[TR] Overdrive Fixed

[George Haynes]

Well, this is good news but embarrassing news.  I caused my own overdrive
problem.  Wouldn't admit it here but I'm 100% sure each of us has done
something like it (at least) once.

Last fall, I took the body off my TR4A for a RATCO frame swap.  I chose to
lift the body as complete as possible, so most of the interior remained
intact.  When the body was about 18" clear of the frame, I disconnected the
wire harness from the top of the transmission: overdrive and backup lights.
Of course there is a ground terminal and a P-clamp securing the harness to the
gearbox, both under one of the top cover hold-down bolts.  That had to be
disconnected, too.  Getting the picture?

Fast forward 17 days and the body goes onto the new frame.  At about 18"
again,. I reached in to connect all the wiring I had removed, but I forgot to
secure the P-clamp and ground wire and the top cover bolt!  Whatever grounding
was taking place was intermittent, as the wires and bolt bobbed up and down
and the relay chattered each time it lost ground.

So that's what I found this weekend when I removed the entire interior and
transmission cover.  The bolt was still hanging there - in the P-clamp and
ground terminal!  Oil had splashed out the bolt hole, making a mess under the
car.  For peace of mind, I drained the oil and filled with fresh.  After
reassembling, a one-hour test drive resulted in no overdrive problems.  It's a
happy car (and owner)  again.

So, many thanks to several of you for helping with the diagnosis, which turned
out to be a me problem rather than a hardware problem.  I have no idea why I'm
taking this so well....

George Haynes