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  #16  
Old 03-11-2011, 09:56 AM
weedtort weedtort is offline
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Angry Re: Overdrive Light Blinking

Well, Shaun. That was a nice bit of advertising for how great Ford vehicles are, but you do not have to convince me of that. This is my second Ranger 4x4 (first was a '94), and I have religiously followed the maintenance schedule.

You did not post any helpful hints other than to got somewhere and have them read the code when the O/D light is blinking, which is all well and good, but it seems that each shop comes up with a different solution (or tries throwing parts at the problem until it goes away by trial and error). My beef is that I believe Ford knows exactly what the most likely problem is (how could they not by now given all the model years of Rangers and Explorers with the problem), and if it is a design problem, then they owe everyone a free fix. If it is simply a maintenance or "part wear out" problem, then they don't. But, you are not going to convince me with so many folks having the problem and too many mechanics seeming to not have a clue as to why, that Ford has not come up with a solution and advised its dealer shops about it in a bulletin. Manufacturers, and especially Ford, let the dealerships know what to do, and they tell them that if the customer complains loudly and often enough, fix it for free. Otherwise, charge them. That is in lieu of a full-blown recall. My suspicion, and that is all it is at this point, is that this is such a situation, just like when they had the recall over the cruise control some years back. They never could seem to get the corrective part to the dealerships in sufficient quantities, so their solution was simply to have the dealerships disconnect the cruise control connector! But, when I finally got fed up with waiting (and a client who owned a repair shop told me that those "connected' could get the repair part), and I started writing nasty letters to Ford directly, suddenly, the dealership called to say that while they did not have the "real" part in stock, still, all of a sudden they had another fix that worked just fine, and I had my cruise controal back.

Given the myriad solutions that folks have tried, and it seems that there is not something inherently wrong with the internal workings of the transmission since few folks had any success with rebuilds, my guess is that there is some electronic gizmo somewhere that stops working; maybe the valve body, maybe the PCM; who knows? And, that Ford could simply put out a service bulletin online that let's us all in on the big secret. Why the same repair (valve body) should cost $250 at one shop and $1,200 at another is absurd. Just means that someone at the higher-priced shop is taking advantage of the customer's ignorance as to what is wrong and what really needs to be done.
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  #17  
Old 03-11-2011, 03:32 PM
zekew64 zekew64 is offline
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Default Re: Overdrive Light Blinking

Just throwing my .02 in here, but...

As for josephmperez's post about the car stalling after coming to a complete stop, ten'll get you twenty that it is the Torque Converter Clutch solenoid (TCC solenoid).

I mention this because the last vehicle I had was a 1989 Chevy Celebrity that had that same problem. I would be travelling anywhere from 30 to 55 MPH, and when I'd go to stop, the car would shake violently as the trans tried to shift down. But because the solenoid was going out, the trans couldn't shift, and the car would stall out trying to stop.

Don't know the cost of trying to repair it, but I'd bet at least $200, if not more, especially if you have to do anything else trans-related.
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  #18  
Old 03-11-2011, 05:03 PM
Fordzilla80 Fordzilla80 is offline
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Default Re: Overdrive Light Blinking

Quote:
Originally Posted by weedtort View Post
Well, Shaun. That was a nice bit of advertising for how great Ford vehicles are, but you do not have to convince me of that. This is my second Ranger 4x4 (first was a '94), and I have religiously followed the maintenance schedule.
LOL! My post wasn't intended to "rep" Ford products at all. If you read again, I stated that Ford Ranger automatics suck, and always have. The intent of my post was to try and convince you that there is plenty of ignorance on Google, and that one should not believe everything they have read upon Google, as there are many factors that can discredit a source, in which I named some of the most common factors of why Google, and those results that appear, deserve very little consideration.

Quote:
Originally Posted by weedtort View Post
You did not post any helpful hints other than to got somewhere and have them read the code when the O/D light is blinking, which is all well and good, but it seems that each shop comes up with a different solution (or tries throwing parts at the problem until it goes away by trial and error).
Read this if you would like to see why having the code read is the best hint I can give you.

http://www.fordrangerforum.com/drive...ght-flash.html

Quote:
Originally Posted by weedtort View Post
My beef is that I believe Ford knows exactly what the most likely problem is (how could they not by now given all the model years of Rangers and Explorers with the problem), and if it is a design problem, then they owe everyone a free fix. If it is simply a maintenance or "part wear out" problem, then they don't.
I agree with this statement, Ford probably knows the exact problem. But, if they solved it for everybody, would they make any money off of it?


Quote:
Originally Posted by weedtort View Post
They never could seem to get the corrective part to the dealerships in sufficient quantities, so their solution was simply to have the dealerships disconnect the cruise control connector!
Do you not think this is something Ford did intentionally?


Quote:
Originally Posted by weedtort View Post
Given the myriad solutions that folks have tried, and it seems that there is not something inherently wrong with the internal workings of the transmission since few folks had any success with rebuilds, my guess is that there is some electronic gizmo somewhere that stops working; maybe the valve body, maybe the PCM; who knows?
There are numerous known electrical problems that tend to plague the 4R44E-5R55E automatics. My truck is one of them, suffering from a broken exterior trans connector, which constantly causes an O/D Off light flash. This problem is easily prevented when I physically push the connector back in place before a long trip. Once this is done, the light does not return. I have been quoted plenty of bogus repairs, that would never have fixed the actual problem at hand. But, like a smart consumer, I decided to investigate the problem at hand by myself, and wouldn't you know it, I figured out the exact problem, that a trans shop would have most likely never figured out. This is why I stress that you need to monitor the symptoms of your specific vehicle yourself, because you can often solve your own problem, and save quite a bit of cash in the long run. It's all about surrounding yourself with the correct knowledge. You won't find that on Google.

Ford is a business. So is GM, Honda, Toyota, etc. They enjoy making money. Who doesn't? They make money many ways, including vehicle sales, and repairs. Ford is NOT going to make a trans with absolutely no problems. If they were to make a bulletproof transmission, they would lose a source of income. Bottom line is, Ford makes money off the Ranger Automatics. Do you really think they care about your thoughts on their business practices? The intent of my original post was to discredit what can be found on Google, as often times, the information is misleading. I in no way believe in Ford's business practices, but in the end, it's our job to be responsible, knowledgeable consumers.
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  #19  
Old 02-11-2013, 11:06 AM
sylvey1 sylvey1 is offline
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Smile Re: Overdrive Light Blinking

Hi! This is my first post on this forum. I just bought a 2003 ranger 4x4, and after two months, I started noticing the same issue... When I first bought the car, the take off and pick up were great. Then, I started noticing that it was having a hard time taking off from stop and was riding rough when shifting into first. Then, in the last two months, the same thing has happened about 4 times... I will be accelerating from a stop light, and it will lag before shifting into first and then jerk a little... that is when the OD off light starts to flash and the ride is rough after that. When I stop at the next stop light, I turn the truck off and restart, and the light has stopped flashing. I have a two-year warranty I purchased when buying the truck, but I am not sure what that will cover. I am more than happy (and want to) take her in to get this issue fixed, but I am afraid of getting gouged for money. I am a complete idiot when it comes to cars and am not good at being tough with mechanics. I tend to listen to what they tell me and pay up. From this forum, it sounds like there may be a lot of issues, but I was hoping for some advice because it happened again this morning on my way to work, and I would like to treat my truck nicely by having it fixed sooner than later. Also, I just took her on a 700-mile trip this weekend, and all was fine on the highway and trip.

Thanks so much for any advice... It sucks not having the knowledge or understanding of how these things work.

-C*
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  #20  
Old 02-14-2013, 09:09 AM
WhiteLightning WhiteLightning is offline
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Default Re: Overdrive Light Blinking

My truck did the same thing. It would blink constintly. One night heading home my tranny went out. Transmisson shop said the code was the same as yours.
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2000 Ford Ranger. It has the 4.0 EFI OHV motor. It is an automatic 4 speed with overdrive. It is lifted 7 inches (3" body, 4" suspension). It has 35/12.50/16.5 tires. The rims are Weld Racing Rims. It has a cold air intake.
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  #21  
Old 02-14-2013, 09:47 AM
i like mud i like mud is offline
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Default Re: Overdrive Light Blinking

same thing happened with my truck... with only 20,000 miles on it... i cleaned out the valve body and then it was fine
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  #22  
Old 06-10-2013, 02:09 PM
USMC02Ranger USMC02Ranger is offline
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Default Re: Overdrive Light Blinking

I just experienced the same o/d off light flashing in my '02 Ranger 4.0 4x4. Truck has 105, 000miles on it. I went on a 350+ mile trip the weekend prior. Had my trans fluid changed about 5 weeks ago and haven't had any shifting issues at all until now. I was on the highway over 55 and the o/d off light started flashing. Everything was working fine until I pulled over to turn the truck off and on to reset the light hopefully but at that point I was roughly surprised to not have any gears available to me other than 1st, and the o/d off light flashes on as soon as I get over 20mphish now. So confused.... I've worked on my own projects, and friends cars for years now and have never heard of something this bogus now. I took it to a shop and they just said, "yea, your overdrive is shot, you're going to need a rebuild." I'm sorry but that's not very convincing to me. Might take it to Aamco and see what they say. Just really don't feel like getting beat on a $1900 trans if it turned out being my TCM or PCM. I'm reading up on these types of threads all over the internet for more research. Anybody else have more insight I'd greatly appreciate it.
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  #23  
Old 06-10-2013, 04:08 PM
WhiteLightning WhiteLightning is offline
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Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by USMC02Ranger View Post
I just experienced the same o/d off light flashing in my '02 Ranger 4.0 4x4. Truck has 105, 000miles on it. I went on a 350+ mile trip the weekend prior. Had my trans fluid changed about 5 weeks ago and haven't had any shifting issues at all until now. I was on the highway over 55 and the o/d off light started flashing. Everything was working fine until I pulled over to turn the truck off and on to reset the light hopefully but at that point I was roughly surprised to not have any gears available to me other than 1st, and the o/d off light flashes on as soon as I get over 20mphish now. So confused.... I've worked on my own projects, and friends cars for years now and have never heard of something this bogus now. I took it to a shop and they just said, "yea, your overdrive is shot, you're going to need a rebuild." I'm sorry but that's not very convincing to me. Might take it to Aamco and see what they say. Just really don't feel like getting beat on a $1900 trans if it turned out being my TCM or PCM. I'm reading up on these types of threads all over the internet for more research. Anybody else have more insight I'd greatly appreciate it.
If you can pull the transmission that will save you a lot because that is where the main amount of labor is. We were lucky enough to know the transmission guy and he let us use his tools and lift to drop the transmission and put it back in. We saved 1200 in labor by doing this. 450 for parts and rebuild time.
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2000 Ford Ranger. It has the 4.0 EFI OHV motor. It is an automatic 4 speed with overdrive. It is lifted 7 inches (3" body, 4" suspension). It has 35/12.50/16.5 tires. The rims are Weld Racing Rims. It has a cold air intake.
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  #24  
Old 01-05-2014, 03:58 PM
canibal66 canibal66 is offline
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Default Re: Overdrive Light Blinking

mine started doing this today in the rain i hit a repaving bump at 70 and it started flashing and droped out of overdrive,pulled over shut off and restarted no problems for maybe 3 miles started flashing again but no drop out of od however it seems like the torque converter is not locking up at cruise and taking off it shifts like a shift kit through the gears.does it every time i shut off and restart..good for 3 to 5 miles then starts doing again.i figured the bump loosened something alowing moisture in so an way home i stopped an got some wd40 an got under it i only saw one plug though on the driver side of the transmission pulled it out sprayed it good plugged it back in but nothing changed are there more plugs im missing?any ideas?
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