O/D(4th gear) not functioning. Reverse lights always on. Problem FIXED!

[CrimsonRockett]

Problem fixed!

Stupid tire chewed through a few wires in the harness. Taped them up, relocated the harness, ziptied it, and done.

Everything works again.

Brother's '96 OBD2 Automatic S14 started acting up yesterday after he hit a pothole apparently.

Drove the car around and it just won't shift into 4th.

He said right after hitting it, O/D stopped functioning, reverse lights are constantly on, and got two new CEL codes(111 and 134).

34 - Knock sensor(already knew about this one. Just haven't gotten around to replacing it).

111 - Inhibitor switch

123 - Automatic transmission Overrun Clutch Solenoid Valve

The O/D light flashes for about 8 seconds as well.

Did some searching and found out by adjusting the inhibitor switch on the transmission, that could possibly solve the issue.

Adjusted it a few times.

Nothing.

As far as the second code, I didn't find much on that(other than people having that code after doing a 5-speed swap, but that doesn't apply here).

Kinda stumped on this one.

Help?

Asked a few people and they didn't know much about it either.

Want to see if I can fix it myself before taking it to a shop.

[koukimonster139]

sounds like something was "jarred" loose or broken when he hit the pothole. check for any suspension, drivetrain clearance issues or wiring damage.



or

disconnect the batt cables and after a short time, reconnect them.

you would be surprised.

[CrimsonRockett]

Already disconnected the battery, let it sit for an hour, then came back and reconnected.

Same deal.

Checked all connections and everything seems fine.

Wiring harness was tucked a long time ago. So, no rubbing issues there.

[koukimonster139]

have you checked the fluid level?




yep. longshot.

[CrimsonRockett]

Checked it.

Fluid level is fine.

No leaks either.

[koukimonster139]

I'm stumped.

However, I have an odd story.

A few years ago I purchased a 93 auto coupe. Ran great. Drove it to work here and there, whatever. One particular morning, drove over the same set of RR tracks I'd been driving over for weeks (rough), all of a sudden the trans wont upshift. at all. Long story short.. it is now a 5 speed.

Possibly something in the auto tranny is fragile. Other than that, Im stumped.

[CrimsonRockett]

We've been talking about going 5-speed on it for quite some time. Much easier to work with(imo).

Problem is, sourcing the parts(most people ask way too much for S14 5-speed stuff).

If it was an S13, I would've 5-speed swapped it by now since I have easy access to those parts.

We'll see what happens though.

Hopefully, it's just something stupid/simple.

[CrimsonRockett]

Anything?

Some mechanic came to look at it for my brother when I wasn't home and said some shit about having to take the transmission apart to replace some sensor inside of it.

Inhibitor switch is on the passenger side of the transmission outside the casing. Not inside.

[g6civcx]

It sounds like the reverse light wires are shorted to each other somehow.

Most likely the harness to the switch or the switch itself is damaged.

[CrimsonRockett]

It sounds like the reverse light wires are shorted to each other somehow.

Most likely the harness to the switch or the switch itself is damaged.

Hmm.

I checked everything visible and it seems okay.

Checked fuses. All fine.

It'd be much easier for me to just 5-speed swap it and call it a day, but sourcing the parts for it is a pain.

Kinda stumped.

[Ilya]

Hey I just looked in my S13 FSM in the AT Page 31 and with 8 O/D Light Flickers indicates Fluid Temperature Sensor is Dislocated or Power to AT Control Unit is interupted. Ill check an S14 FSM and get back at you but there is a place for you to start

[Ilya]

http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/240sx/1996/at.pdf

Similar Idea but alot of it has to do with having a Diagnostics tool. Good luck

[CrimsonRockett]

Thanks.

I already looked over the AT part of the FSM and found a few helpful things.

I tried moving the Inhibitor switch to see if that would work and got nothing.

[CrimsonRockett]

Just got the car back from Aamco and they didn't tell me anything I already knew.

He said to replace a couple of parts that MIGHT be the problem, $980. 60% chance it might work(wtf?)

If that doesn't solve the problem, a transmission rebuild will be needed, which is $3,000.

Uh, yeah.

Not going to happen.

[wangan_cruiser]

If that doesn't solve the problem, a transmission rebuild will be needed, which is $3,000.
.


thats a lot of money. might as well go for 5 spd swap.



hey why not run a continuity test on reverse lights? might help then trace it.

[Ilya]

I will have an extra automatic transmission from a convertible with 82,000 miles here pretty soon (may ish, june). I am in Oregon however....

[joshchewuhh]

i dont know what the prob would be but i have a auto s13 auto trans that came off my coupe 100xxx you can have for free

[CrimsonRockett]

Thanks for the offers, but I have an auto tranny out of a '98 Kouki sitting around from the S14 I just parted out.

Thought about throwing that on, but if we're dropping the transmission, we might as well be doing it for a 5-speed swap.

[mxexux]

Did some research for you: The reverse lights always being on could be a clue. The reverse lights should only come on when the inhibitor switch tells the A/T control module that the gear selector is in reverse. There of course is a possibility that there is a short to power somewhere on the reverse light circuit. But anyways try disconnecting the inhibitor switch and see if the reverse lights turn off. If they do, then your problem is most likely the inhibitor switch. If the reverse lights stay on then forget what I just said. You have multiple issues.

[CrimsonRockett]

Did some research for you: The reverse lights always being on could be a clue. The reverse lights should only come on when the inhibitor switch tells the A/T control module that the gear selector is in reverse. There of course is a possibility that there is a short to power somewhere on the reverse light circuit. But anyways try disconnecting the inhibitor switch and see if the reverse lights turn off. If they do, then your problem is most likely the inhibitor switch. If the reverse lights stay on then forget what I just said. You have multiple issues.

I had read the same thing.

I tried disconnecting one plug at a time to see if the reverse lights would shut off and got nothing.

I thought "well, let's see how the fender harness is doing".

I should've checked this to begin with.

Apparently, the previous owner didn't exactly relocate the harness properly(just pulled it up a bit).

A ziptie snapped, harness came down, and tire chewed through a few wires.

Disconnected the battery, separated the wires, wrapped them, re-wrapped the harness, pulled it up as high as possible, used 3 zipties(just in case), and boom. Problem solved.

I feel like an idiot for not having checked there in the first place, but at the same time, I'm kind of happy we didn't have to go through hell replacing the auto transmission and doing all sorts of other shit that wouldn't of helped it in the first place.

:)