Richard Shipman was kind enough to post the temp. v. ohms values for the transmission temperature sensor in my '92 965 and, near as I can tell, mine are WAY off. Here's the values he gave me...

Temperature: Resistance:

32 Deg.F 1700-2300 ohms

68 Deg.F 765-1035 ohms

104 Deg.F 340-460 ohms

176 Deg.F 107-143 ohms

212 Deg.F 64-86 ohms

302 Deg.F 23-31 ohms

Here's what mine registered (values were the same both at the sensor and at the TCM)...

~75 Deg.F 13 ohms

~200 Deg.F 3 ohms

Now...there is obviously something wrong with mine...but does the "collective wisdom" think this would be responsible for the torque converter locking up too early? My green manual is coming next week, but I thought I'd see what you guys think...

As always...TIA,

Lance

(excited to finally find something that appears to be bad...)

Well, look at what you've posted.

The sensor is reading like the trans is running at 300 degrees.

But if the trans gets that signal, it AUTOMATICALLY locks the torque converter to disperse the heat in the fluid (assumed to have heated up from the torque converter). Except when it's impractical or impossible. But you will get some very uncharacteristic operation if it thinks that the trans oil is smokin' hot.

You will never know the answer to your question until you replace the sensor and see if it fixes the problem. You are asking questions that beg for a "process of elimination" answer. Fix the temp sensor and see if you have fixed the problem. Anyway, the values are so far gone that you should fix it anyhow.

If you find that the thing works right after that, you can almost bet that the PO of the car didn't need to replace that trans in the first place. They almost NEVER dump unless you've run very low on fluid a few times.

"excited to finally find something that appear to be bad..."

Bite your tongue, count your blessings and thank God.

Logical theory. The ECU thinks the trans is hotter than a two peckered goat and locks it up to reduce slippage and cool it down.