Hey everyone,
I have an 850R automatic that recently had the notorious flashing arrow light on the dash, no reverse lights, wouldn't go into any gears. After much reading, I determined it was a faulty PNP switch. I have replaced it. No more flashing arrow light, reverse lights come on, and it drives. In neutral. And in D, 3 and L. But no reverse. Transmission fluid looks good. Any ideas? Am I a candidate for a transmission transplant or am I overlooking something obvious? Any advice/direction would be greatly appreciated.....Thanks

 

Sounds like the did not adjust the pnp switch properly. They have special tools to adjust it when you install it. It sounds like you've got it one click off if you don't have the special tool then just move it one position manually and see which one fixes the problem.

 

Hey thanks for such a prompt reply. Actually did the work myself with another person, a previous mechanic. And the pnp switch is definitely aligned correctly. I don't mean to sound stubborn but we adjusted the switch quite a few times and I think I have Googled every picture known to man that shows where the alignment mark is. And I have the threaded rod piece that the switch slides down on two clicks to the left from the park position during installation which indicated neutral. That's why I'm so puzzled. Any other ideas?

 

Did you happen to remove the plastic c clip that goes around the fork type bracket that holds the shift cable that bolts onto the transmission ? I've seen where that wasnt installed properly and causing the same type of problems.

 

Slide the shifter real slow out of park towards N and see if reverse engages at any point.

 

... do this with drive wheels off the ground BTW..

 

You had a properly working transmission and reverse lights worked THEN the flashing arrow came on, no reverse lights, no gears ??

Replaced PNP and now you have forward gears but no reverse. when the shifter is in N are you in neutral ??

 

Thanks for all the quick responses everyone, super awesome. Been working out of town for a few days.
Damien360- I don't remember taking off the shift cable bracket at all, but I'm cracking it back open tomorrow so I'll check that.
rspi & gdog- We did try moving the shifter very slow between gears and didn't get it to engage in any gears, but not with the front wheels off the ground. I can give that a shot too.
Kiss4aFrog- I did have a working tranny, reverse lights had been a little iffy, figured it was something in the wiring. It was parked for a couple days at a friend's house, went to pick it up, and it would barely start, had a real problem getting into reverse to get out of his driveway, then wouldn't go into gear to drive home for a few minutes. I only had to drive it 2 miles home under 40 mph, the whole time in D, but car acted like it was stuck in 3. Parked it, sat overnight in 10 degree weather, then woke up to the arrow of death.
As it sits, it will start, drive in D, 3 and L, but wants to drive in neutral, no reverse. I should note that if engine is off, it will roll freely in neutral. We also drove it in D for a couple miles and it acted quite normally.

 

My 98 v70R with 176K just started to do the same thing, no reverse drives in neutral, all forward gears are fine. I have reverse lights. Did you ever find a fix or cause? Or should I be looking for a new tranny? Thanks

 

Any ideas on this problem??

I have the same on a c70?

Any my response is appreciated..

regards
matt

 

The prior thread was about the inability to engage in reverse after installing a PNP switch (park neutral position sensor). Are you saying you have a C70 that has no reverse or that you were installing a PNP switch and need to set its alignment? If its the former, likely you need to replace or rebuild the transmission. Quick test is to check the color of the fluid on the dipstick, then drop the pan to inspect for debris. Any other symptoms - hard shifting etc?