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Possible AW4 Issue??

cherokeecrawler

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Atlanta, GA
I'm having a problem with my AW4. Everything is stock other than suspension, exhaust and intake. Problem arises when I'm in overdrive going up a steep incline and it doesn't have enough power but it absolutely refuses to downshift, it's stayed in 4th till it slowed to 30 before... Only way it will downshift is if I completely lift and get back on it. Is this factory or is something messed up?

Thanks, Aidan.
 
What year? Sounds like a mis-adjusted kickdown (Throttle Valve) cable, but knowing the year would help.
 
Adjust the throttle-trans cable (often incorrectly referred to as a kickdown cable, since it doesn't control when to shift). The most likely culprit is the Throttle Position Sensor (TPS).
 
Sorry, should have probably included that in there. It's a '99 sport 4wd. The CEL did come on a few months ago for the TPS after a wheeling trip, but I cleared it and it never came back on. How do you adjust the throttle-trans cable?
 
Sorry, should have probably included that in there. It's a '99 sport 4wd. The CEL did come on a few months ago for the TPS after a wheeling trip, but I cleared it and it never came back on. How do you adjust the throttle-trans cable?


No code doesn't mean the TPS isn't bad. Test it and replace if necessary.
 
I'm a bit lost....
What are you doing in O.D going up a steep hill for?
Sounds like a totally wrong ratio s election !
Am I missing something I do not not understand?
Even with any auto you are better off selecting the right rangge and holding it in the appropriate revs correctly.
Wheel/tyre overall diameter has as lot to do with sync of ratio/ labouring I believe
 
It has 32s and stock gearing. I usually just put it in drive and it shifts to OD once i hit 43ish. I live in North Ga so there's a lot of curvy back roads and hills so 3rd and OD is where i due most of my driving. It does just fine on most but there's a few hills that just kill it near my house, I can be cruising right along in OD and then it'll start slowing down due to not enough power but it wont down shift. I either have to completely lift or give it enough gas to where it jumps up to 3500 on the tac and takes off. Its quite annoying as 1st, 2nd and 3rd down shift just fine. I'm happy with the gearing offroad and I don't plan on getting a bigger tire anytime soon so re-gearing just to fix OD seems a little unnecessary. If i wanted to manually shift it i'd put an ax15 in, just want my auto to due it's job correctly ya know?

I'll check the TPS connectors as yall pointed out when I get home. Thanks again.
 
You definitely need to correct the speed reported to the PCM and TCM. They both depend on the reported speed to select the correct gear.

32 inch tires and 3.55 gears are a no, no for the XJ with the AW4 in hilly country. My XJ also have 32 inch but 4.10 gears. I do not see how you manage to drive up (steep) hills with the 4.0L and AW4 in supposedly in 4th and OD.
 
My 96 xj 4.0 aw4 np321 ran around 7 years with no speedometer or odometer. Cable got ripped out. It didn't affect how it shifted at all. Like the op though it has always wanted to stay in od unless you mash the gas or lift and reapply the gas. It was like this before, during, and after the speedo was fixed. And that also ranges from about 150k to 300k miles guessing... The TV cable has been adjusted multiple times the correct way with no change. I just got use to this condition lol

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 
You definitely need to correct the speed reported to the PCM and TCM. They both depend on the reported speed to select the correct gear.


Nope. The TCM only measures the output speed of the transmission using the output speed sensor. If does not connect to the speedo in the xfer case..
 
Adjusted the throttle-trans cable at lunch today(the right way too), still didn't make a difference. More than likely gonna need a TPS as yall said. And I didn't think the speedo sensor mattered since I've seen xjs run fine with a broken speedo but wasn't sure.
 
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