"Hold" button
 

Hello all!

I'm looking at a '92 MPV 4X4. The miles are decent (80k-ish,) the tires are new, no rust, no body damage (minus a few small hail dings,) and the price is right!
I can smell gas when driving it and I can see it evaporating off of the manifold. I suspect it to be a leaky fuel line as it's been sitting for awhile in a humid environment.
This is not my biggest concern...

...This is:

The van will not shift into reverse. It seems to try but no cigar. It also wont shift from 2nd into 3rd. I've been reading about all the tranny issues with the MPV's and it seems that replacing the trans doesn't always fix the issue. What I have noticed is the fact that the "hold" light near the gear indicator is always on. The shift lever is broken and some fool (not me, lol,) has used electrical tape to hold the darned thing together.
I'm wondering if the lever is broken, could it possibly be pinching the wire or shorting it out causing the "hold" feature to remain engaged? Would the hold feature prevent the tranny from shifting into reverse and/or 3rd? Perhaps if my suspicions are correct, then could all of these poor folks who have spent thousands on tranny work to no avail be the vicims of an electrical issue (such as a possessed hold button)?

-My theoretical work around-

I'm considering disconnecting the wires to the button to see if this changes anything. Being unfamiliar with Mazda engineering, I cant help but ask... if the circuit is open, does this engage or disengage the hold feature? I'd have to go test drive it again and pull over to try this out. Kinda nervous about that.


I also have access to a totalled van of the same year and model. The motor and tranny are in good shape but the fella who owns it rear ended someone and jacked up the front end suspension. He wants $150 for the carcass. Parts! Yay!

Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Zoom Zoom!

-Glo_beast

RE: "Hold" button
 

The HOLD button should not affect reverse operation. When depressed it causes the trans to do different things depending upon which manual range you have put the shifter in. In "D" range you will start out in 2nd and only be able to shift up to 3rd. 1st and OD is disabled. In "S" range you will have 1st, 2nd, and 3rd but no OD. In "L" range only 1st and 2nd gears. The hold light wires could be pinched and shorted together causing light to remain on. HOLD button released is obtained with open circuit (ie Gray w/ Yellow stripe wire in shift lever not grounded). The hold light can also mean there is a fault detected by the Trans control module. It is the transmissions "check engine light" as it were. To the left of the drivers footwell is the EC-AT control module. There are two blue colored connectors there not plugged into anything. These are the test connectors. One is a 6-pin with only 2 wires to it and the other is a single pin connector. Grounding the single pin connectors and turning key to run should cause the HOLD light to flash and output any failure codes with a series of long and short flashes. Long flashes are tens digit, Short is ones digit. Following codes are available to be output : 1, 6, 7, 12, 56, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64. 99% of the transmission faults are from internal failure. It has been determined by Mazda that the lining inside the torque converter begins flaking off and contaminates the entire system eventually ending up in oil pump failure. Low pressure due to pump failing would affect reverse first as higher pressures are needed to obtain reverse gear.
Not all transmission do this especially if the fluid is serviced regularly thank heavens as we have a 91 with 182k and OE trans still running like a champ. If you have a good parts van then sounds like a good deal glo_beast.

RE: "Hold" button
 

Thanks for the speedy reply, babyhuey!
If I buy these two machines, I suppose it would behoove me to get a new torque conveter when I do the swap. Are the aftermarket TC's better?

RE: "Hold" button
 

Installing an aftermarket torque converter would be an excellent idea. An aftermarket torque converter would have a different manufacturing plant or process so would be unlikely to have the same problem. Just try to make sure it is not a rebuilt OE part though or you could run into the same situation.