hi, so i just bought a 89 xj. dumb question, but what is the transmission switch thing for and how do i know if its working or not?

 

It will move the shift point down just a tad. I barely bother with it. If you are say going up a hill in drive and its lugging a bit, you can hit it, sometimes it will down shift right then because of the shift point moving. (that's one way to test it).

No! Not a dumb question at all. Maybe a dumb switch though!

 

You're supposed to use the "power" setting when you tow a trailer or carry a heavy load and the "comfort" setting when driving regular. My current '91 has this and my old '92 didn't.

 

Same as what they said above. However on later models they did away with the switch and hardwired the trans to the "power" shift points. Both '89s I've owned had the switch. On the one I'm driving right now the LED doesn't light up so the PO said it was broken, but a simple test with a multimeter shows it's working fine.

 

Leave it in Power mode. But, make sure the 7.5 amp "trans" fuse in the fusebox isn't blown. Those switches were known for shorting internally and leaving you in the dreaded Grandma/Comfort mode.

 

thank you all for the quick reply. ill be sure to get that fuse checked out asap.

 

i dont know where to post this question, so im gonna ask it here instead of opening another thread.. but, what welding machine would be considered bare minimum for welding onto the chassis or axle?

 

Dude ive read multiple posts youve hijacked by posting this in it, wrong forum, wrong thread and just start a new thread ask your question and youll have a better time getting it answered!

 

Yes, but he's hijacking his own thread. I agree though, just ask your question about the welder in Cherokee Chat or follow the advice given to you by odgreen89on35s on your other thread and get that Lincoln 100 thing.

As far as the switch, on my '89 it won't switch on the fly (at least the light won't come on), I have to put it in park, then flip the switch and the light comes on. When it was on, it seemed like it held the gear for an extra 500 or so RPM before upshifting and it seemed to prevent overdrive from engaging but maybe just wasn't going fast enough.

 

The switch should have nothing to do with "on the fly". It just sends power to a terminal on the TCU. Those switches are very prone to failure though.

Overdrive still works, as does torque converter lock-up, just not as soon as it does in the Comfort mode.

Both my Jeeps have no switch now and are jumpered at the switch plug into Power mode.