I have a 1996 Ford F150 with a 5.8 liter engine and a E4OD Automatic transmission... Anyway, last sunday I got gas and AFTER filling up the indicator light on the end of the shifter started blinking.
Things got really intresteing as i started trouble shooting I'll list all her symptoms then if anyone has any ideas please let me know.

You can start the truck drive ALL over town and the transmission shifts perfectly, no slipping or hard shifting.
If you get out on the hwy and get into OD it goes into OD perfectly, if you continue to drive in OD for about 2 miles then the indicator light starts blinking. It never slips or trys to come out of OD it drives perfectly no problems at all.
After the indicator light starts blinking: If you come to a stop and start driving again it starts shifting hard. To best explain it... it doesn't slip into gear it pops into gear, hard enough to rattle the truck.
Turn the truck off and start it back up and your back at no blinking light no problems.

I trouble shot a bunch of differant things, the one I found most interesting is... if you take the truck out of OD and drive it like that the indicator light never comes on. I drove on the hwy last night for almost 15 miles with the OD turned off and never had any problems. (burned a lot of gass though LOL).
But, to add a twist, the light was coming on in OD at high speeds contantly until I burned all the gas i mentioned before and put in a full new tank of a slightly higher octane yesterday and now it's hardly coming on at all.

So, does anyone have any ideas? I have a couple of ideas. One of them is the Torque Converter Sensor (TCS) or possible the Lockout silenoid. But I can't find a Blowout Diagram of the E4OD Transmission, so I'm not sure where either of these sensors are located.
Needless to say, lots of information, but now I'm stuck. Help Please

 

Until you read your fault codes, you will never know why it's blinking.

The PCM is capable of flagging certain faults long before you notice a degradation in the operation of the tranny.

...probably excessive slippage....

Pull the fault codes with a scan tool.

Steve

 

Had it scanned the computer said that the torque converter is not locking in. At least thats what the tech at the ford dealership said. They wouldn't give me a printout or anything in writing. They just told me that.

 

Ask them for the "DTC" (fault code). Descriptions don't help much.

Steve

 

flashing od light means high trans temp starts flashing at 250 from what im told by ford trans tech

 

The ford service dept refuses to give me the codes or a printout. It's complicated and i am VERY upset with them. Lets just say they charged me $65 to scan my vehicle won't give me any proof they scanned it then tried to tell me it would cost $2900 to replace the Torque convertor. That's why I put up this post, hoping someone could give me other possiblities. If it was my torque converter then I would think that my truck would be acting stange ALL the time not just after i get it in OD.
Wanted to update though... I filled the truck up again and ran an injection cleaner through it and the indicator light hasn't come back on again. It's still shifting perfectly.
So, now I'm really scratching my head. Could bad gas have caused all this mess? Doesn't sound probable, but I'm still asking. And how do you tell if your transmission is overheating?
Also, I HAD to pull a horse trailer (ER visit for the pony) day before yesterday and it pulled my trailer fine, just like it always had. No indication of problems while the trailer was hooked up or since it was hooked up? I'm beginning to think my truck is haunted

 

You can take your truck to your local Autozone(or other parts house) and ask them to use their scan tool to read your fault codes. They'll do it for free. Then come back here and post the exact codes for more help.

Ford may have cleared your codes and it may take a few drive cycles for the error to return. But to be safe, stop by the Zone at your earliest convience and have them scan for codes.

Investing in a scan tool for vehicles that can be scanned is a wise investment. For most cases, you don't need anything fancy.

Best of luck.

 

Autozone scanned it on Monday before Ford Service dept got it, came back with no codes no errors, nothing. Had them do it with the engine on and again with it off. The truck came back as clear. Battery hasn't been disconected or anything in FOREVER, so i know when autozone looked at it would have given a correct reading. Funny thing was when they scanned it first the indicator light was blinking and it still came back with no codes.

I'm still scratching my head LOL. It is very seldom a truck gets the better of me, this is just one of those times.

 

Autozones don't have scan tools that are capable of reading Ford transmission codes. You need to find someone that can read them. Maybe another dealer, or a good trans shop.

 

To expand on what Mark said, consumer grade scanners and readers come in several general varieties.

A generic code reader/scanner can read the "generic" OBDII codes. These are the codes that are consistent across all makes and models of vehicles with OBDII systems. The codes range up to P0999 and have the exact same meaning regardless of the manufacturer of the vehicle. These range in retail price up to around $125 or so.

Units that cost up to $250 or so generally add the ability to read
"manufacturer-specific" fault codes. These are the codes that range between P1001 and P1999. This is the minimum level of tool that you need to use for reading transmission-related fault codes.

Ford vehicles from 2004 and newer require scan tools with "CAN-capability" due to the upgrade of the computer's interface.

Generally, AZ's scanners are of the first category and have limited usability beyond reading basic emissions-related fault codes. Additionally, many stores still use the older style that cannot even connect to the newer vehicles.

If you wish to invest in a scan tool that will be useful into the future, look for "CAN-capable" and "manufacturer-specific code support" as part of your minimum specification requirements.

Steve

 

I'd go to a local transmission repair shop. Ask around and find one that has a decent reputation. I would think a converter problem like that could be repaired for less then half of what the dealer quoted you. You could get a complete re manufactured tranny for 2 grand installed.

 

Thank you, I talked to a local transmission guy yesterday and he said "lockout selinoid, no problem sweetie" (I just hate being called sweetie LOL) anyway, he asked me to bring it in when the indicator light is blinking, he said it was the only way that he could get a reading off of the computer. So, I'm waiting for the light to come on again. We drove it about 200 miles yesterday, stop and go most of the way, and the light never came on. It actually worries me that it didn't. Silly truck, thinking about trading it in or selling it. Tired of fixing everything. Thanks for all the help. I'll keep plodding along and see if its going to come back on again.

 

That's because he doesn't know what he's doing.

When the OD light flashes a code is stored in the computer's memory. It will stay there for about a month after the last time the light flashed. You may need to find a shop that knows how to diagnose this, and doesn't call you sweetie!

 

Thanks Mark.... LOL the curse of being a girl.
Anyway, i did get into a shop (differant one) and it didn't read any codes. Nothing, Nada, Zilch... I still wonder if my truck is haunted It hasn't done it again and I have tried EVERYTHING to get it to. I've pulled the horse trailer 3 times now, taken out on open highway for several miles and it just won't come back on. I don;t know. Does anyone know if bad gas could have caused the problem. I really don't see how, but it's worth asking. It's been running like a top ever since I put the injector cleaner in it and ran a full tank of 93 octane through it.
I'm frustrated with it, because i was taught "when your truck starts talking to you, you better get the damned thing to the shop." Words of wisdom from my Dad. But she's not talking anymore.
Could it have been a fluk?

 

It could have been a fluke. That happens once in a while. It is also likely that the first shop cleared the computer's memory, so unless it acts up again the codes are gone for good.

From your description I'll bet that the torque converter clutch is starting to slip. It doesn't take a lot of RPM slippage to set a code and flash the OD light, so if it happens you won't notice it, but the computer will.

If it is the torque converter clutch it will start happening more often. Turning off the OD will buy you some time because the clutch doesn't work as hard in third gear as it does in overdrive.

If it were mine I'd continue driving it and see if it starts happening more often.