E4OD Torque Converter Lock Up Mods

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Goofyexponent

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First off, I can not take credit in this all myself. LCAM-01XA, OLDBULL8 Trackspeeder all need a round of applause for their efforts in this!;Sweet

All the mods are to be done on the transmission plug. The plug is located behind the little heat shield (held on my two 8mm or 5/16" bolts). BE SURE TO REPLACE THIS SHIELD WHEN THE JOB IS DONE AS THIS IS VITAL TO THE EXHAUST NOT MELTING YOUR TRANSMISSION PLUG!!

You will need to unplug the power plug from the transmission, cut or peel back the protecting covering on the wiring and locate the PURPLE WIRE with the YELLOW STRIPE.

NOTE: WHEN INSTALLING THIS MOD, BE SURE THAT WHEN YOU INSTALL THE SWITCH THAT YOU HAVE BETWEEN 12 - 14 VOLTS ON THE PCM SIDE OF THE SWITCH, AND BETWEEN 0.5 AND 3 VOLTS ON THE TRANSMISSION SIDE OF THE SWITCH. HAVING BETWEEN 0.5 AND 3 VOLTS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE SWITCH MEANS THE TORQUE CONVETER IS LOCKED AND YOU WILL GET A SURPRISE THE FIRST TIME YOU PUT THE TRUCK INTO GEAR!!

All instructions are in PDF format WITH appropriate wiring diagrams attached.

A HUGE thanks to LCAM-01XA for the write up and wiring diagrams!!:hail




The First Mod is for those that want a two position switch. Lock and unlock. You have full lock up and unlock control via a two position switch.

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This is what I currently have done to my truck and I got to say, it performs WAY better.

Basically, you find the purple wire with the yellow stripe in the transmission harness about 4 inches from the plug. Cut it. What you want to do is then extend the wires into the truck cab. I chose to go up through the floor where the transmission shifter cable comes through the floor, but it's up to you where you do this. I used RED on the computer side of the wire, and BLACK on the transmission side...it made the wiring easier when I was in the cab.

ALL FOLLOWING TESTING IS TO BE DONE IN PARK ONLY!!

Start the truck, and check for voltage on the red and black wires separately... the RED wire should have 12- 14 volts, and the BLACK wire should have 0.5 - 3 volts. Use a multi-meter and use the cigarette lighter outer ring as a ground..it's a perfect ground if it works. If this is the case, shut the engine off.

Find a spot to put your switch. I used a 2 pole, dual position aircraft style switch. My switch is located to the right of the WTS light in the 1992 and up trucks, but this is all personal preference.

Hook the RED wire to one pole, and BLACK wire to the other post. ALSO, you need to run a wire from ground on the chassis or body, to the pole with the BLACK wire on it, or the wire that is coming from the transmission side of the harness. It needs to see ground to work correctly.

Make sure that when going under 30 MPH, that the switch is UNLOCKED. Stopping may become harder and you can burn up the transmission in 1st and 2nd gear with the converter locked due to lack of lubrication.

Installing a BIG cooler is recomended as the torque converter generates a lot of heat in the unlocked position.
 

Goofyexponent

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The second mod is slightly more complicated, but well worth the effort.The second mod allows for full manual lockup control, as well as an automatic lock/unlock setting. This is a little more complicated, but well worth the efforts. This is what my truck will be getting in the VERY near future.

This will allow you to run the torque converter unlocked, locked manually or allow the computer to do it's thing as usual. Again, a huge thanks to LCAM-01XA for providing the write up and attached diagrams!

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This is what I think is the BEST mod to do, as you can fully control the torque converter, and if locked applying the brakes in a panic stop will allow the converter to unlock, giving you time to flick the switch to either auto or unlocked position.

I will have pictures for this mod as soon as I complete it. I am going to town today for the resistor and relays.
 

Goofyexponent

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LCAM-01XA also provided us with a third option, which provides two options. Automatic control via the PCM and full manual lockup.

This allows the computer to run the converter as normal, but also allows a full manual lockup in 3rd and 4th gears.

The E40D had a history of locking and unlocking by itself for no apparent reason, and then not storing any codes in the PCM as to why. This will fully prevent it and keep the converter locked at highway speeds no matter what the PCM tried to tell it to do.

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Again, thanks to LCAM-01XA for the write up and diagram.

I will try and provide pictures as to where to make the cuts and how to mount switched and relays for this mod as well.
 

LCAM-01XA

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All the mods are to be done on the transmission plug. The plug is located behind the little heat shield (held on my two 8mm or 5/16" bolts). BE SURE TO REPLACE THIS SHIELD WHEN THE JOB IS DONE AS THIS IS VITAL TO THE EXHAUST NOT MELTING YOUR TRANSMISSION PLUG!!

You will need to unplug the power plug from the transmission, cut or peel back the protecting covering on the wiring and locate the PURPLE WIRE with the YELLOW STRIPE.

Basically, you find the purple wire with the yellow stripe in the transmission harness about 4 inches from the plug. Cut it. What you want to do is then extend the wires into the truck cab. I chose to go up through the floor where the transmission shifter cable comes through the floor, but it's up to you where you do this. I used RED on the computer side of the wire, and BLACK on the transmission side...it made the wiring easier when I was in the cab.
Actually, I left the transmission harness plug alone, it's somewhat of a tight spot to do any wiring work there unless you unplug the entire harness from the trans (including VSS if you have one and MLPS) and swing it out of the way towards the rear of the truck. Instead, I did the wiring on the section of the harness that runs along the driver-side frame rail between from transmission crossmember towards the cab firewall, it's a 2-foot or so section that is just there with nothing obstructing access to it, made peeling away the plastic looms and locating the wires very easy. Then again, I do have a 2wd truck, so I got all kinds of space on the driver-side of the transmission - folks with 4x4 trucks (like Goofy himself) will have a driveshaft there so this may not be a feasible option of them... Oh, and on a slightly different note - if you go about unplugging the solenoid pack connector, you just squeeze the locking tabs IN TOWARDS the connector and then pull the connector straight up, do not try to spread the tabs out away from the connector as they will break (guess how I know that). There are two tabs, one facing the heat shield Goofy mentioned, and one on the other side of the connector facing the transmission case.

And while you're at it, if you're feeling brave take the harness connector apart and investigate the condition of the wires where they go in it, my wires were still firmly attached to their pins however quite a few of them had the insulation damaged so I had to repair that using heat-shrink tubing (two layers per damaged wire, one layer per good wire just for a peace of mind), then filled the connector with JB-Weld to prevent the same damage from happening again (rubber seal could not be reinstalled cause the wires were now too fat to go through its holes. Alternatively, you can purchase a complete replacement connector with pigtails, and splice that one on the harness after cutting your damaged one off.


This is what I think is the BEST mod to do, as you can fully control the torque converter, and if locked applying the brakes in a panic stop will allow the converter to unlock, giving you time to flick the switch to either auto or unlocked position.
One correction here - I did away with the brake-interlock setup entirely, after OldBull8 shared his experience of how useful it is to have the converter locked for engine braking while at the same time standing on the wheel brakes to keep a heavy trailer with damaged brakes under control. ALL THREE wiring setups now look at the transmission's solenoid pack (the SS1 to be precise) to allow both engine braking while simultaneously using the wheel brakes, and give you the safety margin of extra time to unlock the converter during a panic stop - basically the logic is that every time you slow down (be it very easy while just rolling to a stop or very hard like during a panic stop) the transmission will eventually shift into 2nd or directly into 1st gear before the wheels stop turning, well the moment she drops out of 3rd the converter will automatically unlock for you and stay unlocked till you're back up to speed in 3rd or 4th gear. For that matter, you don't necessarily have to unlock the converter as you come to a stop, you can just leave it locked and all will be good till you start accelerating again when she will lock immediately upon upshifting into 3rd gear - I'd still recommend that you either unlock the converter manually as you're slowing down, but in case you forget to do so I have that safety feature in place there fore you. This is all done by the protective relay by the way, and while you can technically run either setup without it I highly suggest that you do take the extra time and effort to install said relay, it's way cheaper than a converter replacement or a transmission rebuild resulting from an operator error...
 
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Diesile

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I see in wiring diagrams that there is both a torque converter solenoid and a coast clutch
solenoid. I believe we are dealing only with the former and not the latter? Is the coast
clutch just another way to unlock the converter? Just curious.
 

trackspeeder

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One correction here - I did away with the brake-interlock setup entirely, after OldBull8 shared his experience of how useful it is to have the converter locked for engine braking while at the same time standing on the wheel brakes to keep a heavy trailer with damaged brakes under control. ALL THREE wiring setups now look at the transmission's solenoid pack (the SS1 to be precise) to allow both engine braking while simultaneously using the wheel brakes, and give you the safety margin of extra time to unlock the converter during a panic stop - basically the logic is that every time you slow down (be it very easy while just rolling to a stop or very hard like during a panic stop) the transmission will eventually shift into 2nd or directly into 1st gear before the wheels stop turning, well the moment she drops out of 3rd the converter will automatically unlock for you and stay unlocked till you're back up to speed in 3rd or 4th gear. For that matter, you don't necessarily have to unlock the converter as you come to a stop, you can just leave it locked and all will be good till you start accelerating again when she will lock immediately upon upshifting into 3rd gear - I'd still recommend that you either unlock the converter manually as you're slowing down, but in case you forget to do so I have that safety feature in place there fore you. This is all done by the protective relay by the way, and while you can technically run either setup without it I highly suggest that you do take the extra time and effort to install said relay, it's way cheaper than a converter replacement or a transmission rebuild resulting from an operator error...


The late 00 and 01 Super Duty's use a shift program like this. The converter locks in third and stays there. No unlocking while on the brakes until the minimum speed is reached. Usually around 35mph. :D
 

trackspeeder

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I see in wiring diagrams that there is both a torque converter solenoid and a coast clutch
solenoid. I believe we are dealing only with the former and not the latter? Is the coast
clutch just another way to unlock the converter? Just curious.

Only dealing with the converter lockup solenoid. (CCC solenoid)

The coast clutch (CCS )is a different animal. The coast clutch has to be unlocked in fourth gear or failure will result.:eek:
 

George D.

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And now for the easy way to do this splice in to the purple with yellow wire run that wire to a switch run 2 wires from the other side 1 to the power for an led and one to ground then ground the other side of the LED. This method leave you to use common sence and turn the switch off other wire you will not come to a compleet stop or will fry the trans, Hence why you have an LED. The LED will tell you what the PCM is doing when in auto mode.
 

LCAM-01XA

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The late 00 and 01 Super Duty's use a shift program like this. The converter locks in third and stays there. No unlocking while on the brakes until the minimum speed is reached. Usually around 35mph. :D
Tow/haul mode I presume?

Only dealing with the converter lockup solenoid. (CCC solenoid)

The coast clutch (CCS )is a different animal. The coast clutch has to be unlocked in fourth gear or failure will result.:eek:
Indeed. There's actually absolutely no need to mess with the CCS, as the PCM operates that exactly how we'd like it - it's applied in manual 1st, manual 2nd, and manual 3rd (OD cancel), so if you do use your transmission to slow you down by manually downshifting it then the coast clutch will be applied giving you even more engine braking.

And now for the easy way to do this splice in to the purple with yellow wire run that wire to a switch run 2 wires from the other side 1 to the power for an led and one to ground then ground the other side of the LED. This method leave you to use common sence and turn the switch off other wire you will not come to a compleet stop or will fry the trans, Hence why you have an LED. The LED will tell you what the PCM is doing when in auto mode.
The easy way is not always the correct way tho, and definitely not in this situation. As I said you can run without the protective relay, but this is at your own risk - personally I'd prefer not to worry about the converter when I'm performing a panic stop while trying to possibly evade whatever caused the panic stop to begin with, it may have to do with the fact that I'm slightly on the dumb side but I really do not like complicating my life more than absolutely necessary ;) Also, you could theoretically do away with the resistor as well, but depending on the model year of your truck it's possible the PCM gets very unhappy with you about it. Really, all parts needed for these setups are dirt cheap, and even the most complicated (off/auto/lock) setup can be wired up in one afternoon and that includes plenty of time for beer breaks, so I honestly see no possible good reason to skimp on the safety features...
 

LCAM-01XA

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Oh, wow. Yah, I dunno, but it sure sounds like a nice setup. Sure wish there was a way to make our converters do that without having to resort to the wiring mess described above, but oh well, at least we have something...

More info on the resistor used for the dummy signal: the diagrams show a 22k-ohm resistor, as that is what I originally used, I borrowed the value from someone with a 4R100-equipped PSD truck since the E4OD and 4R100 are sorta related. Such a big resistor makes for a good voltage drop thus ensuring the PCM won't get fried when you flip the switch, but if you have a '92-up truck its PCM is more advanced than what I'm working with and with those said voltage drop may actually be too great and cause it to get unhappy with you. No your PCM won't go up in smoke, instead you're likely to see the dreaded blinking OD light and experience abnormal shift schedule do to the PCM entering one of its failure-management modes. To minimize the chance of that happening it may be a good idea to measure the resistance of the actual TCS (torque converter solenoid) coil inside the valve body, and match the dummy-load resistor to that. To measure said resistance first make sure the ignition is OFF, then put the multimeter probe leads on the red wire (solenoid pack common power feed) and the purple/yellow wire (TCS to PCM connection), set the multimeter to 200-ohm range, and take its reading. You can do that by carefully sticking the multimeter leads (or needle-like extensions for them if you have such) through the back side of the valve body harness connector on the passenger side of the transmission (in the same manner as probing the TPS/FIPL on the injection pump) or you can unravel some of the harness insulation on the driver side of the truck and probe there - both methods should yield the same result if however if you choose the latter make sure you take the wires individually real good after you're done. My meter showed 20 ohms and from what I gathered on the internets this is about what it should be, however don't just take my word for it and by all means go crawl under YOUR truck and measure YOUR converter solenoid's resistance. Locating a 20-ohm resistor in my random electronic parts bin turned out to be impossible, but I did have two RadioShack 10-watt ceramic "power" resistors leftovers from whatever project, so I just wired those in series (10ohms + 10ohms = 20ohms in series, but only 5ohms in parallel) and called it good.

As with any vehicle modification there may be bugs to work out afterwards, even more so when you're working with electronics, so if you're considering the converter lockup mods please don't do them the day before you're scheduled to go on a family vacation - well unless of course you're trying to weasel your way out of this experience
 
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Agnem

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Great job guys! Instant tech article. Thank you all very much.
 

LCAM-01XA

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Update time! At this point the PCM in my 90' F350 has been disconnected from the TCC solenoid for like 3 years already, and I've put thousands upon thousands of essentially trouble-free miles on that setup - truck mostly sits now, but it's seen its fair share of hauling cars and stuff all over the country and carrying a big heavy camper while pulling a 1-ton diesel Jeep behind it, so for all intents and purpose I could average it as being loaded to GCVW all the time and I probably won't be too far off.

During this time, the only "issue" I ran into was a reoccuring code 62 - and even that was nothing major, for I only noticed it with a scan tool while diganosing a failing VSS. The presence or absence of said code itself did not in any way affect the transmission's operation, in other words code 62 never did trigger any sort of failure-management (limp-home) mode, but knowing it's there bugged me, so I went on a mission to get rid of it. I tried different resistors for the TCC dummy signal (first 20k-ohm like them powerstroke folks use with the 4R100, then 100-ohm, then 50-ohm, and lastly a 20-ohm setup that matches the TCC solenoid's own resistance perfectly), but to no avail, then a gentleman by the name of Mark Kowalski made a post on FTE that cleared things up pretty good for me: according to him the PCM monitors converter input speed through the engine speed sensor, and the converter output speed through the VSS and calculations based on currently engaged gear - when the input speed gets higher than the output speed by 50-100 rpms while the PCM has commanded converter lockup, code 62 is set. Also, the PCM apparently only does that speed comparison when transmission is in 4th (OD) gear, so at least theoretically if I always left the truck out of OD code 62 would never set, even if it's unlocked when it normally shouldn't be. And sure enough, I noticed that every time after a PCM reset even if I used the manual lockup for engine braking I would be code-free, then the moment I decide to use the converter as a gear-splitter of sorts and get on the throttle with the converter unlocked and trans in OD it was instant code 62. If you think about it, a manually-locked converter at off-throttle does not violate that input/output speed test the PCM performs because at off-throttle the default converter command is "unlock", however when throttle goes off-idle the PCM commands the converter to lock and with the converter in manual gear-splitter mode that ain't happening, hence the increase of input speed without matching increase of output speed - hello code 62.

Now, if I were to switch my truck over to the auto/lock setup then code 62 would go away and never come back as I'd lose the ability to override the PCM and command a manual unlock when it wants otherwise, same would happen if I installed the off/auto/lock setup and never used its "off" feature but that IMHO would be just a waste of time and efforts. However for my driving habits having the converter unlocked all the way into 4th gear makes the truck much more pleasant to drive, so I decided to keep my full-manual off/lock converter controls, and figured that since code 62 for me does absolutely nothing I'll just pull the ignorance-is-bliss thing and simply pretend code 62 ain't there.

Resistor-wise truck is currently running 20ohms to simulate voltage drop across the TCC solenoid for dummy signal purposes, but it looks that resistor value don't seem to matter one bit to my PCM so I should be able to just pull the whole thing and the associated wiring out - I have no real reason to do so tho, and the way my luck usually goes goes the moment I do that I will eff something else up, so till something fails in a major way all is being left as is. Then again I've heard from other people who have done these mods (usually the off/lock cause it's the easiest) to gas-powered trucks even, and the 22k-ohm resistor seems to work just fine for them, no codes thrown or limp-home mode engagement... Guess at this point the best advice I can give is try the 22k first cause it seems to work fine for most folks, and if that's a no-go then try the 20-ohm or whatever matches your particular TCC solenoid's resistance - but there are no guarantees either way.

Again, please keep in mind my experience is all based on my own '90 truck - results and behavior with newer-model trucks may be different, since generally the newer the PCM the more more advanced programming it has (for instance even the ability to blink the OD light as a notification for stored codes is an improvement over what I'm working with) and the more "sensitive" it is to running parameters - and at the same time the harder it is to fool if you wanna take certain things out of its control without royally ******* it off, thus it's probably more likely to enter limp-home mode for something older PCMs like mine would just ignore... Personally I have installed just one more of these setups, it was in my fiancee's old '91 truck, but she always left the switch on manual-lock and relied on the safety relay to disengage the converter for her at low speeds (must be nice having a super-E4OD with all the upgrades) so there was just no way for the code 62 to set as she never ever commanded manual-unlock when the PCM wanted otherwise - so I'd imagine if bricknose PCMs are all alike then the farmer to whom she sold said truck is now happily running around with a code 62 stored in the PCM and he don't even know it, lol.

And since I'm on the subject of the safety relay - IIRC it was Towcat here who mentioned once he's aware of some people just skipping that part of my setup and going with the switch alone - IMHO this a very silly thing to do, while it is your truck after all and so you are free to do with it as you please, please do consider that I actually HATE any and all wiring work yet I still took the time to come up with that safety circuit. If you're the anti-electronics type that's still fine, for there's nothing electronic in the safety circuit, it's only a simple relay just like the one powering your PCM, so reliability shouldn't really be of concern here. It also takes less than $10 in parts and less than an hour to install it, so if savings is what you're after your best bet is to look elsewhere for those - matter of fact if someone were to pay me to install a converter switch on their truck but wanted to skip on the safety circuit cause of cost I'd install the thing for them for free, I'd rather lose an hour of sleep due to the extra work than over worries what would happen if that person ever forgot to unlock while standing on the brakes... On the other hand, installing the safety circuit and then downright abusing it like my fiancee did is also something I'd recommend against - maybe if your transmission is all beefed-up and stuff you could get away with it and use it as a permanent tow-haul mode of sorts, but with a factory transmission and/or torque converter IMHO you'll just be asking for trouble operating it like that.

This concludes today's public service announcement! lol
 
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