Flashing overdrive lamp (on greashift)

Boy aren't I lucky.

Truck - 2001 Expedition, 4.6L, XLT, 2wd. 215k miles.

The overdrive symbol on the gearshift started flashing the other day. Before that happened My CEL came back on. Engine is rough not long after COP and plugs were replaced.

I did a search here but no results on the flashng overdrive light.

I do not have the tools, space or experience in transmissions to tackle this. I found a local shop (lol owner has same last name as me) and their prices seem very reasonable. I recall a thread earlier that someone mentioned the TCC solenoid. The trans shop said those actually rarely fail. With 215k miles he suspects it's the torque converter. Fluid looks good, which is a positive I think. Still subject to on site dx.

Otherwise, the truck is solid, reliable and of course paid for.

Question: I read in another thread that a rough running motor can also throw the overdrive light to blink.

I was originally going to send it to the trans shop but now I have second thoughts on getting the motor squared away first, then see if the tranny light resolves.

Thought?

Thanks in advance.

As to your last comment, yes a poor running vehicle will make your transmission shift rough, and generally misbehave. Every part depends on all working in harmony. If one of the new coils, or spark plugs is acting up, that's where you start. Run the dtc codes, it should lead you to suspect cylinder/cylinders that are misbehaving. Hopefully you didn't toss your old coils. See, your example is why we here don't condone the bargain coils available online. Now your doing your tuneup twice, and worse now is you've got to narrow down what went wrong.

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Thanks moose.

Yep, I'm guilty of gambling on lower cost parts and might have lost with having to deal with additional troubleshooting. I'm ok with that. I think a little further fine tuning and all will be fixed, maybe I pop one of the last 'new' COP back on maybe a cylinder that's missing.

And yes, I saved all old parts, old plugs included lol. I recently replaced three COP and figured a full refresh would be a good thing. COP are a pretty simple part. Worth noting, the COP I bought from Amazon have a lifetime warranty which is a BIG plus in my opinion. I noticed that when shopping for these and if a company can stand behind them with that kind of warranty, they must be tried and true.

At least I have a company car as back up and the expedition is a weekend driver.

So I'll see if others also chime in, but I feel I'll go with the motor fix first and then see how the overdrive lamp issue pans out.

Cheers.

I reread your post on the flashing od light, is your transmission slipping, or shuddering during acceleration? That along with burnt fluid, or weird noises are most common failure signs of torque converter. Let us know what your codes turn up.

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1955moose said:

I reread your post on the flashing od light, is your transmission slipping, or shuddering during acceleration? That along with burnt fluid, or weird noises are most common failure signs of torque converter. Let us know what your codes turn up.

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Click to expand...

Hi Moose:

Fluid looks great. No slipping. Trans was working great, good shifts etc. I'm pretty sure I'm going with the motor diagnostics/repair, then see if the trans light still manifests itself. I don't want to cause any damage potentially, or get stuck on the freeway so I'll have it towed. State Farm covers me on tows so no big deal.

I would find it very unusual to have a torque converter fail after working flawlessly, and having limited usage after just a few weeks.

Also worth noting, I did pick up as part of the COP/plug refresh Ford-Motorcraft platinum plugs. Sp-493, AGSF32PM.

Just trying to share problems, diagnosis and ultimately the fix for the issue. Maybe it helps others down the road.

I'll share my findings at the end of the week. It's going in for the CEL issue on Wednesday.

Your on the right track. You may want to reinstall your Ford coils if you can return the others. Here on the forum , we recommend just changing the boot that attaches from coil to plug. As long as you didn't have a coolant leak, your old coils are fine. You can use a simple volt/ ohmmeter to test each one if you want to be diligent about it. The ohms specs can be found online, or one of our gang can post it for you. Real simple to test. Good luck, let us know how it runs after.

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sharing: had my OD light on shifter stalk start flashing unexpectedly at 17K miles; however no CEL.
Blue Oval folks couldn't find a reason for it; replaced torque converter (under warranty). Still running her today.
PM's: Changed fluid and filter every 25K miles when trailering coast-to-coast. Also added a larger trans pan which holds an additional 8 qts of fluid.
Since retirement though, any trailering is small utility trailers-not the 28' enclosed car hauler; change fluid and filter every 3 years or so-cheap insurance IMHO; still my go-to daily driver.

hope you find it; ++ on ohm meter for cops.

let us know.

Hi all. I can't believe it has been this long since the flashing gear lever issue.

Update: regarding the CEL and the miss, it was one coil (#4) that was replaced with one of the former good coils. I have kept the other coils in, but still saved the old ones in case another swap is needed. As noted I did also replace the spark plugs when coils were swapped.

Regarding the transmission throwing some codes (I'll have to look up my notes), although my mechanic said I would have to take it to a transmission shop he decided to have a look at it since it was there (my fault) for a week and a half, and he said he found a couple of fuses he replaced which fixed the blinking OD lamp. I also ordered and had him install a new neutral safety switch since that was sort of problematic now and then.

He charged me $15 to find and replace the fuses. Again, I'll need to find out which ones he fixed.

Lol, also the A/C decided to work when I picked up the truck.

Oh and paid him a few extra bucks to take it to get a smog/inspection. It passed.

So for: the coil replacement, transmission fix, neutral safety switch install, him driving to get inspection (and driving 60 miles to clear the brain so brain will show if codes are there) and AC coming back to life I am out $160.00. I don't think that's too bad.

Previously I was speaking with a few transmission shops and they were doubting the solenoid was bad, per one shop, another thought it was the torque converter. I doubt I would be out $15 if I took it to a transmission shop.

The truck drives great again.

good news.