Re: Full manual control of the 03-72LE 4 speed automatic trans, no ECU/TCU involved.

[Vads]

Some background information in this post, and I'll get to the tech/pictures in the 2nd post. 

I recently installed the electronic 4 speed automatic trans from a 2002 Vitara in to the Samurai, and as my Sammy is a dedicated trailer queen trail rig, I wanted full manual shifting with it, much the same as I had set up the 4L80E trans in my K5 Blazer.  I was pretty sure I could pull this off with just some simple wiring mods, and I was right. 

As a reminder, this ONLY applies to the electronically shifted 03-72LE transmissions.  This will not apply to the non electronic versions, such as the popular Volvo/Isuzu versions.  This also means you HAVE to control each shift yourself.  You will have ZERO automatic shifting.  The trans will go into any gear you select, at any time.  This means you can start in 2nd, 3rd, or 4th gear if you want, or pull it back to 1st gear at 70mph on the freeway, with the obvious catastrophic results.  I do not recommend trying that, lol. 

Yes, I know Rory/RADesigns makes both a rail shifter, and a Art Carr/Winters shifter for these transmissions, but I didn't want an extra shifter in there, so the rail shifter was out.  When I looked into his Winters shifters back before I started this, I found that he sets them up with a left/right slide for the 2/3 shift, which I'm not fond of.  As these transmissions only have 3 gates for the0. forward gears, we can't set them up with direct shifting of each gear, so there's going to be two gears in one gate somewhe?
my case, I didn't see myself using 4th/OD all that often, so putting the left/right slide in the 3rd gear gate makes more sense for me, or putting it on an external toggle switch altogether.  The latter is the route I chose for now. 

That said, I'm NOT knocking Rory's products.  He makes a solid product, and is an excellent solution for those who aren't comfortable modifying the electrics, or want a plug and play solution.  A buddy is running a RAD shifter in his Samurai, and is very happy with it. 

After looking at the wiring diagrams, and pinout information of these transmissions, I realized that I could leverage the Range Select switch, commonly referred to as the Neutral Safety Switch, to control the solenoids for each gear change.  This switch normally tells the ECU/TCU what gear has been chosen on the shifter, and has specific outputs for P,R,N,D,2,1.  Combine this with 1 extra external switch, and you will be able to access all 4 gears with zero extra electronics.

Sir do you have schematic diagram. I would like to manually control my 03 72le transmission.  Thank you

 

[Ned Kelly]

From Otto VT on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/233903101328558/

How to turn a Sidekick / Tracker 03-72LE / A44DE 4 speed automatic in to manual shift, using stock shifter and no TCM.
On drivers side off transmission you have the solenoid connector with 3 wires:
Solenoid #1 also called A - Green
Solenoid #2 also called B - Green/red
Torque converter lockup - Green/yellow. You can add a switch to that if you want to use the torque converter lockup.
On passenger side you have the gear selector switch with 9 wires, we need 4 wires that are located towards the front on the switch - Yellow - Green - Yellow/Green - Yellow/Blue.
( If your wire colors are different, please contact me and I should be able to help you )
Check and make sure you have continuity between these wires when the gear selector is in:
D - Yellow and Green
2 - Yellow and Yellow/Green
1 - Yellow and Yellow/Blue
If not, you can take the switch apart and clean up the contacts.
So here is how the transmission works:
1st gear - power to solenoid # 1
2nd gear - power to solenoid # 1 and 2
3rd gear - power to solenoid # 2
4th gear - power is off
Reverse is all mechanical, so you need to put the shifter in reverse.
For this mod you will also need 2 diodes, I used these 1N5822RL about $0.50 a piece.
Hook up gear selector switch and solenoid wires according to pictures.
Note, the diodes may be drawn wrong in the picture? The striped end off the diode should be closest to the solenoid connector.
Add ignition power to the O/D switch button on the shifter handle and then hook that up to the Yellow wire on the gear selector switch, remember 4th gear is power off, so when you push the O/D button with the selector in D, it goes in to 4th gear. If you don't wan't to use the O/D button, then just use a regular switch.
Now you have a manual shifting automatic, and you can start in whatever gear you choose, and it will stay in that gear for however long you wish.
A less complicated way to do this is to just use 2 regular switches and don't mess with the gear selector switch, and no diodes needed for this, you will however need to operate those switches in order to change gears:
Add power to the 2 switches and hook one up to solenoid # 1 and the other to # 2
With the gear selector in D use the switches to switch gears:
1st gear - switch # 1 - ON
2nd gear - switch # 1 and 2 - ON
3rd gear - switch # 2 - ON
4th gear - switch # 1 and 2 - OFF
You can shift in to reverse from any switch setting, the transmission mechanically turns off the hydraulic circuit for the solenoids, when shifting in to reverse.
When doing this, your check engine light will probably come on, and I don't know if the ECM will go in to limp home mode or not. Using an ECM from a 5 speed may solve that problem

 

[beekiller]

From Otto VT on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/233903101328558/

How to turn a Sidekick / Tracker 03-72LE / A44DE 4 speed automatic in to manual shift, using stock shifter and no TCM.
On drivers side off transmission you have the solenoid connector with 3 wires:
Solenoid #1 also called A - Green
Solenoid #2 also called B - Green/red
Torque converter lockup - Green/yellow. You can add a switch to that if you want to use the torque converter lockup.
On passenger side you have the gear selector switch with 9 wires, we need 4 wires that are located towards the front on the switch - Yellow - Green - Yellow/Green - Yellow/Blue.
( If your wire colors are different, please contact me and I should be able to help you )
Check and make sure you have continuity between these wires when the gear selector is in:
D - Yellow and Green
2 - Yellow and Yellow/Green
1 - Yellow and Yellow/Blue
If not, you can take the switch apart and clean up the contacts.
So here is how the transmission works:
1st gear - power to solenoid # 1
2nd gear - power to solenoid # 1 and 2
3rd gear - power to solenoid # 2
4th gear - power is off
Reverse is all mechanical, so you need to put the shifter in reverse.
For this mod you will also need 2 diodes, I used these 1N5822RL about $0.50 a piece.
Hook up gear selector switch and solenoid wires according to pictures.
Note, the diodes may be drawn wrong in the picture? The striped end off the diode should be closest to the solenoid connector.
Add ignition power to the O/D switch button on the shifter handle and then hook that up to the Yellow wire on the gear selector switch, remember 4th gear is power off, so when you push the O/D button with the selector in D, it goes in to 4th gear. If you don't wan't to use the O/D button, then just use a regular switch.
Now you have a manual shifting automatic, and you can start in whatever gear you choose, and it will stay in that gear for however long you wish.
A less complicated way to do this is to just use 2 regular switches and don't mess with the gear selector switch, and no diodes needed for this, you will however need to operate those switches in order to change gears:
Add power to the 2 switches and hook one up to solenoid # 1 and the other to # 2
With the gear selector in D use the switches to switch gears:
1st gear - switch # 1 - ON
2nd gear - switch # 1 and 2 - ON
3rd gear - switch # 2 - ON
4th gear - switch # 1 and 2 - OFF
You can shift in to reverse from any switch setting, the transmission mechanically turns off the hydraulic circuit for the solenoids, when shifting in to reverse.
When doing this, your check engine light will probably come on, and I don't know if the ECM will go in to limp home mode or not. Using an ECM from a 5 speed may solve that problem

Killer post! Thanks for sharing that!

 

[Ned Kelly]

This is the diagram posted by Otto VT on Facebook.

 

[Ned Kelly]

More pics from Otto VT on fb.

 

[Ned Kelly]

...and last few.
Good info that Otto VT guy has shared. I think he is Admin for " Suzuki A/T Swap Tech " group on FB.