AW4 not shifting out of 1st when in 1-2

[unclethumbtack]

I went wheeling today and as long as I was in 3 the tranny shifted fine. If I dropped into 1-2 it immediately dropped into 1st. If I took off in 1-2 it would not come out of 1. Any ideas? Where to start?

 

[Slip Kid]

If in 1-2 it is not supposed to shift out of 1 until somewhere over 4000 rpm. Shifting from 3 down to 1-2 is similar, it goes strait to 1st unless you are going a certain speed, which also seems too high. I modified it so I can manually control it while off-roading.

 

[unclethumbtack]

If in 1-2 it is not supposed to shift out of 1 until somewhere over 4000 rpm. Shifting from 3 down to 1-2 is similar, it goes strait to 1st unless you are going a certain speed, which also seems too high. I modified it so I can manually control it while off-roading.

I have three xj's and I have never noticed that it had to be 4k, I had it wrapped pretty tight today and it would not shift. I was probably going 20mph in 4LO.

 

[joe_peters]

If in 1-2 it is not supposed to shift out of 1 until somewhere over 4000 rpm. Shifting from 3 down to 1-2 is similar, it goes strait to 1st unless you are going a certain speed, which also seems too high. I modified it so I can manually control it while off-roading.

Agreed, 3500 to 4000.

 

[Slip Kid]

I have three xj's and I have never noticed that it had to be 4k, I had it wrapped pretty tight today and it would not shift. I was probably going 20mph in 4LO.

If it shifts into 2nd in other positions, then I would assume the solenoid is fine. Maybe the NSS is not properly telling the TCU that it is in the 1-2 position. "1-2" was the first NSS position to give me trouble, park came later, yet both are still intermittent problems on mine. I've rigged my way around my NSS problems, yet I'm never in auto mode and 1-2. Through the NSS connector, conductors A and H are connected in the 1-2 position(I dunno if this connector changed after 95, but labels should be the same anytime before that at least). Check it, wiggle it, and check it again, since this would be an expensive part to replace if the problem lies elsewhere.

 

[tbburg]

...,If I dropped into 1-2 it immediately dropped into 1st. If I took off in 1-2 it would not come out of 1. Any ideas? Where to start?

Sounds like normal AW-4 operation to me. Mine won't shift untill it's wrapped up around 4500 RPM.
What year rig you driving? If it's the early (renix) rig, you can wire in a switch to control the 1-2 shift, or there are a variety of shift controllers available. (search "baja shifter" that's a good one.)
For the late (OBD-II) rigs, messing with the electronic shift controller(the TCU) outputs will throw a code, set off a check engine light, and I've been told it will send the trans into manual mode(giving you 1st, 3rd, and OD manually)
The only option for the OBD-II rigs is from these guys:
http://www.montanafab.com/aw4_trany_overide.php

It's kind of pricey, but it works and solves the problem. I bought one and like it. Here's my install write-up
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1010278&highlight=montana+fab

 

[unclethumbtack]

You guys were right. I took it out to a dirt road and wrapped it up to about 4200 and shifted. Thanks for the input.