# Transmission shift solenoid **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** focus, ford\ **Created:** [June 10, 2023, 1:55am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/transmission-shift-solenoid/191074 "2023-06-10T01:55:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bbranham5\_185578](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f07891/32.png) [@bbranham5\_185578](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bbranham5_185578)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2023, 1:55am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/transmission-shift-solenoid/191074/1 "2023-06-10T01:55:10Z")
I have gotten a p0751 shift solenoid performance a stuck off code on a 2 l 05 zx4 I’ve changed the transmission filter solenoids A and B and gasket put new fluid inside and now I’m hard shifting getting the same error code again and I’m at a loss what to do somebody please help me the fluid that is new after driving 25 miles is still red non-gritty non burnt any advice would be greatly appreciated the solenoids came from a well-known eBay auto parts store I cleaned out the oil pan and gasket the magnet under the filter and the seal on the edges the reason why I did all of this was because I got the same error code because it was soft slipping at first because the shift solenoid A was stuck open ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2023, 1:21pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/transmission-shift-solenoid/191074/2 "2023-06-10T13:21:06Z")
Welcome to the forum. Punctuation is very helpful because it makes things more readable. If no one reads this, you won’t get answers. That said, new solenoids with a stuck off code tells me the solenoids you bought are bad or the wiring to them is bad. Or the TCM is bad. Check the wires from the TCM for opens or shorts. Check the solenoid for the same at the entry point of the electrics into the transmission. Check the signal to the solenoids at tne TCM when driving. ---
**Author:** ![davesmopar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/davesmopar/32/41750_2.png) [@davesmopar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/davesmopar)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2023, 1:48pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/transmission-shift-solenoid/191074/3 "2023-06-10T13:48:37Z")
+1 For Mustangman… I really need to find one of these DCT/DCPS (Dual Clutch Power Shift) transmissions and take one apart… lol… Never worked on one… ---
**Author:** ![bbranham5\_185578](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f07891/32.png) [@bbranham5\_185578](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bbranham5_185578)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2023, 2:06pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/transmission-shift-solenoid/191074/4 "2023-06-10T14:06:08Z")
Ahhh thank you. I do apologize for the bad punctuation I was voice to typing this out because my hands were rather greasy from the fluid after doing the change. But hmm, there is something to be said about the solenoids being bad or the connections, I believe the TCM should still be good cause I haven’t had any serious issues with the transmission until I changed everything… I have put 2000 miles on the car since it was given to me after having sat for a year and the only transmission problem I got was it slipped going into 2nd gear. But I put Lucas trans fix and it stabled out, just hard some hesitancy going into fourth on the highway but I figured that had something to do with it having 293000 miles on it. How do I test the signals going to the tcm? Is there something specific to be looking for on the OBD2 scanner or some other way of testing? But for the solenoids, I do remember not having cleaned the fluid completely off all the wires before reconnecting, or maybe these solenoids are just bad. First I want to test the signal to the TCM, please instruct me how to do that, and then I will probably go in and get solenoids from auto zone or something. I called myself being cheap and getting them in a kit off Ebay. Something to note as well…I noticed loud shifting, when I was I parked and just changing through the gears to work the new fluid into the transmission…should that be cause for alarm, or does that have any bearing on the situation im having. ANY HELP would be greatly appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2023, 2:21pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/transmission-shift-solenoid/191074/5 "2023-06-10T14:21:54Z")
You need to go old school. A digital volt ohm meter (dvm) is the tool you use for this. I can be set to volts or resistance… read the instructions that come with it. Find the TCM, find the wiring connections to the trans and test betwwen them. I won’t try and teach you how to use a dvm with text. Look for a youtube video showing how to use one. There are a number of videos on this transmission and its problems so do a little surfing. ---
**Author:** ![davesmopar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/davesmopar/32/41750_2.png) [@davesmopar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/davesmopar)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2023, 2:34pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/transmission-shift-solenoid/191074/6 "2023-06-10T14:34:25Z")
Get your transmission stuff from a transmission parts place… I mainly use as do a lot of builders WIT. (Whatever It Takes)… [www.wittrans.com](http://www.wittrans.com), they have great prices, way less then auto parts stores most of the time… But stay away from Auto Zone… lol ---
**Author:** ![bbranham5\_185578](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f07891/32.png) [@bbranham5\_185578](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bbranham5_185578)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2023, 2:42pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/transmission-shift-solenoid/191074/7 "2023-06-10T14:42:21Z")
Yeah I can do that lol, I use a volt meter at work occasionally to test solid state relays. Now my issue Im worried about, is if it’s the wiring…what do I do??? That’s a mess I’m not sure I trust my skills to deal with since it’s electrical. I’m more of a wrench monkey… I can do basic soldering but that’s not gonna really help with wires that will be sitting in fluid? And as for the parts stores…umm i can try see if the solenoids is at O’Reilly’s, but Im not really able to wait on parts to come out to me since this car is my only means of transportation out here in the boonies. ---
**Author:** ![davesmopar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/davesmopar/32/41750_2.png) [@davesmopar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/davesmopar)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2023, 3:18pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/transmission-shift-solenoid/191074/8 "2023-06-10T15:18:22Z")
Most parts houses offer a economy line and a better line, stay away from the economy line… You should be able to test the solenoids to see if they are stuck open or closed… **The testing of on/off solenoids is straightforward**. Pressure should be applied to the inlet, and if it is normally closed, you should not see pressure at the outlet. Once energized, you should see pressure at the outlet. For a normally open solenoid, the opposite is true. If you don’t trust your skills then it may be time to take it to a transmission shop… I would think that shift solenoids would have a open/close rate (like speed or timing) and being to slow could cause shifting issues, throw codes, cheap solenoids might work in theory but not in application, which could cause a flair up (slipping) if not fast enough… ---
**Author:** ![bbranham5\_185578](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f07891/32.png) [@bbranham5\_185578](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bbranham5_185578)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2023, 3:47pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/transmission-shift-solenoid/191074/9 "2023-06-10T15:47:45Z")
Man thank you so much that actually clears up a lot for me. I’m thinking one of two things thanks to your advice and information, either a, the solenoids I got were cheap and like you said they are not effective, or there’s an issue with he wiring from me not correctly cleaning and connecting it. So I will drop the pan and solenoids and test em tonight for pressure and see what happens. I just thought about something too… I change a and b and I’m getting two codes of the same number, this could be because it’s reading a code for both solenoids?? If true then maybe I did not connect them correctly or I bought cheap parts… what do you think? Cause it was reading two codes before the swap too… ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2023, 6:47pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/transmission-shift-solenoid/191074/10 "2023-06-10T18:47:56Z")
Just me but I’m not sure I would trust an eBay supplier. Go to all that work and find out it was made in China. Wire harnesses can be replaced but a certain amount of disassembly required. When Rollie the thief did my transmission, I told him I wanted a new wire harness put in while it was apart. Seven weeks later he claimed he put one in but the 4th gear solenoid didn’t work. Another shop had to drop everything again to put a new harness in. And the harness was a Detroit only item so I know Rollie lied. Trying to save $100 cost me another $300 to fix it. Bottom line, quality oem part, and good trans shop are your friends. ---
**Author:** ![davesmopar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/davesmopar/32/41750_2.png) [@davesmopar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/davesmopar)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2023, 8:51pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/transmission-shift-solenoid/191074/11 "2023-06-10T20:51:55Z")
I would check the wiring harness while the pan is dropped and solenoids are unplugged and make sure you have good continuedly on the wiring harness as Mustangman has already mentioned, as well as all the pins in the connecter (plugs) to make sure none are bent or broke etc… Normally when the same code shows up more then once it is a history code, pending code and or a hard code… Basically everything has it’s own designated code number… Just don’t forget you can still have wiring issues as Mustangman mentioned, mice, rats, squirrels, rabbits and any animal like that enjoy a wiring snack from time to time… lol… As well as other wiring (broken, corroded) issues as well as TCM issues… Worst case something internal broke… ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2023, 10:31pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/transmission-shift-solenoid/191074/12 "2023-06-10T22:31:31Z")
Can’t quite make it out, but I presume OP’s car is a 2015 Ford Focus ZX4. I’m not seeing that code applicable for a 2015 Focus in its L4-2 L configuration. Suggest OP review this recent thread for reference, not same problem, but similar, on Ford Focus. > [@Transmission trouble code comes and goes](https://community.cartalk.com/t/transmission-trouble-code-comes-and-goes/191053): > > My vehicle is a 2014 Ford Focus SE. Last Friday, I got in my car to drive somewhere, and I noticed a distinct hesitation when I would stop and go. This went on for a few hours. When I ran my scanner, I was getting the code P07A3, which I learned meant “transmission friction element a stuck on.” After a few hours, and after the car had sat for a half hour or so, I drove again, and this time it drove completely smoothly, and when I ran the scanner a second time, it was coming up totally clean. F… ---
**Author:** ![bbranham5\_185578](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f07891/32.png) [@bbranham5\_185578](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bbranham5_185578)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2023, 10:39pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/transmission-shift-solenoid/191074/13 "2023-06-10T22:39:24Z")
Sorry friend it’s for a 2005 Ford focus zx4 Se 2.0L ---
**Author:** ![bbranham5\_185578](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f07891/32.png) [@bbranham5\_185578](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bbranham5_185578)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2023, 10:43pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/transmission-shift-solenoid/191074/14 "2023-06-10T22:43:22Z")
Copy that. I’m getting higher quality solenoids from the a reputable companyi found costing almost 60 dollars a piece. When they come in I’ll drop the pan and use a volt meter to see if they getting continuity as was suggested, and I do know the wiring harness inside the pan is intact, because I took a picture of the job while I was doing. Totally forgot but I checked the wires in the photo and they all are intact but wet, so I’ll do checks for grounding possibilities and possible connection issues too. ---
**Author:** ![bbranham5\_185578](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f07891/32.png) [@bbranham5\_185578](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bbranham5_185578)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2023, 10:52pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/transmission-shift-solenoid/191074/15 "2023-06-10T22:52:06Z")
This did not help as I have older model car and the code I get is the shift solenoid not a friction one. ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2023, 10:58pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/transmission-shift-solenoid/191074/16 "2023-06-10T22:58:49Z")
With car off, parked in P, & the proper scan tool appears to be possible to command each selenoid (a,b,c,d, & e) on & off and verify it actually switches state. Seems a good place to start the diagnosis. Besides that about all a diy’er can do is to look at the electrical connector for problems (bent or corroded pins etc), and to remove the pan for a look-see at the fluid condition, sediment, metal shavings etc. New fluid & replace the transmission filter. If no joy, next step is to replace the solenoid on flyer. Common sense, if replacing A, good idea to also replace B. B failure probably not far behind. Note that a faulty solenoid could still pass a windings resistance test. ---
**Author:** ![bbranham5\_185578](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f07891/32.png) [@bbranham5\_185578](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bbranham5_185578)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2023, 11:23pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/transmission-shift-solenoid/191074/17 "2023-06-10T23:23:15Z")
Fairly simple enough, I have this information from the scanner tool I thought would work for some stuff but I don’t know exactly what I’m looking for as far as being able to tell if a shift solenoid is opening or not. so short of doing everything I just did over again, this is what’s being pulled up on the tool. After I did the replacement this code still came up. I’ve replaced a and b cause like you said, common sense said if a is going out b is likely to follow. So I’m at a loss since visually it doesn’t seem an issue. ![Screenshot_20230610_191702_RepairSol2.jpg](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/7/f/7fbd5d1754533317410d6b9610732b4e8d723ff1.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![bbranham5\_185578](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f07891/32.png) [@bbranham5\_185578](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bbranham5_185578)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2023, 11:24pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/transmission-shift-solenoid/191074/18 "2023-06-10T23:24:41Z")
This is under the pan. And before you ask yes I connected the purple wire before putting it back together lol. Visually nothing seems off or broken ![20230608_205436.jpg](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/a/c/ac689419b1fe1e07eadbf6025f57fb9e739d4207.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2023, 11:29pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/transmission-shift-solenoid/191074/19 "2023-06-10T23:29:20Z")
It’s sounding more and more like a hydraulics problem. Think of plumbing, pipes and valves. If a valve opens ok, but the pipe going to it, or going away is clogged, working valve still does nothing. If the scan tool tests says the valve is opening and closing on command like it should, likely something is clogged inside the transmission valve body. ---
**Author:** ![bbranham5\_185578](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f07891/32.png) [@bbranham5\_185578](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bbranham5_185578)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2023, 12:00am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/transmission-shift-solenoid/191074/20 "2023-06-11T00:00:03Z")
Ah see that’ clogged thing shouldn’t be the issue I’m having since thi tool is saying it’s stuck in mainly off position but that does give me an idea… How can I diy flush out the lines ?? Or would that cause more damage [Next page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/transmission-shift-solenoid/191074.md?page=2)