Auto trans Kick down?

JoesAu · 11-05-2008, 05:05 PM

What controls the kickdown in the Auto?
reason i ask is because lately my car is'nt kicking back gears from about 80km i put my foot right down and it doesnt kick back hard to 2nd! or 1st, stays in like 3rd then winds right out to 150km's+,9/10 times it wont kick back from 80km's its almost like i have to hit it at the right time or it wont kick back and work hard, overtaking is a pain!!

Foot right down at about 60km's and it kicks back hard, im wondering could there be something wrong with the throttle cable? it all looks tight no loose cable, ive replaced the TPS as well. Its starting bug me any got any suggestions?

bodes-sh · 11-05-2008, 10:18 PM

the one thing i'd be checking is that the tps is putting out 5v at full throttle, you can move them slightly around...get a multimeter, turn the key to on and check the voltages, one of them should be at about 0.7v. Then either hold it open with your hand or get someone to put the pedal to the floor and see what voltage you get, it should be 5v. if not, undo the screws and move it a bit till you do. give that a try first, as for the first question, kickdown is ecu controlled

JoesAu · 12-05-2008, 08:13 PM

even with the geear in 3rd it still wont kick back, im just gonna replace with another tps i have laying around. maybe even change the throttle body

JoesAu · 12-05-2008, 08:15 PM

is there any way off stuffing up when putting the tps on, when i put it on before it takes up a tiny bit of tension in the throttle butterfly? it can only go on one way anyway, my idle seems a little high as well, when i put it into park it flashes to about 1200rpm then back 950 or so

andrewts · 12-05-2008, 08:21 PM

Are you noticing the lack of kickdown in Power or Economy mode? I've noticed in economy mode that when you floor it, you will only get 2nd whereas in the same situation but in Power mode, you will get 1st gear.

JoesAu · 12-05-2008, 08:41 PM

yeah not really changing modes, u put your foot down the car shuld go as per throttle application, whens its at the floor the car shuld kick back. power mode just holds gears longer thats all

AUIIForte · 13-05-2008, 08:54 AM

When you are going about 80, and you floor it, its quite normal that the car will not kick back into gear 1 because that gear only goes up to about 90km/h. So the ECU 'thinks' that its not worth it, and sticks with gear 2.

If you don't like it, and think it would be worth squeezing out that 10 km/h before it gets into second, just use your manual shift and flick it into 1. Its VERY hard on the transmission though.

**Mechan1k** · 13-05-2008, 10:46 AM

It's got nothing to do with first gear.

From what I read he is punting along in D presumably in 4th ... gives it a boot and expecting it to drop back into 3rd or 2nd (depending on how hard he hits the accelerator).

If it is not the TPS ... I'd be getting your solenoids checked in the transmission ... as I am pretty sure it controls kickdown under throttle ... not sure which one though.

JoesAu · 13-05-2008, 05:48 PM

well my car idles in drive at850- 900 is that a bit high?, the butterfly must be almost open on idle, which may be causing the laggy ness at 80 and not kicking back, also how tight is the thrttle cable ment to be, it feels pretty slack actually looking at, you can push it up and down and theres at least 10--12mm deviation either way, pulling it in/out theres about 3-4mm give in it,

bodes-sh · 14-05-2008, 12:04 AM

i'd look at tps voltages first, if you have a multimeter what have you got to lose? and yes, it should be 850-900 in park/neutral, 650-700 in gear

**Stav** · 14-05-2008, 07:18 AM

My car doesnt kick down when the engine is really hot like a hot day and the engine simply doesnt produce enough power for a nice downshift. Instead it coasts unceremoniously along and gradually picks up speed.
If your engine isnt a slug then get into an auto trans place to check it out.

FGII-XR6 · 14-05-2008, 07:42 AM

if it were a TPS problem I would think the engine would be erratic or the car would go into LHM the kick down is ultimatly controled by the ECU through a range of parameters received by various sensors . have you had a diagnostoc scanner pluged in ? most decent mechanics have these now and they will display any fault codes . this should steer you in the right direction

JoesAu · 14-05-2008, 06:56 PM

i'll find the problem on saturday, if not i'll take it to ford put it on the scanner monday

fairmont1998 · 14-05-2008, 09:14 PM

Just another line of thought.
Do you have floor mats, or recently fitted floor mats?
If my mat creeps up the firewall, it blocks the accelerator pedal getting full travel and my car short shifts and is relucant to kick down.
Put mat where it belongs and the shift points return to normal.

JoesAu · 15-05-2008, 07:30 PM

mmm its not that mine a fixed into the floor, i have a few things im thinking it could be! i might advance the cam 1 degree on the weeknd to see what happens! something has me telling me its the cam timing?