aw372 od solenoid replacement

[bbrewer2005]

Im looking for a new OD solenoid for my 98 ram 50 with the aw372 trans. I found a couple places on the net that claim to have them, but look less than reputable. None of the local parts stores even sell them, let alone stock them. This really sucks not being able to take the truck out of town. I've been limited to in town driving under 50mph due to the OD not working. Whats a good reliable source for these solenoids?

Ill settle for a junk yard replacement as well, but im having a hard time finding out what all the vehicles they used this trans in, as there are no MM or ram50's in any of the massive lots around here.

[pennyman1]

Are you sure the solenoid is bad? there is a sensor on the intake by the carb that goes bad - take that wire and ground it to see if the O/D works then.

[t97]

Im having problems with my overdrive as well. Ive seen you post about grounding that wire out a couple of times but ive never seen what your talking about. Do you have a picture of the wire? Can you say what the right way to ground it out is? Thanks in advance

[bbrewer2005]

Pennyman1, First, The solenoid is not bad after all. I pulled it off today and put 12v's to it on a bench and it works fine.
As for the thermal switch, Im not entirely sure which one it is as there are several, but I did ground each one of them around and got nothing. Maybe I missed one? I replaced, and tested the OD relay on a bench as well. That isnt the issue. I disassembled the switch on the shifter to confim it was good. No problems there. I removed and sanded/cleaned the ground wire from the trans to the chassis (Big 3 already done). My multimeter broke so I couldnt test continuity on wires. Either I missed the correct thermal sensor wire, or there is an open wire somewhere. I tried "hotwiring" the relay socket by using a jumper wire with the relay removed, nothing. For a quick temporary solution until I get a new multimeter, or confirm the thermal sensor wires I grounded were correct, I ran a wire straight from the battery to the solenoid with a switch in the cabin. Works fine for now.

[geezer101]

Wait a minute - some 80's auto Mitsubishis had an OD button on the shifter handle. You could mess around with it and adapt one to the truck. It certainly would be an unique mod...

[t97]

The 2nd gens have one on the shifter as well unless were talki g about different things.

[geezer101]

Well I learned sumpin'. :)

[bbrewer2005]

Yes the button on the shifter is fine. I mentioned in my previous post that I took it apart and tested it. That was when my multimeter still worked. :|

[pennyman1]

unfortunately, I no longer have a 2nd gen truck with an automatic in it to take a pic of it. The sensor is a 1 wire sensor, with a black wire plugged onto it, and it is located in front of the carb on the intake manifold. It is the only sensor at that spot. Take that wire, and ground it to the intake manifold on one of the tabs besides the carb.