After hunting for a short while, I found the "gear-box" switch on top of the tranny. It is barely accessible from underneath the car. From inside the cockpit, I removed the 6x10in access panel closest to the firewall that is on top of the tranny tunnel. Access is easy and direct.
The switch is functional: it opens and closes properly when changing gears, but there were no wires attached to it. The manual shows a white wire going from on terminal of the gearbox switch to the A3 terminal on the fuse box that is inside the engine compartment on the left fender. The second (yellow) wire is supposed to be connected to the C2 terminal on the overdrive relay that is in the engine compartment on the right side of the firewall.
When I make these connections, I can no longer hear the overdrive solonoid click on/off when I move the overdrive switch (on the steering column) with the gear shift lever in 3rd or 4th. I know that the solonoid works, since it used to be directly connected to the switch.
Does this mean that the overdrive relay is fried? or is there something magical about the order of turning on/off the overdrive while in/out of gear?
Also - a final question. I always used to depress the clutch when engaging or disengaging the overdrive. I've just heard a romour that I'm not supposed to do this. Any ideas?
best regards,
Louis
~~~ Louis Collins, PhD Research Associate McConnell Brain Imaging Center, WB-201 NeuroImaging Laboratory Montreal Neurological Institute 3801 University St. Montreal, Quebec. H3A 2B4
tel:(514)-398-4227,1996 Fax:(514)-398-8948
e-mail: louis(at)bic.mni.mcgill.ca