No first gear when cold

[Michael]

So I finally got the car to start acting up again. I attached my lights and sure enough one of the solenoids is not getting constant signal. With just the ignition on, one of my lights goes on and off intermittently. I switched bulbs around to rule out the possibility of a bad bulb or connection, I then started the car, backed out of the driveway and waited for both lights to come on(first gear)...I pulled back in slowly and as soon as the light went out, the car shifted into second. I stopped, waited for first again and got back in the garage.

I assume this means I need a new shift governor? I haven't checked wiring yet but when I get it on a lift to remove the governor, I guess a visual inspection will follow and if I can't determine a cause, I will ship it off to be rebuilt.
It's a new computer from 2006...don't know if they were rebuilding them then or not.

[Ron]

Probably an easy fix...the GCs are notorious for having bad solder joints.

[David T]

Probably an easy fix...the GCs are notorious for having bad solder joints.

Or an bad connection somewhere. Physically inspect every inch of the wiring harness to make sure it is not heat-damaged. Check the plugs. It can very well be a bad solder joint on the PCB. Not a bad transistor, they don't fail intermittently.

[AugustneverEnds]

Maybe it's worth checking the bulkhead connectors, seems like the intermittent nature of your problem might be indicating a bad connection. On my car those pins have become very loose and number one priority to fix this winter.

[mhanch]

I just had to clean all my bulkhead connectors to fix a starting issue. They were corroded all over with a few of them really bad, and at least one that was not clicking properly. The red one is the Transmission I think, and I had a connector in there that was awful (white powdery corrosion) scrubbed them all shiny and used Deoxit on all the pins. Put it all back together and everything came back to life. Had to push one pin from behind to get a positive connection.

[Michael]

Thanks for all the advice. I checked my bulkhead but honestly, I didn't think that was the problem:

FB_IMG_1669676226459.jpg

Even when moving all the wires while watching the lights, nothing changed. Ordered a new governor and will probably install it next week.

[DMCMW Dave]

It's a new computer from 2006...don't know if they were rebuilding them then or not.

I don't believe the new digital ones were in production until about 2008. It's likely an original board that's been rebuilt.

[Jonathan]

I don't believe the new digital ones were in production until about 2008. It's likely an original board that's been rebuilt.

Dave... remind me if there is a way to tell from the outside of the governor what vintage the insides are? I think we talked about this a while back as I got mine from you in March of 2010 and I thought that the labelling on the outside of it gave away what was on the inside. Can't remember details though.

[mhanch]

Thanks for all the advice. I checked my bulkhead but honestly, I didn't think that was the problem:

FB_IMG_1669676226459.jpg

Even when moving all the wires while watching the lights, nothing changed. Ordered a new governor and will probably install it next week.

Those connectors are way too clean. Scary.

[DMCMW Dave]

Dave... remind me if there is a way to tell from the outside of the governor what vintage the insides are? I think we talked about this a while back as I got mine from you in March of 2010 and I thought that the labelling on the outside of it gave away what was on the inside. Can't remember details though.

Not easily, but you can pop the small aluminum cover off and it's really obvious when you can look inside. The original has the colored wires soldered to the circuit boards, the replacement uses screw terminals. It is also a lot more modern looking circuit board.