it was the ecm not the tcm i retrieved the vehicle info from it three times to be sure it was reading it correctly and for sure i did a vin lookup and it was a cavalier vin number... but i had it reprogrammed for my vin number and the tranny still wont shift out of second... if i pull it all the way to 1st with the shifter that gear is good 2nd or I is good also but drive it starts as it should in 1st gear then shifts smooth as a clock to second then thats as far as she goes no 3rd .... so either its not getting the signal to upshift to third or the new solenoid i installed in that port is bad.... but if i unplug the harness from the trans mission and engage the solenoids one at a time u can here them work...but that dont mean they are opening and closing as they should though....i would hate to get a transmission install it and find out it is something as simple as a dang wire i overlooked...this thing is driving me crazy

 

What about going from I to D?


I think you said you did replace the TCM?

Here is some reading material

 

yeah i replaced the tcm it didnt change the way it shifted at all... going through the gears starting from manual 1st all the way to drive it does good but i do however know that second gear on the manual and second on the drive select are not the same set of drive gears ... in other words manual second is on a different circuit than drive second...but both work...but even trying to get third by shifting it manually it just wont do it...but i may try and see if i can skip third and try for 4th sense both solenoids are normally on which is what 4th gear does ill unplug the harness from the tranny and manually shift from 1st through drive and see what i get if anything...

 

either way it seems to me that 2-3rd solenoid has a problem its not turning on or its a bad one ... new dont make it good i guess...i guess this weekend ill try the above mentioned manual shift trial and then ill cut the 2-3 solenoid wire and manually apply the gnd to activate it if that will work...im running out of ideas

 

ok here is what i did instead of building a full shift monitor i monitored the 2-3 gear solenoid signal with a meter. how ? ( like this ...i removed the radio as its not working anyway...used the ignition wire for it connected the hot to the hot to my meter..ran a wire from the solenoid ( yellow/black for the 2-3 solenoid ) drove it a few miles and guess what ? the tcm is sending the signal to shift because the meter voltage jumped to 15.5 vdc after around 35mph it shifted from 1st to 2nd then i watched the meter and bam 15.5 volts ... so its getting the upshift signal but its not shifting i assume its either a faulty (NEW) solenoid because you can apply power to it with engine off and hear it clicking...but that dont mean the cone in the valve is working properly...or a stuck or clogged valve in the valve body itself .... any thoughts before i tear it down again ???