Hello from Dan. kb7uxe.
We have a 1994 Winnebago Vectra with the Cummins 5.9 and Allison MD3060.
The trouble is the shift pad. When it's cold, it did not want to shift out of neutral and pushing any of the buttons made no beep, and no diag..
And if you got it in gear, you may have to shut off the motor to get it to default back to neutral. I read where some were using hair dryer to get them to work. and in fact when the touch pad warmed up it did function fine.
I noticed that the thermostat for the heat/cooling was doing the same thing.
I disassembled the thermostat and found what seemed like a "coating" on the copper "pads" the carbon pads touch. ( maybe nicotine from previous owner who may have smoked or frying lots of bacon ? )
I used rubbing alcohol to clean them and a cloth towel to dry and remove the film. reassembled and it has worked without any problems regardless of temp.
The gooey buttons on the transmission pad would only work when warm, and this seemed to be getting worse. I used a syringe to inject alcohol under the pad with limited results. so, I finally bit the bullet and pulled the shift computer ( totally blind as I could not find instructions how to remove the computer anywhere. ) turns out it was pretty easy.. unplug 2 cables, and 4 philips screws with 7/16 nuts and it slides right out. it's held in place by a steel plate on one side. now this is where it gets tricky, the display has a small glass tail, that if bumped / damaged, the display will be dead. and no one fixes or repairs them ( to my knowledge )
If your lucky you can find one on ebay for about $1700. crazy..
Ok, so carefully placing the computer on the button face, cable connectors up, I removed the 4 screws the hold the display to the computer, then carefully removed the shift pad cable. gently set the computer aside.
on the bottom be very careful not to bend or damage the flat ribbon cable,
remove the 6 screws holding the ckt board in the housing. 1 screw was hiding under the paper insulator. you will notice the board has 2 plastic clips on one end, carefully lift the other end and slide out from under the clips. handle this board like it was nitro.. you will see the copper pads. IF the pads are intact and not damaged, were good. now carefully clean them with rubbing alcohol and I used a very fine emery cloth on the end of my finger and just a twisting motion to clean them up. do not push so hard as to flex the board.. clean again with alcohol and dry with a cloth. on the rubber pad that has the carbon dots, inspect them for damage, if they are intact, clean with alcohol , wipe on cloth to clean.. I used 90% rubbing alcohol. carefully reassemble, placing the board under the clips, then carefully replacing the screws not to flex or warp the board as you tighten them... replace the ribbon cable and front panel to the computer. re install in the rig. it will shift like a new unit. I thought about using brake cleaner, but was worried as the board was covered with finch, a soft sealer. I didn't want it dissolving back onto the pads I just cleaned. just seemed the alcohol was the least damaging solution to use.
I was lucky, none of my copper pads on the pc board were damaged, and none of the carbon pads on the rubber cover were damaged.
I was also lucky that I was very careful not to damage the cfe display..
I let the rig get cold, 43 deg F, this normally would have been a problem to shift, but, after the cleaning, it shifted just like a new rig.
So, if you have any physical damage to the board pads, or rubber cover carbon pads, you going have to bite the bullet and pay the $375 for
Transmission Instruments to fix your shifter. I spoke with the owner prior to doing this, he was very kind and helpful. If there was any damage to the pads, I would have stopped and sent the unit to him. I highly recommend them. I was lucky..
I also recommend finding the relay box, remove every relay and every fuse one at a time, clean the contacts and plug them in and out several times. The fuses and maybe the relays oxidise and no longer make contact. My display was getting bright then dim then bright.. until I has a no-start condition. The local Allison shop was clueless. until I heard the relay box click, and opened it, prolly first time since it was installed many years ago.. cleaned all fuses and relay contacts, never a problem since. :-)
your welcome to contact me anytime for help and information on my experience with this.
Dan. kb7uxe.
Rail!
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