trans temp mode issue

did a full flush yesterday on my 2005 trd sport 4x4. dropped the pan and inspected the magnets and wire mesh screen. all went well but i can't seem to nail the trans temp mode thing. I have researched on here quite a bit and am following the sequence exactly, jumpin the #4 and #13, cranking truck, go from p,n,d,n,d,n,d,n,p. I have tried the sequence several times experimenting with different lengths of pause in between shifts and even adding another shif sequence just incase. my AT TEMP light never illuminates other than when i first turn my key on before cranking. Is this just a finniky system? should i just keep trying? or is there likely a problem or step that I'm missing?

 

is it up to temp or cold?

 

I am a bit confused by what you are asking. Your transmission temp light should not come on unless your transmission is overheating. (Except of course on start-up bulb/system test) What are you trying to accomplish at this point, after you have already changed the fluid out?

 

When I did mine it took about 20mins or more for it to warm up and light to turn on.

 

http://youtu.be/vpGIBJPnJX4

 

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/68462-diy-full-flush-automatic-transmission.html


i followed this post other than i added dropping my transmission pan, inspecting my magnets in the bottom, and inspecting the metal mesh screen. everything went smooth but i bet i tried to get the truck in trans temp mode more than 10 times with no luck.

 

bama toy, after a flush or add in fluid it is recommended to check the level of the trans, the right way to do it is to follow the directions in the video above, wait until light comes on, then open the overflow plug and let excess drain to a slight trickle or add fluid to obtain a slight trickle. my problem is that i cant get my trans temp light to come on at all after doing the shift sequences. I intentionally added 1/4 qt extra fluid than what i drained in hopes of only having to let a small amount bleed out rather than having to add more fluid and repeat the shift sequence process.

 

does this part occur ?

Make sure you're parked on level ground,
Start truck, shift through all gears several times to get new fluid moved all around.
Using a small wire, jump pins 4 and 13 on the ODBII port.
Start the truck, you should see a lot of your dash lights flashing.

 

I'm parked level. I shifted through the gears during flush but not since the final refill, other than the sequence gears. So when I get home from work I will try going through the gears a few times before I attempt the temp mode again.

 

Sorry. I am aware of the proper procedure with letting the transmission warm up to check the proper level. I was just not aware of the specific method you were doing to test it. I was a bit confused in reading your post, so I wanted to make sure I understood what you were indicating. Though I would suggest against using just a piece of wire to do this. The wire can easily over-open a terminal, causing a future problem for a DLC connection. You should use a jumper harness with the correct size terminals.

 

Where would I get a jumper harness?

 

Easy enough to make. Find a piece of short wire like in the video, then go to a local auto parts store and find the right size terminals to crimp on the ends. If you cant find the right ones, you can take a standard blade terminal and cut it in half. That is about the width of the DLC terminal.

 

Here, I just took two different types of terminals and made what you need. Make sure to use the red ones, not the blue or yellow as they are too thick and will damage your DLC terminals.

 

Excellent, alternative method is to use paper clip, it will work too.

Side note, its not as important to bring temperature up as not to exceed temperature when measuring,
So quick way is to wait for tranny fluid to be completely cold, then have somebody start truck and second person to remove level bolt immediately when truck starts running. whatever comes out that was too much, if nothing came out shut off truck and add 1 qt. wait to cool down and try it again.

Or... get latest scanguage and program to see ATF temperature. Its worth every penny.

 

Personally I suggest against using a paperclip, as they tend to be thicker than a standard DLC terminal. The thought is a good idea, the application can have issues.

 

*Update * got home from work, cranked truck up and shifted through all gears several times, made a jumper wire, and tried the shifting sequence again. Nailed it on the first try. About 15 minutes of idling and I had an illuminated at temp light. Pulled the check plug and had no flow. Turned truck off and added about a half quart. Nailed the temp mode again and the light was immediately illuminated from previous heat up. Pulled check plug again and had a seconds worth of gushing then a slow trickle. Let it trickle for maybe a minute then buttoned everything up. Took a test drive and all seems well. Thanks for the feedback, it really made this task much easier!

 

Awesome! Throw that jumper in the glove box now for next time!

 

I have done all the other maintenance on my Tacoma throughout its life, except for the tranny. I got ripped off by the dealer when at 85K when I wanted a complete flush. They told me they could, would and did do a flush on my auto tranny, but it was only a drain and fill in the end....

Off topic, but what is the problem with draining the transmission on level ground when completely cold, measuring how much fluid came out, and adding exactly that much fluid back in??

Just seems like it would be much easier to do a drain fill this way. Since the dealer did it the first time for me, fluid should be at the correct level.

Opinions?

 

I've read where several people have measured what was drained and when they refilled and checked the level they found out that they were up to 1/2 quart low from factory. I plan on doing just a pan drain and refill the amount i drain periodically now that I know I have the level perfect. From my measurements of drain vs fill mine was a little low from the factory.

 

There is no substitute for proper procedure. By doing it the way you are mentioning, you don't and can't take into account any fluid loss up to the point of the change that you are doing.