hey guys. i have a question that may sound stupid to some of you but i dont know much about this area. what does it mean when my OD OFF light comes on by its self and my trans temp light comes on? yesterdayi checked the transmission fluid and it was pretty low so i added about a half a quart and it stopped. then today it did it again as i was driving down the highway. i know that u are supposed to have ur tranny flushed every 60,000 or so miles and my truck has 120some thousand on it.. is that what it needs?

-Thanks a lot

 

i'm just going to guess... that the o/d button has gone, or is going bad.

trans temp. from 2001 service manual

Trans Over-Temp Lamp-On Message - Each
time the cluster receives a trans over-temp lamp-on
message from the PCM indicating that the transmission
fluid temperature is 135° C (275° F) or higher,
the indicator will be illuminated and a single chime
tone is sounded. The lamp remains illuminated until
the cluster receives a trans over-temp lamp-off message
from the PCM, or until the ignition switch is
turned to the Off position, whichever occurs first.
The chime tone feature will only repeat during the
same ignition cycle if the transmission over-temperature
indicator is cycled off and then on again by the
appropriate trans over-temp messages from the PCM.

these transmissions are weak to start with, and high temperature is the killer.
this is what i'd do - perform 2 fluid and filter services about a week or two apart. if you don't already have a good rubber gasket, buy one for the first change, and then keep re-using it. also, install a $5-10 drain plug in the pan to make future service easier and cleaner. use ONLY atf+4 fluid. clean the bottom of the pan and the magnet. take a picture of anything bad. the reason for doing it twice, is because first of all you only get out about 1/2 the fluid, and secondly, atf contains a lot of detergents, so the new fluid will break loose a lot of sludge and put it in motion. i think this tends to clog up the new filter and leads to failure. be sure and change filter on both services. some people might recommend a flush, but i'm just not sold on that idea. i'd rather just do it myself. some might recommend disconnecting a line and pouring in new fluid until all the old pumps out. that's ok too, but even if you do that, i'd still recommend a second service 1-2 weeks after the first.

this might or might not help. you may still be needing a new transmission soon.

 

+1 to that
Since these transmissions are so weak to begin with, i wouldnt go the rebuild route. Its gonna run you (depending on your location) 2200-2800. I would look into buyin a new one from the fast man (www.thefastman.com) his are designed to handle 700 hp.

 

I couldnt agree more. If u do the tranny flush a couple of times at least until u see all red fluid. brown tints are bad. But if the tranny is done. Definatly stay away from a chrysler or rebluilt one. there junk. On another note my work truc is a 94 1500 4x4. It was my dads.. i jus turned 239000 on he oringnal stuff. I put a transcooler on and changed the pluenem twice. and that it. runs great.

 

hm..this is exactly what happend to mine before it gernaded..to bad i didnt know what it meant at the time...since the light came on the trans lasted a week than blew..the sad thing was i was going to do a trans service at my shop the next day..

 

one more thing - do NOT drive the truck with them trans over-temp light on. Notice that it is a RED light, not a yellow like low fuel. 275* is cooking your transmission before your eyes. It won't last a week at that temp.

Why is the light on - clogged filter, clogged line, clogged up check valve in cooler line before radiator, clogged up cooler, bad pump, broken parts, etc, the list is long.

Do NOT drive it. Start with basic fluid/filter change. If that doesn't work, disconnect, test, flush the cooler and don't overlook the stupid little check valve before the radiator. verify that with engine running and tranmission in neutral (not park) that you have fluid pumping all the way through the cooling system. you can test the end result (the return line) or you can test each piece of the plumbing system. hot line before check valve (this tests pump), check valve, into rad, out of rad.

 

thanks for the help guys. and thanks dhvaughan for goin through all the trouble lookin that stuff up. that shows that us guys on dodgeforum really care about our fellow dodge fans [8D]. but ne ways we are dropping the truck off at a guy who does transmissions and he is gonna tear it apart and try to find the prob. hopefully it doesnt get too expensive but whatever it is i hope we can get it fixed fast cuz i dont really like drivin my dads FORD[:'(]haha thanks again

 

I OWN A 2004 RAM ,HAVE HAD THE TRANNY REPLACED BY THE DEALER 4 TIMES ALREADY,IT ONLY HAS 43,OOO MILES ON IT, THESE TRANNYS ARE JUNK TO BEGIN WITH,YOU CAN TRY A FLUSH AT A LOCAL SHOP,RUNS 90 TO 100 DOLLARS,OR DO IT YOURSELF FOR 60 PLUS YOUR TIME,ONLY USE DEALER APPROVED ATF PLUS 5 FLUID GET AT YOUR DEALER,CAN BUY IT BY THE GALLON,ALSO SEE IF YOUR TRUCK HAS CHECKBALL IN TRANS LINE BY RADIATOR,THESE STICK OR GO BAD,AND CAUSE ABOUT 75 PERCENT OF THESE TRANS FAILURES,JUST REPLACE WITH REGULAR FUEL LINE,IF YOU DO ANY HAULING ADD A TRANNY COOLER, EITHER WAY, I HAVE REBUILT MANY OF THESE TRANNIES,AND HAVE VERY GOOD LUCK WITH IT,OR BUY A NEW ONE,CHECK O/DRIVE BUTTON THEY DO GO BAD.HAVE A TRANS SHOP PUT IT ON A SCANNER IT WILL TELL YOU ACTUAL TRANNIE TEMP TO DETERMINE IF IT IS OD SWITCH OR NEEDS A NEW TRANNIE,EITHER WAY GOOD LUCK AND HOPE THIOS HELPS YOU OUT, I HAVE BEEN A AUTO TECH FOR OVER 22 YEARS.