I have an '87 240 DL wagon with an automatic. It has an electric overdrive that quit working about a year ago. I replaced the relay and it worked again until recently when it started blowing the fuse. It still worked after changing the fuse but not for long until the fuse blows again. Now the relay works and the indicator light changes state but the transmission stays out of OD. My Chiltons manual does not mention anything.

Is there a part that can be changed with the transmission in the car?

Any help would be appreciated.

Lou

 

Sounds a lot like the overdrive solenoid on teh box has gone.

Regards, Andrew.

 

Can you replace the solenoid with the transmission in the car?

Lou

 

Yes, its held in by two bolts, but it sounds like the wire that runs to it is shorting out.

 

I will get under there and see what I can find. Thanks for the tip, this OD is really buggging me.

Lou

 

I realized I should have searched for "overdrive solenoid" so I did. Lots of good info came up. http://www.vcoa.org/700-900-faq/Tran...to.html#AW7071 Was a good site. Like Bubba said above I probably have a short or a bad coil causing the electrical overload, which blew the fuses.

Converting the solenoid to give overdrive all the time seemed like a good idea, especially if cost is an issure.

I chose to grind a notch between the two ports on the bottom of the solenoid, disabling any electrical aspect of the overdrive selector. Instructions are on the website above.

The solenoid mounting bolts are not the easiest to access but my Craftsman version of the Gearwrenches were worth their weight in gold. I am not sure what else would work. I found a new o ring at the local hardware store. It took about two hours with my son helping, including the trip to the hardware store. We drained what we could of the fluid and replaced it. We ran the engine while the solenoid was off and put it in gear to flush any dirt out of the ports. Be sure to take appropriate safety precautions while running the car up the air.

We test drove the car and it shifted right into OD like the light was off, even with it on. Just as expected. BTW, the solenoid connected the ports with 12 volts applied as evidenced by squirting electroclean in the ports with and without power applied. I am guessing there was in intermittent short in the wire to the solenoid, who knows where.

Thanks again for the help,

Lou