Resistor Mod (for the tranny)
 

OK, I know this has brought a lot of controversy to various SVX boards around the way, but my question is, have any of you done this for an extended period of time, and were the effects good or bad or what?

I did this mod. About a month after i unplugged the resistor, my awd started binding and i eventually had to replace some locked up transfer clutches... I have no idea if it was related, but I'm not gonna unplug the resistor again.

-Mike

I did this mod shortly after I bought mine with 100k miles. It eliminated the "flare up" for over 56k miles. The tranny just now lost it at 156k.
So on one hand the original tranny lasted to 156k with the last leg of its life ran with the resistor mod (and quite a heavy foot). On the other hand the tranny died at 156k and I had done the resistor mod for the last 56,000 miles.
Would it have lasted longer or shorter had I not unplugged?

I have two dropping resistors installed in series and that increases the line pressure at idle. The volatges are still inside the spec's across the solenoid"A". There is no heavy jerk when the car shifts.

i have had this mod for over 20,000
 

miles and i have shown no ill effects whatsoever. in fact i now love the way my car accelerates. i will continue to keep my resistor unplugged. remember that, less heat = longer tranny life.

Re: i have had this mod for over 20,000
 

I had mine unplugged too at about 90k miles after rebuilt. It has 103 today and running great. Maybe it's the FWD thing.

Lwin

could be seraphim.
 

you can not beat how much better the car feels with the resistor unplugged. i could never go back now.

Re: could be seraphim.
 

How abruptly does your car shift form 1 to 2nd? When I tried this on my car it was very abrupt. Thanks

Re: Resistor Mod (for the tranny)
 

My rebuilder says the lowered line pressure and soft smooth shifts with the resistor in place translates directly to a short life for an automatic.

what is the ohm rating on the second resistor? heh...what are the ohms on the stock resistor? ooooh, one more! what is the total ohms for full line pressure? i hate getting the flashing power light on start-up...thanks!

It's been awhile since I looked at that resistor module, but I seem to remember that it had 3 prongs. The car side of the harness had only two wires, but the resistor side had 3. This would indicate to me that the resistor module is actually two resistors in one package with a common connector on one side and wired in parallel. If this is the case, then simply unplugging one side of the resistor should effectively double the circuit resistance and drop the module's power dissapation. This would theoretically increase the life of the resistor module because it would run cooler, as well as provide a backup in case one side fails.

KuoH

Re: Resistor Mod (for the tranny)
 

The original resistor was 12 OHMS and I added one from the junk yard out of a Legacy. It was 12 ohms also. So that brought it up to 24 ohms. I took the lead also and spliced it in so it was connected in series. I have the two now and I guess three could be used also. This brought my car into line for the low end of the voltage in the S/M. Check out the end of post "just shoot me"

SVX_Com,

Do you have details of this setup? I prefer the "unplugged " version of my car but during rush hour while coasting at about 10 MPH it feels as if i'm going to see drivetrain parts laying behind my car when it smashes from 1st to 2nd.

Randy (Trying to keep whiplash in check) ii

On those days when the tanny is switching back and forth between 1st and 2nd, as you say when one is in traffic at 10 mph stop and go, I use 2nd and hit the manual button. Then the tranny stays in 2nd. No shifting. I like that manual button:)

I did this mod a while back and did probably about 1 mile with the mod, I did notice a more aggresive shift pattern with the tranny, but I decided to put the resistor back together. I am weary because my tranny is rebuilt, which is a whole nother story)....See the company that rebuilt the tranny was called Nice day transmission, now what's in a name, but nonetheless I get queezy when I think of putting more strain on the already questionable tranny. So I put the resistor back, end of story, Iam not sure if this even makes since, it's late Iam tired, good night

chris