VH45DE auto drama

[RichZilla]

Not a big drama, but anyway. Keep in mind that my speedo is still not connected, therefore ECU is not getting speed signal from dash.

Whenever I lift off the throttle, the auto seems to neutralise. As soon as I push the accelerator in a bit, it goes back into gear. It also seems to be taking off in second gear. If I absolutely mash it on take off, it'll get to about 3500rpm before downshifting into first. Makes for good skidmarks, but not much else. I can't manually put the auto into a lower gear because the merc shifter has different spacing to the Q. I.E Neutral is where drive is, 2 and 1 are drive and that's it. Need to make a shorter selector bracket off the trans to solve that prob.

Anyone have any ideas?

[T45]

I think that's the way Q trannys normally act but could be wrong. Without the Q (or cima or whatever) shifter with the switch in it you're stuck with 2nd gear starts. I believe you can get the TCU to give you 1st gear starts with a reprogram. I am pretty sure you could just wire up a switch to turn 1st gear on and off though.

[elwesso]

Yeah Qs start in 2nd gear from the factory. If you can get a TCU from a 93+ you get 1st gear start. not sure if the presidents were the same way...

Couldnt you modify the Q shifter in the merc?

[RichZilla]

I didn't get a half cut. Just an engine, trans and associated electronics. I did think about getting a Q45 shifter, but it'd look very much out of place in the merc. It's got woodgrain everywhere. Even on the shifter gate. But that's alright. I'll just play with lenghts off the selector on the auto to give me the right amount of travel so I can select all gears.

As for the second gear starts, it's good to know I haven't wired anything up wrong. Sort of makes it a bit more authentic considering the merc auto also takes off in second gear. I'll see if I can wire up a '1 position switch' after I've managed to get the shifter to line up properly. I could probably even put one under the shifter cover to detect when I select 1st.

Ahhh, it's all fun and games.

[T45]

The shifter in the Q that I stripped has a black shifter. I would ship it to you but it will probably cost more to ship it than I paid for the whole car.

[elwesso]

FWIW there isnt any selector on the trans for a 1st gear setup, its a switch inside the shifter so it should be easy to do.