509Diesel

I have about 8000 miles on a stage 4 ATS 48RE, but yesterday it decided that it didn't want to stay in OD. It will shift like it is going into OD, but then not lock up and kick out. It's actually now starting to do this in all gears, so hopefully I can figure it out quick.

ATS wanted me to put a pressure gauge on the governor, which I did. When the truck is running normal the pressure sits around 70 PSI, but when trying to go into OD (or having issues going into other gears) the pressure drops off to 0 and then back up to 70 when it decided that it doesn't like OD. It will hold in 3rd just fine, but you can feel it try to lock up and then not lock up as the RPMs jump around (3-400 RPM difference). Obviously when this happens in OD is a large jump of around 1000 RPMs, so I've been driving with OD off when I have to drive.

Fluid level is good and the transmission isn't getting hot, sits around 160* F. I do notice that this issue doesn't start happening until the transmission gets up to temp. Takes about 10 minutes at highway speeds, during that time OD works fine and there are no issues. After the transmission gets to around 130 I start to see the issues.

Co-pilot is disabled, at least turned off. It's wired in so there isn't an easy way to completely remove it. But when it is off the automatic OD lockup is disabled so I assume it's mostly out of the picture.

I will be talking with ATS in the morning, hopefully they can help out, but I was curious if anyone has seen a similar issue.

509Diesel

ATS is thinking the issue is a failed governor solenoid. They are sending one out today and I will get it replaced this weekend. Hopefully that will fix the issue.

jhenson

Glad to hear they're trying to take care of you......lot's of places want to place blame and go for your pocketbook.

madhat

I have had nothing but great customer service from them... I'm glad to see they are still treating people right!

509Diesel

Put the new solenoid in today and the issue persists. However it's a bit different now. The first few gears do not seem to be having any issues but OD and third are still seeing issues. At 60 in third gear with OD locked out I can feel the converter lock and then kick out. It will do this over and over. If I let it go into OD it will kick in and out of gear, back down to third.

I will give ATS another call on Monday but any ideas in the meanwhile?

509Diesel

Issue has been resolved and it wasn't a fault of the transmission. There was a loose power wire feeding the LP which was causing it to defuel. After fixing this issue she's working just as expected.

John_P

509Diesel:

Glad to hear you got everything fixed on your ATS Transmission!

Like madhat,.....I have had EXCELLENT service and dealer support from ATS and have been doing business with them since 2001. I have had their transmissions in three (3) different Dodge CTD Trucks all with great service and reliability!

-------------
John_P

509Diesel

I think I spoke too soon. I was driving the truck today and it happened again. I am going to add some fuel gauges this weekend to ensure that isn't the issue, but I've got it turned all the way down and this happened on flat ground, so the truck wasn't under heavy load.

I did notice an issue with the CoPilot, it looks like the board is burnt. I jumped the harness and took the CoPilot out and it still did the same thing, so I'm not sure if that is the issue or not. I cleared the computer tonight and I will take it out tomorrow to see.

Images are uploaded here.

http://imgur.com/a/yTKSG

509Diesel

CoPilot bypassed and still showing the same issue. OD is spotty at best and all other gears are having a hard time achieving lockup. I can manually put the truck in 2nd and it jumps around the same way. Here is a couple videos of what it looks like from an RPM standpoint.

http://videobam.com/mXzeo
http://videobam.com/eqhte

509Diesel

ATS wants to try an OEM governor solenoid instead of the GM type so they are sending one of those out. I will toss it in next week and cross my fingers. They are still being great about helping me out. A+ for them.

509Diesel

After changing out the GM governor solenoid with a Borg Warner one I'm still seeing the issue. Another call to ATS and they wanted me to install a valve body assistant, which I got installed this evening. I'm still seeing the issue though.

I did adjust the TV cable and that seems to have made the shift points better, but I am still seeing the OD issue and the transmission is still kicking out of gear.

I'm going to give ATS a call again in the morning, but this has been going on for 5 weeks now and it's very annoying.

John_P

----------------------------------------
509Diesel:

You need to talk directly to Mike Meinecke there Sir. Mike has been with ATS since the beginning and in my opinion is the best man there as far as
troubleshooting any problems. Also,....is there an ATS Dealer near you that can take a look at what is going on?

--------
John_P


__________________________________________________ __________
TO ALL DTR MEMBERS:

Please refrain from coming into this thread and criticizing and or running down ATS!! This issue is between 509Diesel and ATS. Keep your personal opinions to yourself. These transmission threads are NOT going to turn into
"bashing sessions" as we have had here on DTR before!

509Diesel

Thanks John, I will contact him once I hear back from the transmission shop. The only ATS dealer is about 50 miles away and they have a very poor reputation around here, so I opted for another transmission guy in town. He came highly recommended from a friend who works at a diesel shop.

I've been working with a guy named Jeff over there and he's thinking that the issue isn't in the transmission, but the transmission guy I took the truck to this morning states otherwise. He's going to drop the pan today and see what's going on inside. IMO Jeff didn't seem to happy to be helping me with the issue which is pretty sad when you calculate the cost of the transmission.

Hopefully I will know what the issue is today or tomorrow so I can get the issue resolved.

John_P

-----------------------
509Diesel:

Thanks for your reply.

Sorry to hear that the ATS Dealer near you is not doing a good job for you.
That is why I highly recommend you contact Mike Meinecke @ ATS. Mike
pretty much runs the day to day operation at ATS, he was an ATS Trans
Tech before becoming a Supervisor and he has been with the company almost since day one. I KNOW he would take could care of you 509!!

I am going to send Mike a link to this thread and get him to contact you through the P.M. system here on DTR.

-------
John_P