Transmission trouble...

[EricHughes]

I've got a 93' Nissian 240sx auto that I bought a few months back. Problem is that sometimes it will not shift out of first when the motor is cold. Let the car warm up, and it shifts like a new car. The fluid looks cherry red... I've taken it to numerous shops and everyone tells me something different.

The guy that looked at it today said he doubted it is an internal problem, but rather he suspected something with the motor itself. He said that he pulled a code 34, "detonation or circuit failure." Note that this is the FIRST shop that told me anything about a stored code. :rolleyes He said that this could somehow be causing the problem and that I should take care of this first.

Where should I go from here? I don't know much about these cars. A tune-up? How can I test that circuit? Thanks in advance!

[drjohn]

It's hard to tell but it could be high resistance in shift solenoid A when the trans is cold and as it warms up the solenoid starts to work. These transmissions are shifted electronically and get inputs from the tps, speed sensor, and other sensors.

[EricHughes]

It's hard to tell but it could be high resistance in shift solenoid A when the trans is cold and as it warms up the solenoid starts to work. These transmissions are shifted electronically and get inputs from the tps, speed sensor, and other sensors.

So what is the most practical approach to troubleshooting this thing? Perhaps I could run a code test one morning when the car is cold. Are code testers available for these cars at a decent price?

Thanks for the reply.