No 3rd gear unless fuse #13 is pulled

[RamblinDMC]

Hey everyone,

My doesn't seem to want to shift into 3rd. It shifts fine from 1st to 2nd at around 4000 rpm, seems a little high??? It will shift into 3rd fine if I pull fuse #13, if I put it back in, it shifts back into 2nd immediately. Bad shift computer?

[DMCMW Dave]

Yes.

[Ron]

I wondering if it could be the Kick Down Switch (WOT) stuck, or its wire shorted to ground (with that high shift point (too)).
Or, possibly, the GC's 12v supply wire shorted to the one solenoid wire in its harness.

[DMCMW Dave]

I've never seen either of those issues in a real car. Seen the governor cause problem that dozens of times a year. Go with the common failure mode first. You can test it, but if is an original governor it is almost certainly Bad.

[PJ Grady Inc.]

I wondering if it could be the Kick Down Switch (WOT) stuck, or its wire shorted to ground (with that high shift point (too)).
Or, possibly, the GC's 12v supply wire shorted to the one solenoid wire in its harness.

I think Dave got it right IMHO but it can't hurt to poke around a bit.
Rob

[RamblinDMC]

I'm pretty sure the kickdown switch is working, it downshifts from 2nd to 1st if you hit the throttle. If it were shorted wouldn't it always stay in 1st?
I'll plan on getting a new shift computer. Thanks!

[AugustneverEnds]

My .02 worth: Say sayonara to the governor. If your governor is still running with the original boards, they are shot or getting closer everyday. Take it out send it to your favorite vendor for a rebuild and rest assured your transmission won't grenade thanks to a malfunctioning governor.

[David T]

My .02 worth: Say sayonara to the governor. If your governor is still running with the original boards, they are shot or getting closer everyday. Take it out send it to your favorite vendor for a rebuild and rest assured your transmission won't grenade thanks to a malfunctioning governor.

Another possibility is the wiring going to the shift computer got melted. It can cause all kinds of strange failure modes. It is worth checking the kick-down switch just in case it is stuck. If you replaced the shift computer and you still had no 3rd gear that is what you would have to do anyway.

[RamblinDMC]

Just checked the lockdown switch. It's okay. Looks like its time for a new shift governor!

[AugustneverEnds]

Just checked the lockdown switch. It's okay. Looks like its time for a new shift governor!

Not exactly. You remove the shift governor, send it to the vendor of your choice (DMC Midwest fixed mine, had it back to me in three days and reinstall the same governor with new updated internal "stuff".

I used this guide to get mine out: http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?76...matic+governor

Good luck it's not too bad