Before I start, Thanks in advance for any advice and I am glad I found this forum.

I have read through the FAQ's and several threads that might address the two problems I am having. I am getting an idea of where to start, but would like more educated input before starting.

First: my automatic transmission shifts really slow when the truck sits for any amount of time. After it gets moving and shifts up once or twice then it all works fine -- usually needs to wrap up a lot of RPMs before shifting. BTW, I have a V-8 2wd with approximately 133,000 miles and the filter and fluid was recently changed.

I was wondering about a sticky valve or linkage issue, but the smooth operation once the truck gets going has me stumped.

Second: there is electrical issues with the dome lights and radio. I have no dome light and I do not see that any of the fuses are bad. I read about after-market radio installations messing things up so I checked the install on the one I have -- radio works but it is powered by a seperate wire rather than the wire that should power it -- that wire is the only wire on the harness that is cut, the rest are connected to an adapter kit.

Again, no fuses under the dash or under the hood appear to be blown. Is there an inline fuse or fusable link that I may have not read about?

I have tried to get into the wiring diagrams in the FAQ section but they will not load on my computer. And I can not find my Haynes manual that I used to have for my 87 Dakota.

Thanks again for the help!

 

1) Could either be low on fluid or the TV cable needs adjusting. I know you said it just got a fluid change, but in my experience, the fluid level can go down right after a change while it makes its way through all the passageways.

2) Not trying to sound like a smartass, but have you checked the bulb? Do you think the radio and light issues are related if the radio is no longer powered off the same source?

3) For the wiring diagrams (or the FSM as a whole), You need to download them, unzip the files (with winzip or winrar), and open them with adobe reader. Any of those programs are free to download if you search for them online.

 

You are not being a smart-***, just looking at the obvious that is often over-looked. I forgot to mention that I have replaced the bulb with no results. Also, the buzzer does go off when the door is open and keys are in the ignition -- to eliminate bad switch on door.

I have checked the fluid and topped it off since the change. When we changed it, the filter was not plugged and the fluid was not that dirty. We did not look at the linkage at that time. I will check it when things warm up here.

I am only guessing about the radio and dome light issue being related - based on what I have read about this issue. I know very little about the past history of this truck (first owner was very maticulus with service but I don't think the second owner was). Again, I have not dug that deep into the issue that far - pulled the radio and checked for crossed wires and blown fuses is about it.

I will try again to download the diagrams -- new computer and I don't think I have all the extras set up for all I need yet.

Thanks for the information and help!!

 

haynes says the dome and radio power are on a different line but the radio memory is on the same line. i did this before and wired the power, memory and and dome on the same line, that way i could play the stereo without the key turned to acc. they probably disconnected the dome for power to the stereo.
as for the tranny do you live in a cold climate? takes a while to warm up sometimes. in any case i switched to synthetic fluid when the rod (cable in your truck) did not work.
i did most of my electrical work in the late 70's. early 80's when trucks had about 6 wires running through them. ah life was good!

 

The dome/radio/no buzzer issues could be caused by a blown IOD fuse under the hood, just a small 5 amp jobber in the power distribution center.

I had a similar issue with my transmission and it turned out to be a bad TPS, sometimes it would put out the correct voltage sometimes not.

 

I have radio memory and the door buzzer plus new bulb in dome and good fuses in the places where I think they should be. I have not checked the factory wire to the radio power to make sure that it is dead, just ASSumed it was -- started thinking and remembered that I have not had the tester out yet.

I am working on getting wiring diagrams downloaded and getting room in the garage to work on the truck with some heat. When I get that accomplished, I will check everything mentioned so far and report back (probably won't be until the weekend).

 

I just spent the past couple days under the truck working on front wheel bearings and took a few to check out the transmission linkage. I see the TV cable and where it connects to the transmission and it moved freely. Also the rest of the linkage looks to be in good working order or at least for a truck with the miles mine has.

I have read about TV cable adjustment and just wonder what can I mess up if I do something wrong? The instructions are super and the illustrations are great (I read pictures almost better than words at times). It seems fairly easy to get right but almost as easy to not get right as well -- had issues in past adjusting cables "right" and do not want to go through those nightmares again.

Yes, I am thinking of making the adjustments under the hood rather than under the truck -- the instructions are better and I do not have to lie on the cold ground to do it.

Thanks again.

 

nomore you can't go wrong on that adjustment just fallow the instructions and go for it. when your done you'll stand up and say "damn that was easy"

 

The fuse for the dome light is located on the power distribution center - the 5AMP ("Fuse 2" in the service manual, regular type fuse)
That 5AMP fuse is provided power via a 20AMP fuse (the larger style fuse - "Fuse F" in the service manual)

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
For your information: that 5AMP fuse provides power for the following:
Underhood Light
Glove Box Lamp
Dome light
Time Delay Relay (which itself provides power to: ignition switch lamp, and courtesy lamp [lights up passenger side floor])
Power Mirror Switch
Radio (they say only for memory function, but with this 5AMP fuse blown, the radio will not work, at least didn't on my truck)
Overhead Console
ABS/Airbag Datalink Connector (Data Link Connector [OBDII] on 1996)
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

So, chances are, if any/all of those other things work, you've got a wiring issue going to the dome light (or, issue from the dome light to ground)

 

Great information -- should point me in the right direction. I have not tested everything, but I have radio memory but as far as I know nothing else. The main power for the radio is off a new wire not off the harness.

I'll check out the 20 amp fuse then start tracing wires and checking for blown bulbs, hopfully when we get snowed in this weekend. If this does not do the trick, I will be back with more information and questions.

Thanks everyone for all the help and have a Very Merry Christmas!!!