Dakota Question Since No One On The Dakota Forum Knows Anything...

[TruckDriver]

Ever since I bought my '93 Dakota (318 & automatic) one year ago, it has had shifting issues. Whelp, I have narrowed it down to the one of these two things (I think), either the kick down cable or the wiring harness that runs along with the kick down. It never knows what gear to be in. Sometimes shifting early or most of the time shifting waaaayy late and or shifting fine then while driving at any speed above 45 til 85, it will for no reason down shift, sometimes fast, other times once in a while. Sometimes it gets so bad, the truck is almost undrivable. Other times, it will not do it for a week or two. Well, I (by frustration) learned that if I crawl under the truck when it is having these issues, and shake the kick down cable and wiring harness (which is 3 wires for the speed sensor I think), it seems to fix the problem til they both slide down the side of the tranny again. I already had the kickdown spring replaced and it did not solve anything. I love this truck, but this has gotten so annoying, I have had thoughts of selling it, and I really don't want to.

Has anyone else dealt with the same problem?

Can you get new kickdown cables anywhere? (local Dodge dealers do not have them anymore)

The speed sensor was already replaced, could the wires have a short some where in them?

If it is that part of the tranny harness, can I buy a new replacement somewhere?

[aifilaw]

I would ohm out the cables, and perhaps so, and perhaps not, splice into and replace with high temp wire anything that comes close to hot parts... then zip-tie them so they will not have stress and away from heat (along the body). If that is truly your problem. Since it is intermittant and does go away at times, I can say it sounds like the PCM is actually fine, but its getting bogus values from a sensor/kickdown

[bull]

I have a '94 Dakota and have not had these issues, however, you might undo that wiring bundle first (before replacing it) and see if you can find a spot where a wire insulation has rubbed through and is grounding out. If the bundle is touching metal (such as the trans housing) that would be a good place to start. Is there a way to tie it off temporarily in the position where it works?

Also you might try calling a Dodge dealer for that harness, they may still have them. Otherwise you'll have to hit the wrecking yards for that or the cable. Sometimes you can find that stuff new on Ebay too. I tried to get a seat part for my '94 and Dodge wanted around $300 for it. I ended up buying a whole seat from the wrecking yard for something like $30. The longer the parts sit on the shelf for older models the harder they are to get and the more money they charge it seems. But by the same token it's much easier to get parts for the older models out of the wrecking yards, and they're cheap. Of course they usually need a little TLC before installation...

[oldkimmer]

Im  a thinking ur TPS sensor is wacko or the wiring to/from the trans and /or the solonoids in the trans r acting up...also ud be surprized what another ground cable from the trans to the block/body will do for ya.........kim........

[TruckDriver]

Im  a thinking ur TPS sensor is wacko or the wiring to/from the trans and /or the solonoids in the trans r acting up...also ud be surprized what another ground cable from the trans to the block/body will do for ya.........kim........

What is the TPS sensor? And where is it located?

[kab69440]

The Throttle Position Sensor is located on the throttle body.

[TruckDriver]

Oh ya... I knew that That has been changed already. It had the original on it but the new one didn't make a difference. I have also changed the speed output sensor, and the spring for the kick down. But those have not changed anything. Like I said, I think it is down by the tranny in or around the wires. Cause wiggling them will change how it shifts most of the time.

[John_Kunkel]

The electrical operation of the 46RH is fairly simple, there are three wires leading to the trans connector; the center pin on the trans connector gets keyed 12V, one is grounded to engage the OD and the other is grounded to lockup the converter. Even if an OD/lockup wire were grounded along the way to the trans it wouldn't drop out of OD or unlock. If, however, a wire was making partial contact it could cause the trans to drop out of OD and or unlock intermittently.

You need to disconnect every connector from the firewall to the trans and clean the pins.