3rd gear only

[Sonar]

I don't understand......you should NOT have anything switched to ON ...PERIOD!

Are you sure that you are measuring resistance?

Try to put the measuring tips together, then the meter should say 0 (zero) or near to.
And with the tips NOT connecting , it should read infinite resistance.

IF you have pulled apart the connector B33 AND is measuring the AT side of the connector, then switching on the key should NOT have ANY influence on the measure!


To eliminate ground problems, try to measure each solenoid and make the ground to the engine or gearbox, not pin 10.

If the readings then are ok (with the key to OFF), then you HAVE a grounding probem!




/Sonny

[NomadTW]

i was measuring resistance witht he pins apart it read 1 *space space space space* and witht hem together it read .06 or .006 i'm not sure something like that.

it gave a reading of .05 or something from pin 10 to pin 13 and 25 from pin 10 to pin 14 with the key on... but infinite for them both with the key off... might've just been coincidence that i got a good contact when i had the key on... i didn't try testing it with ground to somethng chassis... i will to that tomarrow

[UberRoo]

With the connector unplugged, there should be no power or anything connected to it via the tranny or anything else, except the dropping resistor for solenoid A. If having the ignition on, or having the battery connected makes any difference, you've got the wrong connector or a very goofed up wiring harness.

The correct connector will be the only black, sixteen-pin connector under the dash. Also make sure you compare the wire color to the pin number. Measuring from the wrong side of the connector or with it upside down will certainly not help. Pinouts seem to get misprinted on occasion, but wire colors seem to have this problem less often. They've just been a more reliable way to identify things in my experience.

[NomadTW]

i deffinately had the right connecter
as i said it might've just been coincidence

so for the time being lets assume that i got the same readings w/ the ignition off

no resistance for the broken solenoid and proper resistance for the other ones.

would a shot solenoid give no resistance?

the main question i guess is should i drain the tranny and drop the pan to check out the solenoids?

[UberRoo]

would a shot solenoid give no resistance?

Being careful not to confuse "no resistance" with "infinite resistance" or "no continuity," the answer is probably not, but possibly. The term no resistance would mean that the solenoid is conductive, (which it should be,) but is too conductive, meaning that there is a short to ground somewhere. This can happen inside a bad solenoid, but I don't think it's very likely. The other possibility is that the wire going to the solenoid is shorting to ground somewhere between the connector and the transmission. I think this is most probable. If you are getting no resistance (short to ground) you should definitely test the solenoid at the connector under the throttle bodies. Subaru's factory training program refers to doing this as the "split-half technique." (You find the section that's bad, then subdivide it, and test each half. You take the half that's bad, and subdivide it again. Find the bad half, divide again, and again, and... Well, you get the idea.)

If by "no resistance" you mean infinite resistance, then I'd say that's a little bit more likely to be a problem with the solenoid. However, it's even more likely to be a bad connection between the plug and the transmission just like the short to ground scenario. For that reason, the answer to your second question...

should i drain the tranny and drop the pan to check out the solenoids?

...is not until you're certain the problem is not in the wiring harness or the TCU. You can pretty much check the solenoids with complete certainty without dropping the pan, which may also necessitate dropping the valve body.

Sonar posted all the solenoid resistance values. I'd check 'em all to be sure everything is in tip-top shape. That way you have a baseline to compare against. Also make sure the ground wire (pin 10) reads zero, or at least very low resistance to the chassis. You might do this (and the other tests) with a test light, as it puts a significant load on the wires, not the fractions of milliamps that a digital VOM generates. This is one weakness of VOMs that has tripped up more than a few technically savvy mechanics and electricians.

Sonar:
2. All shift sol. (13-15) should read 20-30 ohm's to pin 10 (ground).
measure each one of them by putting one tip at the solenoids number at the connector and the other one to pin 10.

3. Duty sol A, pin 8 should read 1.5-4.5 ohms to pin 10
4. Duty sol B, pin 5 should read 9-15 ohms to pin 10
5. Duty sol C, pin 3 should read 9-15 ohms to pin 10

[NomadTW]

by no resistance i meant no resistance, showing nearly the same resistance on the multimeter as when i touch the connecters together.

tonight i will check the connector under the TB

[NomadTW]

well went and checked it just now
the trans side of the connector...

pin 2 (shift solenoid 2) practically no resistance. pin 1 (shift solenoid 3) 26 ohms.

look like i have a short to ground somewhere between that connector and the transmission

how for that split half technique... how exactily do i halve that part... it's short and runs into the transmission

[Sonar]

It seems that you have a short there, no doubt.

Now is to pinpoint WHERE the short is , it COULD be the solenoid coil (unlikely) , and it COULD be that the solenoids wire is damaged somewhere (more likely).

Measure the other solenoids too, just to be sure that THEY work.



/Sonny

[NomadTW]

is it very likely or not that the short is in the wiring internaly
or could it be where it comes out of the transmission or would it be somewhere in that wire bundle between where it exits the transmission and the connector?

[UberRoo]

Yes! Do measure the other solenoids to make sure everything works and all the numbers jive.

As for the split-half technique goes, it looks like the only thing you can isolate without opening up the transmission is the connector and the wire...right up to where it goes inside the transmission. Do your best to inspect both with as much care as you can muster. (The next step is to open the transmission, which contains the other half, using the split-half technique.) It is still likely that the problem exists outside the transmission. The pins inside the connector may be dirty, bent, have debris inside them, wires could be pinched, insulation damaged, screws run into wire bundles, etc. Everything inside the transmission is generally pretty well protected, so it just doesn't seem likely that the problem is inside.

You could carefully pull the questionable pin out of the connector. You'll probably need something pointy to disengage the little locking barb (like a dental pick.)

Also, check the wire with a 12-volt test light. ...anything that draws more than a few milliamps. As I said before, digital VOMs sometimes give bum resistance readings. You might also apply 12-volts directly to the solenoid wires to see if you can hear the solenoid click. At this point you have nothing to loose. I'm not saying that opening up the transmission is an awful thing to do, but most of us find grease to be much less fun that electricity.

[NomadTW]

honestly at this point i wish that i knew it was a bad solenoid, i'd rather just open it up swap it out get greasy and put it together and have it work

mechanical problems are much easier to fix than electrical ones

however it has been determined to be a short... both of the other solenoids show proper resistance, and the bum one shows a completely closed circuit with practically 0 resistance, so it has to be a short somewhere
tomarrow in the daylight i will have another look at the wires and check them out for damage, i'll have to split open the wire loom to look at them, but if it's what it takes to fix it it's what it takes

[NomadTW]

man i'm really struggling to get to the point where the wire goes into the transmission

is there another connector where the harness meets the trans housing? or do the wires just run straight in through a hole in the side... i dont' remember any wires hanging off of my transmission when i got it...

[Sonar]

As far as I remember the conly connector on the Legacy was the connector on top of the AT-convertor housing, close to the throttle body.


/Sonny

[NomadTW]

according to the service manual... the fact that the solenoid is showing no resistance means that it is in fact broken... and needs replaced.... yay

Hello everyone. I'm new to the whole SVX thing, ownership-wise. I just bought a '96 LSi with a (known) bad transmission. I see this thread involves a Legacy trans swap; are there others that will fit? Which models and years? Any one better than another?

Thanks

Joe Sette