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Ford WindstarIntroduced in the mid-1990s, the front-wheel-drive Ford Windstar minivan campaigned with an emphasis on, and reputation for, safety. And in the hotly contested family minivan market of the time, that was an especially solid piece of ground to be on. As long as buyers didn't need to haul adults in back on a regular basis, the Windstar served a family's needs just fine.
Hi everybody. I drive a 1996 Windstar 3.0L and had the tranny rebuilt 21000 miles ago at Ford's. The OD light used to flash before the rebuild and it still does occasionally after it. The dealer says it's the PCM. The code reads show something to do with the torque converter. Anyways, I have noticed that the OD light, when it flashes, characteristically does so on 2 occasions: (1) Say the car is driving in 4th gear, there's need to accelerate, I push the pedal to downshift to 3rd gear. As I accelerate in 3rd, the RPMs go close to or a little over 4000 mark. Now when the car shifts automatically to 4th gear (RPMs come down), the OD light starts to flash. If I do not reach 4000 RPMs, it does not flash. (2) When I am approaching a traffic light (in 4th gear), as I slow down, car begins to shift down and as it reaches 1st, the OD starts flashing. Sometimes, this flashing OD light will go away on its own, at others I have to pull over, turn off and then turn on to reset it. Please, somebody/anybody help me understand as to what is going on with this tranny. Thanks. RS
Well the flashing OD light means there is something wrong with your transmission so you will need to get the codes read to exactly determine what the problem is. Since you said that it has only been 21000 miles since you had the transmission rebuilt you should take it back to ford because you should still have warrenty with the rebuilt transmission, so go back to ford and see if your warrenty is up. I think the warranty should be 3 years 36000 miles but not sure. If you still have warrenty tell FORD to fix it and dont take any of their crap telll them dont call me until it is perfctly fixed. The torque converter itself wont display a code but if you go get the code read and post what the code is, it will be easier to determine what your problem is. The problem might be the TCC not engaging properly.
Thanks, will get the codes and post back. Does the relationship between shifting & OD flashing as noted in my post, point to a specific defect in the transmission? Any ideas on this behavior?? Forum members mpeoples & firstwindstar02 have DIYed tranny rebuilds; I would greatly appreciate their input as well or any other DIYers'. RS
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Windstar OD light flashing 
Linear Mode
