Hi! I am new here but have had a very annoying issue with my 46re the last 6 months or so. I guess this issue started about one and a half years ago. While on a road trip to do some wheeling I had a few weird transmission shifts. I didn't think anything about it because I was up around 13,000 feet in Colorado. I get home from the long trip and that week my transmission went out. OK so the real problems begin here.

I have a transmission guy I know and does very nice transmission work, I pulled the trans and had it rebuilt and put it back in. The same week I take off to Oregon. It was a hot summer day and while passing death valley I got a trans code. I lay down on the sizzling asphalt and realize my chassis side 8 pin connector broke. Bummer, so i push it on and clear the code and continue on. I sourced the part and picked it up on my way to Oregon. It managed to pull through and make it for the remainder of the trip.

After the trip I installed the new connector at home and all was well for the next year. I didnt drive it too much during the winter, just a few wheeling trips.

This summer I took the rig towing my small trailer up to the sierras for some outdoor activities. On the way home a trans code came on. Hmm cleared it and drove home. Under further investigation of the code I noticed the trans side 8 pin connector was broken WTF. So thinking maybe some freak stick ramed it or something I had it fixed along with new sensor fearing they had shorted.

Sweet its fixed, not, 5 miles from the shop the female trans plug broke again. -Great

So I limped home. my buddy and I look for any cause of the failure thinking something must be hitting it. We found noting, so I took it back to the trans shop and my trans guy looks for anything that might have happened. He thought my trans kick down cable shroud might have done it, so he replaces the kick down cable and the trans side plug again.

Now I drive it home in bumper to bumper traffic hardly having to touch the gas, somehow the trans side plug broke again. So I take it home and really investigate. I rig up a light and go pro and drive it around, bomb down dirt roads, ect. Noting moves or gets anywhere near the connector.

So before I take it back I need to figure this out. Has this happened to anyone before? Rig specs. 1998 wrangler, 1998 ram 1500 5.2 magnum 46re, np231 t case, stretched, linked, 37s ect..

 

here is a picture, note this time is is broken 180* out on the other side of the plug

 

That's certainly a new one. No idea why it would do that. It is rather well protected up there, not like anything can hit it. (unless you are getting seriously wild.....) Maybe a bad batch of connectors? Think I would source them from somewhere else.......

 

As of right now thats my only option. I am going to get the chassis side connector from somewhere. They all look like the one I bought, same instructions and everything, and replace that. For the broken trans side connector, I am going to go to a different Ram dealer. in the mean time I will keep driving around with the GoPro on and hopefully catch some anomaly. Maybe ill let lucky and find someone that this has happened to and they can give me some incite. I have talked to a lot of people and I seem to be a first for this.

 

I NEVER heard of that happening. I think like HeyYou said you just got a bad batch. If you don't mind me asking what are you using to hold your GoPro and lights up?

 

Ok, well ill get both plugs and try them if I cant come up with anything with the GoPro. Its just strange how it had worked for a year with after the transmission rebuild (and new chassis plug) and 25k on the build before the used trans went out. As far as mounting the GoPro I am running steal braided hydraulic lines with JIC fittings on my transmission for the cooler lines. I just zip tied it to the lines because there pretty stiff. I wanted something extra strong if rocks and stuff got stuck places and rubbed. Plus carry spare couplings and stuff to bypass a cooler or line if I need to. Its a nice cheap upgrade!

 

When I was rebuilding my trans this year my transmission side (male) broke like yours when putting on the female side. Snap, crack and had to pull the pan/valve body. I swapped over the old wiring harness from the solenoid pack and up and running. It was a Rostra Lock-Up and Overdrive solenoid with wire harness.