Just installed Bassani catback and magnaflow catpipes and took my 2003 Lightning out for a spin to check out the exhaust. Punched it about 3/4 throttle from a 20 mph roll and the truck shifted kinda funny and then pretty much fell on its face. Coasted to a stop in a nearby supdivision and checked everything out, nothing appears to be wrong...but now I have a blinking O/D shift light and had a check engine light until I disconnected the battery. Disconnected the battery 3 different times for like 10 minutes at a time, but it still hasn't helped. The truck starts and idles fine but as soon as you put it into gear and try to give it gas it starts running very rough and will barely move. All O2 sensors appear to be connected fine. PLEASE HELP! Truck is grounded and won't move out of it own way yet it starts and idles fine.
ANY IDEAS???

 

check all the connections to the tranny I have read post where during the installation 02 sensor wires have melted or grounded out causing simular issues. Plus our trannies are electricly controlled if you take all the connectors of it will not move. It basicly stays stuck in what ever gear it was in.


Suavy

 

Suavy,
Thanks for your input. I now have the truck back home (was broken down about 3 miles down the road) I was able to limp it home. I started off in D (drive) and the truck was barely moving and running very rough, then decided to shift the truck into 2nd manually (was rolling about 10 mph) to see if that made a difference and it did, the truck immediately picked up and started running better, albeit not right and I was able to limp home.

Here is my trucks symptoms:
Starts and idles ok.
Put into drive and rpm's drop and engine starts running rough, the more gas I give it the rougher it runs.
Runs better in 2nd gear than in drive.
Flashing O/D light on shifter.
Did have check engine light before I unhooked battery, since battery has been unhooked it hasn't come back on.

BTW....truck is stock with the exception of the exhaust installed today, and a FTVB.

Thank you in advance for any input!

 

Might have to change your user name to "sad blue 03."

 

Any shorts in the transmission harness/ O2 sensors can cause those symtoms. Check the BLUE 15 Amp Fuse closest to the front of the truck in the fusebox under the hood (just ahead of the master cylinder). A shorted wire from the above will blow that fuse and result in your truck running like it does. Don't ask me how I know.

Lightning Bob

 

Any update? Didja find anything?

 

Yikes, I am glad I missed out on all that durring my fiday night bassani install.... Doing ok as far as I know.

I am also interested to see what you come up with for a solution.
Good Luck!

 

Upon LBob's advice I pulled out the blue 15 amp fuse closest to the front of the truck, and sure enough it was blown. So now I know what part of the problem is, but I'm thinking to myself this morning what caused this?....so I jack up the truck and the passenger side front O2 sensor is resting against the trans housing and the wire covering was rubbed through....I'm pretty sure this is the culprit. The problem is that on the Magnaflow catpipes the O2 sensor bung is welded in at such an angle that the O2 sensor is touching the trans housing. Gonna pull the exhaust off again to see if I can rotate the catpipe enough so that the O2 sensor will clear the trans housing. Gonna see if any of the parts stores in town have an O2 sensor that will work. Now my question is this? Can I get by with just replacing one of the O2 sensors, or do they have to be replaced in sets?

Thanks Lightning Bob for your advice!

 

At least you know what's wrong now ...

Holler if you need a hand, OK?

Might wanna have Exhaust Pro weld another bung in there ...

 

You can replace one the O-2 sensors individually. They are usually sold "by the each" rather than in sets. After you get the sensor replaced, I'd be interested to hear how you feel about the setup. I put a set of the low restriction cats on and was stunned by the increase in interior noise. The Magnaflow cat pipes are about half the wall thickness of the factory pipes and a bunch noiser inside the cab. I tried mine first with the stock muffler and found no change in the sound from outside the truck, only a new bllaaaaaaattttt noise inside. Also, as you've noticed, there are a pair of O-2 sensors both ahead of and behind the cats. I'm willing to bet that the factory designed it that way so the ECM could verify that the cats are working properly. I would not be suprised to find that the decreased efficiency of the aftermarket cats caused the motor to run slightly leaner. If you're not running a programmable chip, you may want to get something like a predator......