1993 245 with automatic. There's a little button on the left hand side of the stick that seems to do nothing. Of course there's the big square button on top that permits one to shift out of park and into a gear, but the little on the side perplexes me. What the heck is it and shouldn't it be doing something? Thanks.


JBeechcraft

If your transmission does not shift into 4th gear when you operate the switch(little button on shifter) when you are at speed(50mph or so) then either it is unhooked, or the relay behind the glove box is bad. Both can usually be fixed easily. With the car in drive(ignition on, NOT running) you should hear the relay click when you operate the switch. Open up the relay and check for loose solder joints. Just touch a soldering iron to the suspect connections and your problem should go away. Good luck, David

re: "...If your transmission does not shift into 4th gear when you operate the switch(little button on shifter) when you are at speed(50mph or so)...."

Actually, you should have written, "If your transmission does not shift OUT OF [emphasis here] 4th gear when you operate the switch".

The reason is that the button disables (when the the dash light is on) the overdrive or 4th gear and keeps the transmission from shifting higher than 3rd gear; if it is already in 4th, the transmission will shift down into 3rd.

A green light should come ON when OD is engaged for a stick shift and an amber light should come on when OD is OFF for an auto.

It should make a little arrow appear in your gauge cluster. It is your overdrive override button, which allows you to disengage your automatic overdrive.