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My girl is getting old... Transmission codes.

1K views 9 replies 4 participants last post by  ice445 
#1 ·
Well, almost 266,000 miles on original everything. My headlights are date coded 01/00.

I decided to take an unplanned trip up the interstate this afternoon. A few years ago, if the weather was really hot - my transaxle light would come on and flash. I ended up doing a filter change and that seemed to take care of things.

At 30 degrees today - it came back on.

Just like before - I pulled over, shut it off, checked the fluid, started it back up - it never came back on. Fluid was in-between the cross hatching, still is pink, but is starting to darken slightly.

Car shifts and drives fine.

I spoke to a very good Ford mechanic friend of mine. He thinks torque converter issue. He told me to hold it steady on the interstate at 60 MPH, barely tap the brake, and see if the rpm's go up and then back down. Mine did - he said if they didn't, the torque converter isn't locking up correctly.

I pulled into a local O'Reilly's (I work for the same company) and used their BOSCH scanner. It pulled two codes (took me forever to find them with no check engine light on)

1. P0602 - PCM programming malfunction
2. P0701 - Torque converter clutch solenoid circuit performance or stuck off.

I just drove back home 125 miles - slower than normal. Performed fine. Car drives well. I've been keeping it in 'semi retirement' since this light would come on every once in awhile starting back 4 or 5 years ago. I try not to run it hard on the interstates in the summer. If I have to take a long trip - I rent a car.

I have serviced the transmission semi-regularly. Not as much as I should, but three or four times over the life of the vehicle.

The last trans service was just over 200k - I was told there was very little sediment in the bottom of the pan, and the car looked like one that had 100,000 miles less than it actually had.

What are your thoughts? I of course am scared to service it with such high mileage. Is a torque converter replacement warranted? Would the programming code and TCC code be related?

Thanks for all your awesome help.
 
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#2 ·
To tell if it's actually an issue with the converter you'd need to do some monitoring with Forscan while the car is driven. But I believe that code is pointing to the torque converter clutch solenoid itself. Usually if the computer is detecting too much slippage of the converter it will stop trying to engage it and drop a P1744 which is a general clutch failure/performance code.

I'm not sure what the relation the P0602 might have. Possibly a poor connection somewhere.
 
#3 ·
Correction:

It was late when I did this - The codes are:

P0602 and P0741 - not, 701
 
#5 ·
I cleared the codes this morning - just checked them - it's now showing P1000 (which means I cleared the codes earlier possibly) and the P0602 again. The torque converter code isn't up now. I'm wondering if this is electronic? ECM?

We sell a BOSCH obdII scanner that is blue tooth. I had a customer tell me that he bought that unit and it actually updated his computer. It took nearly an hour by wi-fi. I'm wondering if it's a reprogram issue, or I've got the main box going out.
 
#6 ·
Well if you cleared the codes the TQ code will take a little while to show up again, so that doesn't mean its fixed. Lockup only happens at 30+mph depending on conditions and temperature.

Your PCM shouldn't need any programming. I have no idea what could be causing that PCM code though. It's not exactly a common code to see. Maybe someone else can chime in.

With that said, if you have an android phone, you can download ForScan lite and use that scanner to look at a few values while the car is running fine and while the code is coming up. Should give a better idea of what's going on.
 
#7 ·
Yeah, I have the dreaded P1744. Still dying a slow death. Shifts fine, it's just that the transmission light starts flashing once you're going 50+ for a few miles. It takes longer for it to go on if it's cold because it doesn't try to engage the lockup torque converter until the fluid warms up so on a cold day it takes longer for it to kick in. I think if yours is just the solenoid, it should be a cheaper fix because I don't think you need to drop the transmission in order to get at it. I try not to go more than 100 miles from home because that's the limit of my AAA free towing. I suppose I could upgrade one more grade to get 200 miles of free towing.
 
#8 ·
Well, the P0602 code isn't going away. The torque converter code hasn't come back yet.

If it does - would solenoid replacement be beneficial? It's cheap. I can get one for $17. Are they hard to replace on a AX4N?
 
#9 · (Edited)
I would take the car to your local Ford dealer and have the Mr. Job One analyze the P0602 fault code. Your PCM may be fubar, or it may just need to be reflashed.

As for the TCC solenoid, check out this thread:

http://www.taurusclub.com/forum/82-maintenance-repair/173173-how-do-i-replace-tcc-solenoid.html

I think one of the things you should be deciding is how much work and money do you want to put into a high mileage economy car. You live south of the rust belt, so the car may be a good platform for doing a bunch of stuff. Mine's an AZ car. Dents and scratches, but no rust. But even desert cars wear, I've replaced my engine & mounts, front suspension components (ball joints, struts, strut hardware, tie rod ends, & lower control arms,) rear shocks, radiator, and now the power steering pump & a new battery. I've been doing my own work on my cars and pickups for 40 years. The Taurus is the hardest to work on that I've encountered. Close quarters don't mix well with man sized hands.

If you can do the work yourself, prices on parts are pretty manageable. But I needed every tool I had, and some borrowed from Autozone, to get through it all.
 
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