[DML] Re: Speaking of Automatics...

["sweitzel_2000" <sweitzel@xxxxxxxxxx>]

I'm an owner of an automatic. When I got my car (3231) it had been 
sitting for 15 years with 4858 original miles on it and a bad fuel 
system. When I finally got the engine and fuel system squared away I 
set out for the inaugural drive only to find that my shift computer 
was toast like many others. I (like others) started freaking out 
about the $$$ I would have to pay for a replacement computer. I 
happened across Mark Hershey's article on dmcnews 
http://www.dmcnews.com/Techsection/transputer3.htm about his trans 
computer exploits and decided to take a look for myself. What I would 
like to say more than anything to auto (slushbox) owners is this: The 
transmission computer really isn't very complicated at all and you 
should not be afraid of it. The fact of the matter is is that it's a 
relatively simple electrical circuit that was assembled with 
substandard parts and placed in a horrible location on the vehicle. I 
read the article with earnest and I must observe that someone with 
even novice soldering skills I think would be able to perform the 
replairs outlined in Mark's article. I myself took one half of a day 
and took the 2 circuit boards out of the housing. (I didn't even 
remove it from the car - i just pulled the cables out behind the 
vehicle and sat on the garage floor for the procedure) I had gone 
over to a local electronic component retailer and purchased the 
capacitors and TIP 42c shift transistors for less than $3.00. I 
removed all the caps and replaced them. I also added the .1uf caps to 
the circuit as mark suggests. I replaced the shift transistors and 
reassembled the boards onto my transmission. Total time expended was 
less than 3 hours and the shifting of my trans is absolutely perfect. 
Auto owners: Please don't think that your trans computer failing is 
the end of the world. If it is flaky don't keep driving on 2 or less 
gears. either pull the board and take the repairs into your own hands 
or send the boards to one of the vendors for a rebuild.






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