made a whining noise and the trans went into 1st gear

1999 FORD RANGER
125,000 MILES • 6 CYL • 2WD • AUTOMATIC
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LUPE MERCADO
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  • 1 POST
the other night driving home from work my pick-up made a winding noise and the trans went into 1st gear the engine light went on, the over drive light started plinking, the ABS light also went on and the speedometer stop working. I drove home in 2nd gear without trable and reverse is fine, it just dosent change gears in the drive posetion. All fuses are OK
Dec 18, 2009 at 6:22 AM
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SQM
  • ✓Experienced Mechanic
  • 6,383 POSTS
Hello,

Since the speedometer stopped working and this issue started, you need to take a look at the vehicle speed sensor (VSS).
On this Ranger the VSS is located on the rear differential.
The VSS reads the rotation of the axle and sends that information to the ECM. That signal gets translated to the speedometer.
Inoperative VSS can impact the shifting of the vehicle.

Here is a helpful video:

https://youtu.be/m01UZB4gMDo

I have attached diagrams for your reference.

Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you
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Oct 27, 2021 at 4:10 AM
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