By Wayne Colonna ATSG President
Programming Ford’s Focus and Fiesta vehicles that use the dry double clutch DPS6 Powershift Transmission can be difficult. Using non-OEM equipment, when all things go perfectly, the programming process can be done in minutes. Other times, when it decides to be finicky, it can take up to three hours to get it done. On one such occasion, we had a vehicle in the shop that would not program. It would produce the following transmission related codes
• P0219-00 Engine Overspeed Condition – Pending DTC
• Range/Performance – Pending DTC Warning Lamp ON
• P287B-00 Shift Fork “A” Calibration not learned – Pending DTC Warning Lamp ON
Not being able to get this vehicle programmed, it was sent to the dealer for it to be done using OEM equipment. When the dealer initiated the programming event using their equipment, it too aborted the procedure. They told us that it could not be programmed due to an internal transmission failure. And they specifically stated a broken case being the cause. This suggested that they knew something we had yet to see. And having already been inside the transmission, it was a bit difficult to believe.
With the TCM being original to the unit, the thought came to put a new one on, as a means for verification. By doing this, we confirmed an internal issue existed. The transmission was removed and dismantled for inspection. It took some looking, but the problem was discovered.
Figure 1 is a view of the clutch cover case half while figure 2 shows the main case half. On both case halves you will see metal type inserts in the case that are orange in color. These support Gear Select Drums 1 and 2 which are used to operate the shift fork rails. The idea of these inserts is to prevent the mounting pins from wearing into the case. And they do just that. However, the rib support for Gear Select Drum 2 has been known to not hold up to the torque load causing it to breakaway as seen in figure 3. And this is what happened to our DPS6 case. With this support rib broken away, it prevents the Gear Select Drum 2 to rotate properly inhibiting the engagement and disengagement of the shift fork synchro. This in turn affected shift motor function preventing the programming process of the computer. With the problem now identified, the headache of finding a case half was the fix to this program problem.
A good tip here is, when a new job comes in, drain some fluid, and look at the condition of the fluid. When the case piece breaks, it gets ground up into dust by the gears. So, if you have a metallic looking type of fluid, chances are you have a case issue. Another issue that has come up preventing a “relearn” procedure is low battery voltage. The relearn procedure will abort resulting in a “reset green clutch flag” message to show up. During the KOEO process of the relearn, observe battery voltage. In one example, we saw 11.9 volts which is a 40% charged battery giving us this problem. Putting a battery voltage maintainer on the vehicle allowed for the relearn to get set. Although this step let the relearn procedure take, it verified the need for a new battery to be installed.
Wayne Colonna has been with the Automatic Service Group for over 30 years. As President of ATSG and Director of Quality at ETE REMAN, Wayne is helping to usher the transmission industry to the highest of standards. When he’s not at ETE in Milwaukee, he can be found with his wife in Miami taking her out to eat, playing Spanish guitar, or maybe enjoying a bottle of fine wine.
