Do I need to do anything with the computer after replacing the Trans?

Question

I have a 1994 Plymouth Grand Voyager Van with a 3.3 liter engine and an Overdrive (4speed) transmission.I already removed the original transmission.

Answer 1

I own a transmission shop, and work on these all the time. I don't think you should have to do anything with the computer. If you go back with the correct electronics it should work fine. You do have to use a transmission just like the one that you took out of it, or at least will hook up electronically the same way. As for the computer, it may go through a learning process, but should work ok without any problems. The other answer is referring to a scan tool. You cannot re-program this computer, and I have no idea what they are talking about, and I have had a shop for years. We attend school every year to keep up with the new vehicles, and their computer controls. Your vehicles computer basis the shift points, and line pressure from information it receives from the throttle position sensor, the vehicle speed sensor, and the torque converter speed sensor for slippage. Outside of this your computer doesn't do anything else. You can expect to make adjustments if you change to say taller tires & wheels, and have to make adjustments for the speedometer to be correct. In short, in a "94" model the computer doesn't have that much control on the transmission. The computer will learn what it needs within 20 minutes of driving, so if the transmission you put in it doesn't work like it should within that length of time, then something isn't right, and you can look forward to getting another transmission. One of the worst mistakes I see people make is; they swap out the transmission, and never clean out the cooler, and its lines before they install the new one, thus it fills the new one with trash, metal, and contaminants from the old burned out one. You can guess what that does. Yes, pulling it back out because it won't work.
Glad to help out, good Luck!!!

Answer 2

Alright let me give you the skinny. Depending on the reasons in which your transmission has failed, I would say that you may have to do something with your TCM Transmission Control Module. First Do Not ever disconnect the Positive battery cable before you disconnect the Negative cable. You can cause a voltage spike that may damage your control modules. If your transmission just wore out, (clutches worn down too far causing slipping in gears which lead to trans going into "limp-In" mode), for this failure more than likely you will not have to do anything with the module, EXCEPT for the quick learn procedure that is recommended by the manufacturer. It is true that with disconnecting the battery you will reset these learned values, BUT it puts them at a preset value that is a happy medium, not actually where your new transmission needs them to be. Yes it is true that with driving the vehicle it will learn these values by itself, BUT it cannot be determined how long it will take to learn all these values because there are very many stipulations that have to be met for it to learn them. Some driving conditions will not allow them to be learned.... this is why the manufacturer made this "QUICK LEARN" procedure. It can be performed with nearly any scan tool anymore, you will not need Just the DRBIII. Now with that all being said. Your TCM is an EATXII, it should have cooling fins on one side with some heat sinks between the fins. This controller has an EEPROM, this controller can be reprogrammed by the dealership. I RECOMMEND TAKING YOUR VEHICLE TO THEM TO SEE IF AN UPDATE IS AVAILABLE. Chrysler is constantly releasing updates for controllers fixing minor glitches in the software, and making adjustments to enhance the performance of your transmission. There are currently 3 different trans controllers that Chrysler used over the years, and the early ones were not programmable (EATXI). You can listen to the advice of any of the people on here if you want, but I would always recommend the knowledge that comes out of a dealership. They are trained by the people who built these vehicles, They have all the tools made specifically for these vehicles. I have worked at a Dodge, Chrysler dealership since 1991, I rebuild these transmissions all the time, and yes I reprogram the controllers all the time. I have seen transmissions fail due to bad trans controllers. Do yourself a favor Have it checked at the dealership.

Answer 3

What you need to do is after replacing the transmission is make all the electrical connections. Start the engine. The check engine light should blink for 10 seconds. This indicates that the ECM is learning that there was some repair has been done to the vehicle. After the 10 seconds have passed by the check engine light will either be lit or not lit. If it is lit you will need to reset the ECM. To do this on the 1994 model you need to disconnect the positive terminal only for 30 seconds. This the automatic default for the ECM. After you have done this start the engine again and drive it for 30 minutes. This will enable the ECM to re-learn the shift points again. This should take care of your problems if any do persist take it to a Dodge dealer ship and have them reset the ECM.

Answer 4

According to the manufacturer you will need a DBRIII scan tool for the quick learn procedure after removing the trans.

Answer 5

I would say disconnect the battery, but you probably already do