Electrical (I think) problem. Desperately need help!

[BanjaxedLovely]

The car has been sitting for a while, but now there's a threat to tow it so I'm "inspired" to finally fix the thing. Here's what happened before I left it sitting...


I had it parked over the course of a couple days. One of the nights got close to, if not freezing outside (unsure if this is relevant). When I got back to my car it started just fine but I noticed that the electronic dash portion that tells you what gear you're in isn't showing up (it's an automatic with the triptonic(sp?) shifting). Once I reached about 20+MPH the car started shaking a bit. I was a little concerned and checked the oil since it burns off fast and poured some more in since it was a bit low. Hit the freeway and within a few miles the shaking got really bad. I turned around and headed back to the house and once on the freeway again the car shook really bad and died. From then on, every time it was in anything but park (maybe neutral, I can't recall) it died. No problems starting, just would die right away once you pulled it out of park and into reverse or drive.

Any ideas what the heck is going on?! :-(

[E CODE]

Possibly tranny limp mode?

[BanjaxedLovely]

How would I go about testing for that or fixing it? Is it an expensive fix?

Thanks for your quick response!

[mmrkulic]

unplug your maf turn it on see what it does if nothing changed plug it back in


under the passenger side carpet real simple remove kick panel 1 screw pull up the carpet remove the black box unplug the tcm start it up and go around the block if you can you will only have P R N 4 only 4th gear super slow. Also when you unplug the box check for water damage or any signs of water intrusion it may be your tcm happened to me but instead of shaking i got clunking like going over gernades.

Check it out let us know !

[BanjaxedLovely]

I managed to get my hands on a code reader. Here's what it read.
P1565
When I googled this it came up with "Idle speed control throttle position lower limit not obtained"
Please tell me there's only one fairly simple and inexpensive fix...

I haven't tried what you all mentioned yet. Today I'm cracking down and getting to work on it. What do I need to do?

Thanks for all the help!

[scotts13]

Limp mode on the transmission is usually signaled by all the gear numbers lighting up at once, not that section failing to light up. Still, checking to make sure the TCM is dry isn't a bad idea. With the P1565, I'd be looking mostly at the throttle body, not the transmission. Try cleaning it, running an adaptation on it, then replacing it.

[BanjaxedLovely]

Is a TCM the same as the CCM? The only black box I found was under the driver's side after removing the seat and pulling back the carpet. I read the number to a parts store and they said that was CCM. I don't want to accidentally replace the wrong part!

Also, is there anyway to test it to see if it's gone bad?

I tried doing the unplug and re-plug then starting the car be didn't work. It tried to turn over and then nothing.

[scotts13]

Is a TCM the same as the CCM? The only black box I found was under the driver's side after removing the seat and pulling back the carpet. I read the number to a parts store and they said that was CCM. I don't want to accidentally replace the wrong part!

No. The CCM (Comfort Control Module) is in front of the drivers seat; the TCM (Transmission Control Module) is in front of the passenger seat. The latter is obviously only on automatic transmission cars.

There's really no test for either module (they're little computers) other than that they work when properly connected. You can do a visual inspection for water damage to the modules, or problems with the external connections.

[BanjaxedLovely]

My car is automatic with the tiptronic shifting. Does that mean it still has a TCM or just the CCM?

Too late now to pull apart the other side. I can work on it tomorrow. Is the TCM like the CCM and in a black box under the passenger side?

Mind you, I'm not SUPER car savvy. I'm one of those "tell me what's wrong and give me a shop manual so I can figure out how to replace it" kinda gals. I'm fairly surprised I got this far on my own, haha.

[scotts13]

My car is automatic with the tiptronic shifting. Does that mean it still has a TCM or just the CCM?

It'll have both.

Is the TCM like the CCM and in a black box under the passenger side?

Yes.