Transbrake woes
 

Transbrake holds sometimes and sometimes it doesn't. Powerglide with Transking brake. Switched cable, solenoid, button, doubled up bracket and welded it. Still having problems. Even tried spare transmission. Please help!

Re: Transbrake woes
 

You may not be getting enough current (ampereage) to the solenoid from the delay box output terminal (assuming you're not using a relay in your brake circuit). You can have 12v showing on your voltmeter at the solenoid itself but that's not a guarantee that there's enough current there to operate the solenoid properly. Also make sure the wire from the box to the solenoid is heavy enough to carry the load demand of the circuit. Too small a wire gauge means increased resistance and aggravation factor. Don't forget about Ohm's law here.
Good luck....
-Don

Re: Transbrake woes
 

Thanks Don.

Currently have 14 gauge wire approximatly 3 ft. long going to solenoid from delay box. Solenoid has 18 or 20 gauge on it. Don't know about Ohm's law. Will switch to 12 gauge wire. Will try anything at this point.

Bob

I do have a toggle switch inline so I can back up without holding the button.

Re: Transbrake woes
 

Get rid of that, it is a problem. You don't back up for so long that you need one and it can be the source of these problems.

Re: Transbrake woes
 

Is this a Trans King valve body with the inturnal shifer? If so I ran into this problem on a dragster I drove for a while, After the burnout you depress the TB button to backup and you think everything is OK when you put it back into low but you have to slow down and stop in Nutral put it into drive then put it in low stop in each gear for about one second and it worked fine after that. I put another button on the wheel so backing up would not activate the shift timer or the TS timers and never had another problem. I don't like the TK internal shift cause you really can't tell if it has shifted on not. With a solinoid shifter I can look down and see what gear it is in. Hope this helps, Mike

Re: Transbrake woes
 

Mike,
Yes it is a Trans King valve body with internal shifter, on both transmissions, and have had trouble with both. Never had trouble with internal shifter. Unlike you, we're not allowed past the starting line. After burnout, I go into neutral to clean out motor. Then I jerk it back in low to make sure it's in low.

You're saying putting it in drive, waiting a second or two, then low gear, eliminates this problem? Is this normal with the Trans King?

I thought it was heat related and put a motorhome transcooler on it.

Thanks,
Bob

Re: Transbrake woes
 

Bob

I use the same trans king brake and have no problems with the brake itself, I did have have considerable problems with the brake not working consistently because I have a mismatched trans lever and shifter. Some times it would work and some times it would just let go when you stalled the converter. The problem was that the trans was inadvertently going into high which would release the brake. It took me five very frustriating weekends and a half dozen trans swaps to figure this one out.
Hope this helps.
Great Baer
3391SC/QR

Re: Transbrake woes
 

After I stopped in high for a second it worked fine I just had to figure this out in the pits. I tried going from R to Low and hit the button till I found out what it needed to work. About ten tries to see if I could get it to fail and what I had to change to keep it from happining. Hope you get it figured out, Mike

Re: Transbrake woes
 

I've tried it at the end of the track, at the ticket window, and numerous times back at the trailer, and it never fails to work except at the starting line. This has really been a bad year, lost a motor at Norwalk, missed four division races because I was waiting on new motor, and get it in Fri., Test and Tune Sat. and now this. Does it get any better?

Bob

Re: Transbrake woes
 

Trans King Bob has passed away, I'd be thinking about getting a Coan or Griner valve body, if I were you.

Re: Transbrake woes
 

Bob
If your using the trans king valve body with the internal shifter your problem on the starting line may be procedural. If you shift the trans via a chip or rev control the trans with the shifter in high it will also shift to high internally on the burnout and if you back up and pull it back to low, guess what, your still in hign gear and you will have no trans brake. You need to back up put the trans in low shift to high and back to low to reset the valve body. Try it. I made this mistake (twice) last time out.
Regards
Billy Baer
Greatbaer@sbcglobal.net

:rolleyes:

Re: Transbrake woes
 

Bill,
During the burnout, I shift manually, then go to neutral before pulling shifter back into low gear. The car does shift on an RPM chip. The chip is 7200. And I don't go that high on a burnout. But will try putting it in low gear, then drive then back in low. Sounds like you have about as much trouble as I do. Will be at Bowling Green/Beech Bend next weekend with new motor, new rear-end and plenty of beer. Stop by the trailer, I'll buy you a cold one. Park behind showers by ditch. Red truck and trailer. Thanks again.
Bob

Re: Transbrake woes
 

Started out this year with new procedure worked ok until eliminations then right through the lites. Put extra ground from box to body & went over all wiring and it seemed good. Still at a loss any help would be appreciated ..........................

Re: Transbrake woes
 

Bob
Do you have a timer lock out? On my dedenbear once i let go of the button i have to wait 5 seconds for the lockout to reset. is it possible that you are locking yourself out of trans brake after the burnout?

Just a thought

Re: Transbrake woes
 

When I first put the box in that happened and I took out all of the time the factory had set in it (your talking about so you don't hit the brake button down track track ?) At Indy it was at least 10 sec by the time we both got staged. And I'm still looking like an IDIOT. But my wheels did stay on. haha

Re: Transbrake woes
 

Hey Bob, What Delay Box Do You Use? Did You Switch Trans Brake And Valve Body From A Trans King? I Use Trans King Internal Shift And Brake. Havn't Had A Problem Other Than Rear Clutch Issue. Maybe Internal Pressure Issue. Poss Button,loose Wiring At Connectors.


Jeff D.
37

Re: Transbrake woes
 

Bob, how is the solenoid grounded? If it isn't already, ground it to a good ground not to the trans pan.

BB just a thought.

Re: Transbrake woes
 

Jeff,
The box is Biondo Mega 85 and I checked it when I got back to the trailer.(for time in it on the reset and it was on 0 ) Still running the Trans King thought about changing and going to an air shifter but ran out of winter. As far as pressure I'm usually at 2500rpm on the foot brake before I ever push the button in. The wiring was one thing I did go over this winter and every thing seemed good and tight and was where it was supposed to be, that was when I ran a heavy ground from the box, have wondered about those things that keep electric from running but don't know.


BB-The solenoid is grounded to the trans case / will ground to body and see what happens I know grounds can give ya fits..........

Re: Transbrake woes
 

Ok Bob here is another possibility, if for some reason your trans is not completely in low ,like a mismatched shifter/shift lever in the trans or the shift cable is not mounted to the trans you may not be getting the trans in completely in low and when the motor torques up it may move just enough to put you in high gear and of course the trans brake doesn't work in high grear. Watch to see if your motor moves back and forth when you load the brake it doesn't take very much movement to cause this to happen also make sure the shift lever is correct I can tell you from experience the the Hurst quarter stick is different from most of them.
Regards:
Billy Baer

P.S. Please don't ask me how many times I removed disassembled, re-assembled and re-installed my transmission(s) until I finally figured this particular gremlin out.

Re: Transbrake woes
 

Bill, I've got the linkage adjusted so far into low I Sometimes can't get trans into park(the wife is ready with a wheel chalk to throw under the slick when I pull into the trailer). Both the shifter and leaver are B&M, also put a new cable on last year.Will ck for motor movement. Thanks Bob

Re: Transbrake woes
 

Bob
That sounds like the same condition I had with a missmatched trans lever. (i.e "it didn't always want to go in to park")
Try this place the shifter in low crawl under the car and pull the cable off and see if the lever in the trans moves, it shouldn't, if it does readjust the cable and try again. There is a spring loaded detent that will pull the trans lever into the correct position.
Once you get the cable adjusted, shift it to high and again verify that the lever doesn't move when you remove the cable. then Try to do the same thing in park.
If the trans lever moves at any time you pull the cable off something is wrong.
I'm assuming that the shifter cable bracket is mounted to the transmission not to the frame or body right?

Regards
Billy Baer

Re: Transbrake woes
 

Bill, Adjusting it the way you said I can't get it to work good in both holes it's either one or the other,( going from low to park ) so I tried to split the difference and that didn't work to good either. The bracket that mounts on the trans did move some that was when I took off the bracket and wielded two together put it back on readjusted it again. Seems to work for a period of time then WA LA I'm back in the dummy mode.Thanks for your help Bob.................


P.S. The bracket is mounted on trans.

Re: Transbrake woes
 

Bob

I think you have some missmatched parts, How did it work in low vs high?

Billy

Re: Transbrake woes
 

Didn't really try in low to drive

Re: Transbrake woes
 

Bob
Try high, neutral, and reverse while your under there again the lever shouldn't move when the cable is removed. I suspect that the cable attachemt point on the lever is to far frm center and does not move the lever far enough in both directions.

Billy

Re: Transbrake woes
 

Bill you have an e mail

Re: Transbrake woes
 

Bob
I'm currently at work you can e-mail me here: william.baer@exeloncorp.com

Billy