reader had read this.

Tech also noted that the tranny fluid smelled funny, but was still clean.

Is there anything I can do about the TCC? Can I service this with the tranny in the van?

The unfortunate thing is that I HAD to drive this van ~500 miles like this.
Possible internal damage? Yeah I can believe that, thats probably why I smelled tranny fluid after a long drive.

Any suggestions? If I can replace the TCC in the van, is it worth it or would it be better to get a reman unit? I was quoted $2500 from Ford for their tranny. Problem is I don't have $2500 and only paid $3500 for the van.

Is it possible that this came about from flushing the tranny? Perhaps I should have just left it alone and hoped it held out a little longer.