1996 Ranger 4cyl 2.3 OD on/off light flashing - Ford Forums

justin9956 · 08-12-2008, 18:53

The OD on/off light on my 1996 Ranger 4 cyl 2.3 has been flashing occasionally for about 2 years now. Light would flash with no problems until recently now shifts hard and bucks when I let off the gas when light is flashing but runs fine if light is off. Light seems to come on more often when engine is cold and if I turn it off then turn it back on light stays off. Check engine also came on about same time light started flashing and has been on since. Went to Autozone to find code and got P0761 (shift solenoid 3 (C) performance). Saw threads for OD light flashing but no clear answers. Is this just a sensor going bad and can it be fixed without replacing the whole tranny?

I'm assuming since it runs fine when light is not flashing it must be something outside of the tranny, but I'm not sure.

BlutoBodine · 08-16-2008, 07:24

Could be something as simple as sticking/dirty/defective solenoid to something more serious like tracing out a bad wire in a wiring harness or a bad pcm. A buddy said his confirmed fix was a new transmission, but that seemed a bit drastic. If it was my truck I'd have someone I trusted (unless you have the tools and equipment to do it yourself) do a fluid flush using the proper flushing solvent and a flush machine would be better because it gets out most of the old fluid, drop the pan, replace the filter, refill with correct fluid ... and add a bottle of LubeGard in Red bottle. And hope that fixes it.