I have been experienceing something with my 98 360 ram. Whenever I start the truck the trands temp light will come on and the overdrive will be off until it has been driven for a few miles. Doesnt matter if its hot or cold or restarted after it has gone off. It always does this until it has been driven several miles. Some days it may be a greater distance than others but always the same symptoms. After the light goes off and OD comes on it shift normally and it shift fine when the lights are on too. any help?

 

could be your trans temp sensor screwing with your overdrive. i would imagine the sensor shuts off overdrive if your temp is screwed up? idk, im just throwing ideas out there. i'm probably way out in left field.

 

If it is happening when the truck is still cold (undriven cold startup), then I would think it is a sensor/sender problem. The trans temp light shouldn't be illuminated until the trans temps reach 275 F. If fluid temperature exceeds 260 F, the PCM causes a 4-3 downshift and engages the converter clutch. It will also illuminate the overdrive Off light and prevent you from going back into overdrive until temps get below 260 F. On the cold side, the PCM prevents engagement of the converter clutch and overdrive clutch when fluid temperature is below approximately 50 F, but the trans temp light will not be illuminated.

Have you checked to see if you have any stored transmission codes?

 

+1 on the trans temp sensor screwing with you. If your PCM thinks your trans is too hot then it will stop you from using overdrive.

 

SCORE FOR ME! i was completely throwing that idea out there, didnt know if i was right or not. lol. i surprise myself sometimes.

 

Does anyone have a picture or can tell where this sensor is. picture would be awesome.

 

If the sensor is bad then wouldnt it do it all the time versus just after it has warmed up a bit though? over the past few days the time it takes for the light to go off and overdrive to kick in has increased.?

 

I would guess that it is not necessarily "bad" but rather "going bad" and just malfunctioning from time to time. I think it is just acting up and that replacing it would probably help take care of the problem. Again though, this is just my opinion!