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11K views 23 replies 12 participants last post by  urbanski 
#1 ·
:worship: Ding dong the wicked CAGS is dead.
(celebrity voices impersonated)

Used the technique mentioned here:

http://www.ls1.com/link_cags.html

Spent ~$1 at Radio Shack (got 5 resitors for that!) used some E-tape, and <10 mintues of install (not including getting the car up or down, or the test drive).

BEST $1 I've spent on this car yet! :devil: Don't bother with $20 kits that MIGHT work.

Pictures and further descriptions if interested.
-Ben
 
#3 ·
That was the full intention (making it all nice and neat), however there are 1000 different plugs that GM uses (and I had already asked a few parts counters to figure out which plug it was - no luck there) and I first needed to find out if this mod even worked. I *MAY* go try to find the correct parts to do a neato job but at this point I might not.

Most important this can be done for ~$1.

-Ben
 
#5 ·
With Ben's help and the previously listed website link I as able to accomplish this mod in about 20 minutes on jackstands. The connector is on the driver's side, near the Dextron sticker on the transmission. It is black with two black barrels. If you follow the leads from the connector they go to the top of the transmission where the CAGS solenoid lies. You'll just barely see it. About the diameter of a silver dollar with a black silicone end (brass colored case, if I recall correctly).

So far the mod has been great! Don't miss the CAGS one bit.

Thanks Ben for giving this a shot on the V, and LS1.com for posting the information in the first place.

Bill
 
#6 ·
Ben:

I'd appreciate the additional information. I used a kit for my SS LS1 Camero, but if I can do it for a buck on a Cadillac, I am ready.
thanks in advance for your consideration in posting your change. I had looked on LS1.com and found it once but not the second time.
Rob
 
G
#9 · (Edited)
Yes it is on the V......EVERY T-56 transmission in cars (just for instance....Vipers, 1992 & up Vettes, 1993 & up Camaros/Firebirds, select Mustangs....STOP BUYING RICE BURNING CRAP ALREADY! :tisk: ) have all had CAGS. It makes me sad that this is the first Americans are learning of one of the all time great transmissions of the world twelve years after it first went into production. :banghead:

The following will be on the "I'm a gearhead American deserving a CTS-V" exam before one is allowed to sign the papers and drive away in the greatest Cadillac ever. ;)

With that in mind, class is now in session...:welcome:

Tremec (Formerly made by Borg-Warner) T-56 Transmission CAGS Class 101

CAGS is an acronym for Computer Aided Gear Selection and has been used on 1992 and newer on cars with the T-56, 6-speed transmission (remember these? real cars!...Vipers, Vettes, Camaros, Firebirds, select Mustangs...) . The purpose of CAGS is to improve gas mileage by skipping 2nd and 3rd gears under "normal" acceleration thus keeping the engine revolutions down, increasing gas mileage - avoiding the gas-guzzler tax.

The CAGS system blocks the shift gate to second gear when all four of the the following conditions are true at the same time:

1. You are in 1st gear (of course)
2. You are at 35% throttle or less
3. You are between 15 and 21 mph
4. And the engine coolant temperature is greater than 171 *F

When CAGS activates, it energizes a skip-shift solenoid inside the transmission and forces a 1st to 4th shift. What happens is you'll be moving happily along (normal acceleration from a stop light) and you will be locked out of 2nd gear. You simply cannot shift into it - the transmission transparently shifts right from 1st to 4th gear. At this point several options are available to you:
  • Shift into 4th like the EPA wants you to do :want:
  • Push it up in the gate and shift into 3rd
  • Shift into 5th
  • Shift into 6th
  • Coast in neutral until the RPMs drop and CAGS is disengaged
  • Shift back into 1st (or just leave it there to begin with) and open up the throttle a bit more, exceeding 35% throttle or 21 mph and then shift into 2nd gear.
Aftermarket companies have created CAGS disable kits for ~$25-30 or one can replicate this on the cheap DIY method by purchasing the proper resistor at an electronics store and inserting it in the CAGS connector under the car. The CAGS kit and the resistor method both work by fooling the car's computer into thinking that the CAGS harness is still plugged into the skip-shift solenoid.

Being an experienced T-56 owner for over eight years, I noticed the CAGS right away when drivng the V. The beauty part of the LS6 is that it makes so much torque down low that I'd bet most people don't even know that they went into fourth gear instead of second. The engine just grunts happily along shifting from 1st to 4th.,,,

And another little tid-bit, reverse gear has synchronizers on it......:bouncy: ..........and we'll discuss it in T-56 Class 102 if you haven't figured out what that means and allows one to do. :coolgleam
 
#10 · (Edited)
DarthVader said:
Yes it is on the V......EVERY T-56 transmission in cars
You forgot to note that the T-56 is also used in Australian Holdens and HSVs, and is now in the Aston Martin DB9 in SMG form. It isn't a car, but Dodge is also using it in the Viper-powered truck (whatever they call it.)

The Holdens (except for the US-market GTO) do not have CAGS. Of course, they don't have CAFE either.

Most civilized transmissions have synchros on reverse now.
 
#11 ·
Dodge is also using it in the Viper-powered truck (whatever they call it.)
SRT-10

Sounds like ass ointment. :p
 
#13 · (Edited)
Sorry all forgot about the PICS.

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING CAREFULLY - WORD OF WARNING to those who have yet to do this or are planning to order a kit. The LS1.com link shows a blue/white connector (and I will *ASSUME* that most of the kits fit this connector) on the CTSV this is REVERSE LOCKOUT (also a brass housing) solenoid and at the VERY REAR of the transmission (I seem to recall someone saying that they had the dealer put on a kit and then they were locked out of reverse - and therefore removed the kit). It would be hard to get them confused - but possible esp if you are looking for a blue white connector (that mates only to a kit or something). I think I can safely say that the CTSV CAGS connection is a slightly different connector (black dual barrel). I did NOT take pics of the blue/white connection for reverse lockout solenoid so that the *********** would NOT be confused while doing their CAGS mod.

And now onto the pics - if anyone needs a larger pic please raise your hand or PM me and I will email them to you. The resistor goes into the FEMALE (to computer) end (not the side going to the solenoid). It helps (but not required)to bend the wire ends of the restitor around a bit like a paperclip "V"- so it doesn't move around in there. One of the photos is digitally enhanced to more cleary show the location of the CAGS solenoid. This again is on the driver's side about halfway back on the trans case (near the Dexron sticker).

If you have sucessfully killed CAGS or need more info please let the world know!
-Ben
 

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#14 ·
It happened yesterday based on the guidance from the LS1 site. A little resistor and a lift and some tape, and voila! Much happier to be back in charge and not short shifting or adding too much power or whatever to avoid the trans popping into fourth gear at the most inappropriate times. Thanks for your post and for shedding some light on the one thing I could not stand about my new V.
 
#15 ·
Not sure if anyone mentioned this, and I can't confirm it in person yet, but my shop says they take CAGS out when they do a PCM tune. Anyone had theirs removed at a computer level? I thought I remembered More Performance confirming that, maybe I am on heroin.
 
#17 · (Edited)
They just set it to come on at 255 mph.
I was afraid of that. Now the damned thing will come on when I try to shift from 4th to 5th. Proof again that there is NO GOD! :banghead:
 
#20 ·
I've really never understood the issue with CAGS. When I'm "on it" I can shift 1,2,3,4 or whatever I choose. When I'm limping around I go 1 to 4. No biggie for me. If I still want to got 1,2 when limping a slight hesitation in your shift pattern is an easy fix. I'd rather do that then duct tape. JMHO.
 
#21 ·
CVP33,
I agree with what you said. I dont mind CAGS either until it kicks in and i was not expecting it to. So, for $7 (and yes, some duct tape) I put the resistor in the car to remove it. I can still go 1st to 4th whenever I want, but eh computer does not force me to do it.

I got no beef with CAGS (it probably saved me a gas guzzler tax), I just want to be able to decide that I am about to go up a hill and maybe 4th gear is not the best choice. I dont want to have to hit the gas to "fool" the car into making the decision I want (i.e. allowing me to go into 2nd).

Not a biggie, but why not remove it if you can.

Reed
 
#23 ·
I agreed with what Reed said (below) until today. I have also thought, "What's the big deal? If I'm really pounding it, I don't leave 1st until well after 21 mph, so it doesn't operate. If I'm not really pounding it, I don't care."
But today, I was going up a fairly steep incline in 1st, tried to drop into 2nd, and the bastard thing put me in 4th. Started lugging up the hill, engine almost died.
Got home and ordered from Stealth. Done deal.
 
#24 ·
ajedwardsjr said:
I agreed with what Reed said (below) until today. I have also thought, "What's the big deal? If I'm really pounding it, I don't leave 1st until well after 21 mph, so it doesn't operate. If I'm not really pounding it, I don't care."
But today, I was going up a fairly steep incline in 1st, tried to drop into 2nd, and the bastard thing put me in 4th. Started lugging up the hill, engine almost died.
Got home and ordered from Stealth. Done deal.
why in the WORLD would you bump a 2 year old thread?

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