Melted Solenoid Coil Wire– The results of a melted solenoid coil wire are the same as a broken one, the difference is going to be the conditions that caused the wire to melt. A broken shift solenoid wire is going to be caused by a lot of harsh vibration, or high voltage that’s out of the normal range. There’s more on both of those conditions and what causes them directly below.īroken Solenoid Coil Wire– In the event that the 4L60E solenoid coil wire breaks, the solenoid will no loner be able to create the magnetic field. If the reading is less than 20 ohms than it’s probably melted. If no resistance is found, than you know that the solenoid is bad, and that it is broken. You should be looking for 20-30 ohms of resistance. You can test the solenoids with an OHM meter. Most of the problems that occur with a 4L60E shift solenoid are caused by the coil wire going bad in some way. In this situation the transitional will remain a neutral regardless of what gear you put it in. Stuck in Neutral– If a shift solenoid has failed entirely, that it’s entirely possible that the transmission will not work at all. Or, to put it another way, it’s can’t quite settle on the right gear. It also may act like it is trying to “find the right gear”. Inconsistent Shifting– Often when a shift solenoid goes bad in the 4L60E, it’ll cause a lot of erratic shift behavior. Furthermore, if there seems to be a lot of time between when the transmission exits one gear and enters another, than it’s a pretty good indication of a bad shift solenoid. To put it simply, it is stuck doing what it was doing when the solenoid failed.ĭelay Going in Gear/ Between Gears– If there is a long pause between gear selection and engagement, it can often be attributed to a faulty shift solenoid. This is due to the fact that the transmission fluid cannot be rerouted to the part of the transmission that would be making the next move. Here are the main symptoms of a bad 4L60E shift solenoid.įailure to Downshift– The 4L60E will often fail to downshift if one or more of the shift solenoids are stuck open or closed. This movement is achieved through the creation of a magnetic field within them. This action makes the transmission shift into different gears. Simply put, the shift solenoid has a spring loaded plunger inside of it that will move transmission fluid in and out of different parts of the transmission. Shift solenoids are relatively basic in design and principal. The shift solenoids are the means by which this control is physically achieved within the transmission. This is where the “E” in 4L60E comes from. The short answer would be that the shift solenoids found within the 4L60E transmission receive instructions from the ECU/TCM to open and close. The good news is, that if you do have a bad one, they’re really inexpensive. The purpose of this article is to help you identify 4L60E shift solenoid symptoms. In the 4L60E, shift solenoid problems can cause a lot of trouble. Modern automatic transmissions use hydraulic fluid, which is activated by solenoids, to shift gears.