deltsanddueces

I got rid of the ccc on my 84 olds 98 and I installed the b&m lock up controller and it won’t lock up the converter. I wired it through the brake light switch like it says to do in the instructions and I’m not sure I did it right bc the green light on the controller would stay on (as if the converter was locked) until I pressed the brake. I changed the wires around so I had the controller and the trans on opposite sides of the switch than I did before and it was still doing the same thing so I bypassed the brake switch all together and just ran the wire from the trans to the controller and it still won’t lock up the converter. I’m not really super worried ab efficiency but I don’t want to burn up the trans. Could I just ditch the lock up all together and still take trips on the highway with the car or will not having the lock up greatly diminish the life of my trans?

deltsanddueces

I actually got it to lock up at the speed I want but the car runs like **** when the converter is locked up (reduced power, Engine lugging) which is what it was doing before I changed the carb and distributor thinking it was a fuel/ timing advance problem. Could I have a bad torque converter?

joe_padavano

The converter is locked (ie no slippage) when the lockup is engaged, so there isn't any failure mode in the converter that can cause the engine to run worse. Usually crappy running when locked is an ignition misfire problem that is masked by converter slippage. Keep in mind that a locked converter is exactly the same as a clutch that's fully engaged with a manual trans, so if it's locked at low speeds, the engine will lug. If the solenoid valve is bad, the converter can stay locked at low speeds, even when it's supposed to be released. A new solenoid valve fixes that, but be sure you have the lockup system working properly before spending more money on parts.

pettrix

With a locked converter (4th gear only), on an older carburetor car, you must have some throttle depressed or it will lug the engine and it will want to stall out. If you let off the throttle with the converter locked, the engine will buck and stall.

On a 2004R, if you don't lock the converter in 4th gear, while highway cruising. The transmission will wear out sooner. It will run hotter and on a 2004R, it was designed to have the converter locked while in 4th and cruising in low RPM's.

joe_padavano

None of the five 307-powered cars I've owned have ever had this problem, and all of them had 2-something rear axles. I can let off the throttle with the trans locked up in fourth with no issues at all. The only problem is when the clutch solenoid went bad and the converter wouldn't unlock as you came to a stop.

deltsanddueces

i got the lock up controller working right i ended up not wiring it through the brake switch and i had the the 40 pulse/8 pulse switch in the wrong position so once I figured that out it locks up at what ever I set the **** too and I can feel it lock up. However now the car sometimes has reduced power after you’ve been driving a little when u get to speeds above 30, it shifts and it bogs almost like it’s not getting enough fuel which is why i changed the carb and distributor in the first place. When I had all the ccc stuff off the car but no lock up controller yet I drove the car around town a little and it was running a lot better.
Could these be symptoms of a bad solenoid valve?
Could conduct an experiment and drive the car and then when it starts running bad stop and unplug the trans and see if runs better?
There’s a couple other things I haven’t been able to rule out, I need exhaust real bad I still have the original catalytic converter on the car and initially slot of people told me the car could have been running bad bc the cat was plugged. But the fact that it was running better after the carb swap and then bad again after I messed with the lock up leads me to believe the problem lies some where with the torque converter lock up

matt69olds

That sounds like the solenoid is sticking, preventing the converter from unlocking.

You can change the solenoid once the pan is removed , 2 bolts and the solenoid is off.

JohnTN

What is your rear gear ratio and at what speed/rpm does the system lockup?

I don't have a B&M controller but use a similar system based on rpm instead of ground speed. To lockup the engine speed must be above 1800 rpm which puts ground speed near 50 mph. When lockup occurs the engine speed drops to 1500 rpm at 50 mph. If I slow down some and rpms drop below 1200 lockup disengages. As long as I am light on the throttle the engine does not lug at 1200 rpm (40 mph) locked up in 4th gear (OD). I have TH2004R trans, 3:42 rear gear and 28 inch tall tires.

The point is, you might be setting the lockup speed too low. If it is 30 mph you are probably dropping rpms below 1000 depending on your gearing and that will not feel good.

John