Cadillac Owners Forum banner

kickdown isn't working in my 79 deville

2K views 9 replies 4 participants last post by  newside 
#1 ·
hi guys, i've been working on my 79 deville awhile now and it's driving me crazy. the car won't kickdown when i look for passing gear. i've replaced the intake gasket, replaced the choke pulloffs, checked vacum hoses, checked the kickdown switch on the carb and replaced the kickdown solenoid.if anyone has an idea i'd sure appreciate it. thanks again
 
#3 ·
i tested the wire coming into the switch and it was hot then i ran continuity through the switch and the switch allowed current through it when the throttle is wide open, i did not check the outgoing wire from the switch to the kickdown solenoid in the tranny, possible it's broke somewhere
 
#5 ·
hi guys, anyone with a 77-79 deville might be able to help me. In the middle of the firewall right behind the back of the intake is a cluster of wires that pass through the firewall, within the cluster of wires is a 6" wire with a 2 prong connecter with 2 brown wires going to it. i can't find anything that would hook up to this connecter. i've been underneath and all over the back of the car with no sign of anything that would match up. thanks
 
#7 ·
The wire sticking out of the firewall is a connector for the Fuel Ecomomy Option. A Vaccuum switch would connect to this wire and ground the circuit for either the green or orange light. That wire has nothing to do with the kickdown.

The kickdown switch has to be properly aligned with the throttle for it to ground at around 75% throttle. It you manually depress the switch with the ignition on engine off in a quiet place, you should be able to hear the faint click coming from the trans which is the kickdown solenoid. Be sure the the switch is aligned properly because if it isn't it may never complete the circuit. Also make sure the connector is clean where it enters the trans and check the ga trans fuse is not blown.

Good Luck
Mike
 
#9 ·
Yeah what casciomichael said, I typed in a response yesterday while the site was crashing but it disappeared in cyberspace. I didn't even know my Fleetwood had the fuel economy monitor until I saw where the brown wires went. I don't remember my 78 coupe having it but it's been awhile.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top