850 AUTOMATIC- PROBLEM WITH AUTO GEAR CHANGE IN COLD WEATHER

[Richard (3)]

My 1995 Volvo 850 has a problem with the automatic transmission when starting from cold, with the fault becoming more problematical in cold weather. The orange arrow on the instrument panel starts flashing and the gearbox selects a low gear and will not auto-change up when the engine revolutions are increased. Turning the engine off and restarting in neutral usually remedies the problem until the next cold start. I have checked the fluid level and that appears fine. Any help or advice would be much appreciated. Many thanks Richard

 

[Doug Warner]

My 1995 Volvo 850 has a problem with the automatic transmission when starting from cold, with the fault becoming more problematical in cold weather. The orange arrow on the instrument panel starts flashing and the gearbox selects a low gear and will not auto-change up when the engine revolutions are increased. Turning the engine off and restarting in neutral usually remedies the problem until the next cold start. I have checked the fluid level and that appears fine. Any help or advice would be much appreciated.
Many thanks

The gear position switch may be malfunctioning. Try this:
Before starting, run the lever through it's full range of motion 5 to 10 times to clean the contacts. If this helps. then the switch is going.

I replaced my own. I had to make an alignment jig, and the most difficult part was separating the two parts of the connector.
Instructions are here:
http://www.volvospeed.com/Repair/pnpswitch.htm

Spammers are VERMIN. Please kill them all.

 

[Kirth Gersen]

Yeah, thats does sound familiar!
According to my mechanic this happens because 1. the grease on the position switch gets thicker the lower the temperature AND 2. the position switch itself (located the autotrans it self) is worn out. Typically these problems appear on sub zero (centigrade) temps.

Had that on my T5 and had the switch replaced. Lo and behold! and all was well, again (for as long as it lasts: knock on wood!).

Hope this helps,

Kirth

 

[c martin]

iit is likeley that the gear position sensor is going bad not to hard to replace, it is on top of the transmission underneath the air box. Cost about 180 dollars though