[Milton-Adamou]

Hi guys,



Over the last 3-4 days, my tiptronic has been acting rather strange when trying to shift gears. The car automatically starts in 2nd gear (normal), and then as I accelerate and rev the engine, the car 'stumbles' into third gear, but the revs don't drop as much as they should. Then from 3rd to 4th gear, the revs hardly drop at all! The only way to solve this problem is to turn the car off and back on again, but clearly I need to fix this problem, which is getting progressively worse.



Ideas?



cheers,





milton

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[flash]

if restarting the car cures the problem, then i would say it is electronic, and likely located at the tip computer



i would check the G20 relay first though - that controls the start of the tip computer

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[Milton-Adamou]

Hi Flash,



Well that's the funny bit - it cures the problem but only for a while. On a 30min journey, the problem may re-occur or maybe not, but it will almost certainly happen once per 30min trip minimum (the time it takes to drive to work each day).



I will certainly check the relay, but could this also be some kind of s sensor problem?



cheers,





milton

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[flash]

could be a faulty relay - just like the DME relay, it might work for a bit and then fail

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[tamathumper]

IIRC, the Tiptronic retards the timing when shifting between gears, and you mentioned your idle was not dropping as much as you expected - could it be something related to that?

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[flash]

i'm really thinking it's more likely the simple - the fact that it "resets" itself when you turn off and turn on the engine really points to a faulty relay - when the system fails, it will go into "limp" mode and limit what the trans will do, and keeps it in taller gears



it could be the computer itself, or even a failing valve body, but i tend to doubt it - these boxes are pretty darned tough

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[tamathumper]

I agree, I'm just not very clear today. I was looking at the secondary symptom (high RPMs) as a means of strengthening the primary assessment, eg. is the relay what controls timing retard, and if so might it be even more likely to be the culprit?

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[flash]

no - the relay just turns the computer on and off - but if the computer shuts off, it goes into limp mode - if the timing was not retarded due to a computer failure, the revs wouldn't change all that much, and it would probably throw a tip code



which reminds me.........milton, have you done a blink test yet?

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[Milton-Adamou]

I may go ahead and order the relay (G20).



I feel stupid...blink test?



cheers,





milton

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[flash]

look in the top of the triage section - the instructions are pinned there

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[968Syncro]

I was wondering if it might be an electrical connector or ground that has some kind of intermittent. I know there are a couple of connectors around the tip itself. Perhaps these cars are getting old enough now that corrosion in connectors or grounds is going to be a growing problem.

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[Milton-Adamou]

Hi guys,



So I performed the 'Blink Test' and this is what I found:



The CHECK ENGINE light (blink) goes on for 3 seconds, then blank, then a quick flash, then another blank, then another five quick flashes, then blank, then the cycle repeats (3 seconds of the CHECK ENGINE light on). I presume the 3 seconds are just denoting the start of the cycle, and that in fact I'm getting a 1-5 pattern, which would denote no fault. Correct?



Flash, where do you order your relays from? The last supplier that I bought a relay from (who shall remain anonymous <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/wink.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> took forever to ship the part!



cheers,





milton

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[flash]

i get most stuff like that from either pelican or sunset, though if it's an inexpensive part i might get it locally at a dealer

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[tamathumper]

If there's a supplier who takes forever to ship, it might be great info for the members. As long as it's honest feedback, it should be OK, right?

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[flash]

i believe that was an odd isolated incident - as memory serves, there was a discussion about this, and it was an odd anomaly with a vendor with whom i and others have had great success - there have been a couple of hiccups, but nothing abnormal, and certainly nothing lame or deliberate

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[Milton-Adamou]

Hi guys,



So this is embarrasing. In the end I was just running low on ATF! I filled it up with 2 quarts of Dextron (per my mechanic) and problem solved! I reckon I drove less than 11 miles with the problem. I guess I'm lucky I didn't damage the transmission. That would have been a 'fun' service!



Now all I need is to sell that G20 Relay that I bought from AtlantaParts so if anyone is interested ping me an email.



cheers,





milton

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