Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com - View Single Post - Freezing the Slushbox. Torque Converter on-demand lockup switch.

t vago · 08-25-2014, 10:06 AM

Based on my own (ongoing) experience with having a 545RFE computer control the transmission in my 2000 Dodge Dakota, I can tell you the following:

If OD OFF is selected, the torque converter will lock up in 3d gear, as low as 30 MPH.
If OD OFF is not selected, the torque converter will not lock up until the truck is going about 48 MPH or so.
Also, if OD OFF is not selected, the truck will not go into 5th gear until it reaches about 55 MPH.
Since the 545RFE computer does not use the same network physical layer as the rest of the truck, the network bus wires will have to be disconnected going to the transmission computer. You will, of course, lose the shift indicator and the OD OFF indicator; as well as other "enhanced" functionality brought about by networking the computers together. (Honestly, I think that the writers were onto something good, in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica series, when they described Galactica's various computers as not being networked.)

I have noticed that the truck tends to unlock the torque converter when the throttle is completely closed. This happens a lot more now, with the version 3 aerocap installed, than in the past. This could likely be avoided by sending a spoofed TPS signal to the 545RFE transmission computer, making it think the throttle is open more than it really is.

08-25-2014, 10:06 AM	#264 (permalink)
t vago MPGuino Supporter Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Hungary Posts: 1,807 iNXS - '10 Opel Zafira 111 Anniversary Suzi - '02 Suzuki Swift GL Thanks: 829 Thanked 708 Times in 456 Posts	Based on my own (ongoing) experience with having a 545RFE computer control the transmission in my 2000 Dodge Dakota, I can tell you the following: If OD OFF is selected, the torque converter will lock up in 3d gear, as low as 30 MPH. If OD OFF is not selected, the torque converter will not lock up until the truck is going about 48 MPH or so. Also, if OD OFF is not selected, the truck will not go into 5th gear until it reaches about 55 MPH. Since the 545RFE computer does not use the same network physical layer as the rest of the truck, the network bus wires will have to be disconnected going to the transmission computer. You will, of course, lose the shift indicator and the OD OFF indicator; as well as other "enhanced" functionality brought about by networking the computers together. (Honestly, I think that the writers were onto something good, in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica series, when they described Galactica's various computers as not being networked.) I have noticed that the truck tends to unlock the torque converter when the throttle is completely closed. This happens a lot more now, with the version 3 aerocap installed, than in the past. This could likely be avoided by sending a spoofed TPS signal to the 545RFE transmission computer, making it think the throttle is open more than it really is.