My mode position switch came in today!!!

[Ldub]

Sooooo...how did the installation go?
............is the shifting back to normal?

............inquiring minds want to know.

[VXIRONwoMAN]

All is TEEEEEEErific!!! No more hard shifting!!! YAY!!! It would be an easier install if the Vx wasn't hot!!! but that's Vegas... Other than having to hose down the Vx's belly to cool her off...there were no real big obstacles. My baby is healthy again! Hooray!!!!!!! Thanks SilverBullet for playing Doctor and letting me watch the operation...lol. She drives like she should now!!!!

[SilverBullet75]

Glad I could help!
I didn't really get to check out all your mods and all, but, I gotta say.. you've got one of the cleanest VX's I've seen yet! Now, it drives like it looks! yay!

[SilverBullet75]

Oh, by the way... regarding the mode switch itself, I think it would be a wise preventative maintenance mod for everyone to buy a short length of Headerwrap for the area right by the mode switch...
Undoubtedly the heat is the culprit of this recurring problem in many VX's.
There is already a THIN metal heat shield that is clipped on the unit itself... but, talk about weak!

---JIM---

[Ldub]

Thanks for the tip Jim, since I'm already under there today, I think I'll do just that.

[JHarris1385]

Where exactally should that wrap go? I was just under there today re-lifting it to put my pro-comps back on and take the 20's off.

[SilverBullet75]

Ok... it's a VERY crude image, I know... (wow... really hard to write using a touch pad on a laptop)

Wrap the area with the cheezy grey texture... See how close it is to the switch?
Hope this helps.
Sorry so crude.
Don't mind my oil leak... that's next week's project.

[Triathlete]

Just a quick question...is there a gasket of some sort where that switch is attached? I seem to have a very slight fluid leak that appears to be coming from that same area.

[SilverBullet75]

I would expect there to be an oil seal on the actual shaft that the mode switch slides over. The shaft goes straight into the transmission. I don't have any details though... sorry.

[mdwyer]

By the way, I did my dilligent study of the repair manuals. When the switch reports an illegal position (like being in D and L at the same time), the computer notices this. If this problem lasts more than 5 seconds, the computer thinks, "Well, we're just going to assume it is in D. We're going to turn off torque control and also set the pressure to HIGH. We'll also file away an error code, but we're not going to turn on any warning lights... cuz we suck that way."

As most of us have reported, there are two symptoms: The shifts are VERY hard. We're talking 'scary'. The other symptom is, for the first five seconds, your dashboard will report random shift positions.

By the way, if you're having this problem now, a workaround might be to pull over, turn off the engine, sweep the gear shift back and forth a few times, then turn the engine back on. The sweeping MIGHT clean dirty contacts, and turning off the engine will cause the computer to clear the limp-home mode.

It would be an easier install if the Vx wasn't hot!!!

You and SilverBullet installed it while the engine was hot?! Do you have any skin left?!

I'm working on installing mine right now, and the engine is about as cold as it can get in my garage. There's FAR too much stuff in the way! My tools barely fit if at all. I cannot IMAGINE trying to do it while any of those parts are hot!

Did you have much trouble adjusting it once you got it installed?

[biju]

my turn to replace the switch. thanks for the good info ^ everyone...

i knew the switch would come in handy someday. mdwyer, maybe we *should* have a mode selector switch install party at your place!!! It could be BYOB and BYOMSS...

-biju.

[SilverBullet75]

Did you have much trouble adjusting it once you got it installed?

Hi, once it was installed there was no problem adjusting it... There is only about a centimeter of adjustment available anyway. When I installed my own (3 yrs ago), I didn't know it could be adjusted. This time, I made sure to note the position of the old one before taking it off, putting it back on in the same position.

Doing the project while the VX was hot... that was fun...
We actually had access to my garden hose, which helped.

So, CeCe, if you're reading this... What's the scoop? How's it doing after a month+?

[VXIRONwoMAN]

She is doing great!! No problems at all!!! Riding like a champ! But now the Proton is being driven more...but I will have to take the Ironman on one last run before Daddy comes to pick her up... Thanks Again!!!