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Volvo A40 not shifting out of 1st gear

rclay1981

Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2016
Messages
21
Location
CENTRAL IL
I've got a 1998 Volvo A40 that's new to the fleet it's the first adt I've had the privilege to work on
The owner bought it from a auction and it doesn't shift out of first gear I'm waiting on the manual's but just wondering if any of you guys had any ideas
thanks
 

mwisales

Member
Joined
Feb 3, 2009
Messages
6
Location
channahon, il
rclay1981,

I'm here in Central IL as well (Gardner). I supply heavy equipment components and we specialize in articulated trucks and wheel loaders. I can tell you that we supply probably more Volvo Transmissions than anything else (typically 9000-13000 hours is the life of the transmission in these).

More than likely its a point to the transmission, but I can't tell you how many times I have sold a guy a transmission to find out he has a bad harness or an ECU Problem, and its a costly mistake.

We have a computer box we use on our dyno to shift the transmissions we rebuild, I could loan it to you to help diagnose... what you can do is hook it up directly to the transmission and try to shift the truck while sitting in the cab (or anywhere else using my shift box. If the truck shifts with my box, you know you have an electrical issue (ECU or harness). Hopefully that is the issue for your sake of course.

The issue with some of the dealer software we find is everything points to the transmission itself. The other day I was working on a L120E With a "bad transmission" they brought into our shop, it would not function in reverse, that needed a $130 sensor to fix the whole issue.

If you need some help or some copies of a service manual, you can email me at tyson@mwisales.com. I would be happy to help.
 

lantraxco

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2009
Messages
7,704
Location
Elsewhen
My experience with these is decades out of date, but it sounds like it's probably in "Limp" mode. There's an error, broken wire, bad solenoid, bad sensor, bad speed selector, bed up switch, etc. that the ECU has decided is not right and it's locked the machine into low gear only so you can slowly drive it to the shop. Just a guess.
 

laycobeau

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2013
Messages
219
Location
Tulsa Ok. beau.bowlan@lei-corp.com
Occupation
Lead electronic technician
I think Landtraxco is right. Do you have a read out that gives error codes. I don't know whose brand the controls are. Some will not let you shift if the
engine rpm is missing or to low(sensor) Others with any shorted or open solenoid. If you find out who made the controller. Dana/Spicer; Zf; Funk etc.
I might be able to give some help
 

lantraxco

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2009
Messages
7,704
Location
Elsewhen
If mwisales will loan you that shift box, that sounds like the quickest and easiest way to isolate whether it's an electrical or mechanical issue... hadn't had my second cup of coffee when I was reading his post this morning, lol.
 

lantraxco

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2009
Messages
7,704
Location
Elsewhen
Well there you go. I am not familiar with this machine but it makes sense if the computer can't tell how fast it's going, it ain't never gonna shift.

Lazy truck :rolleyes:
 

JDOFMEMI

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2007
Messages
3,074
Location
SoCal
One common cause may be build up of wear material on the speed sensor pick up. Try screwing it out, cleaning, then resetting it, as well as checking for the obvious broken or chaffed wires leading to the sensor.

Also, the number one cause of no shift complaints in a Volvo is that someone pushed the trans hold button and doesn't realize it. This is especially common with the first Volvo ADT experience.

A no shift can also be caused by a faulty or out of adjustment bed up sensor located near the rear hinge point of the bed. The computer can be set to hold first gear until the bed is down to prevent careless drivers from racing around with the bed up.

As in the recent mechanics thread, check the simple things first before blaming major components.

Good luck.
 

Oxbow

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 22, 2012
Messages
1,201
Location
Idaho
I'm with Jerry, check the bed down sensor and wiring first, it may be something simple, and less expensive!
 

JakeDearing

Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2017
Messages
12
Location
Port Arthur Texas
Having trouble figuring out model number for my adt that isn't shifting out of first gear as well. Looking for a troubleshooting manual. Any idea how to find model number from serial number??
 

sfrs4

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2013
Messages
683
Location
Great Britian
Occupation
parts admin
what's your serial number? is it an early "metal" machine or a later "plastic" machine
 

sfrs4

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2013
Messages
683
Location
Great Britian
Occupation
parts admin
Its an early A25C Volvo BM type, with probably the smallest machine card I've ever seen, really strange! the machine card just has that it has a TD73KCE616.
 
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