I removed the electrical plug and two bolts to what I believe is the "lock up" solenoid SL (E) just behind the park/neutral switch on my 1997 toyota camry le 4 cylinder automatic. However, I cannot seem to pull out the solenoid from the body of the transmission. My understanding has been that it was removable from the outside of the transmission without having to remove the oil pan to disconnect it on the inside of the transmission.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

Here is a manual.

www.turboninjas.com/camry/ax1.pdf

 

Toyomoho, thanks buddy. Helps a lot. In fact it is a life-saver. If you come across a table of contents or index those would help as well.

 

Thanks to the help I got, I removed the solenoid sl with 2 flat bladed screwdrivers, 1 under each bolt hole tab. I also tested it OK for resistance. It clicks solidly with 12V applied, though it may not have the first several applications. Now I am going to somehow apply 71 psi of air and check for leaks. Then I will follow the advice and manual for checking the wiring harness.

I also found the icon in the upper left corner of the adobe reader that displays the table of contents for this excellent manual.

I did notice that there were two different settings given for the TV cable adjustment in different parts of the manual. I noticed at least one other seeming anomaly as well. If I get time, I will try to reconcile the differences.

 

Great, glad to help. Post back with the results of your findings.

 

I bench tested the solenoid SL for resistance with a meter and got 12.6 ohms, which is within range.

I applied 12volts to the solenoid SL and it activates (clicks) and I can see the holes opening and closing.

I applied 71+ psi and found no air leaks.

Instructions in the manual said to also test the resistance while the solenoid was energized. I energized the solenoid with current from the 12v battery positive terminal to the single input terminal on the solenoid and the battery ground connected to the case of the solenoid.

I simultaneously tested for resistance with a meter between the input terminal and case. However, I got absolutely no resistance reading.

The instructions say any reading below 8 ohms means the solenoid has a short.

As soon as I removed the 12v connections, I got the normal resistance reading of 12.6 ohms again.

Does this really mean the solenoid is bad? It doesn't make sense to me and I'm not sure I'm even performing the test right, though the instructions seem clear.

Any help would be appreciated.

(I haven't gotten to the wiring harness test yet.)

 

Are you using the info sent in the pdf link? And if so the Diag. Trouble Code Detection criteria for Code 46?

If so, this is the criteria the computer uses to test the solenoid (not mechanic). If the solenoid fails these criteria the code is set. From the criteria the code is set based on the electrical condition of the solenoid, wiring or ECU.

 

No, this is for "code 64 shift solenoid valve SL circuit" on page AX1-88, which probably amounts to the same thing. (Unless you transposed the digits and you really meant 64.)

My hope is that the wording does apply only to the ECM scanning as you point out above. In that case, there could 8+ ohms in the circuit due to the other things in the circuit, such as the ECM and wiring. So, I'll assume the solenoid works since it passes the activation, air pressure, and resistance tests on the bench.

Though whether the resistance can be measured while 12 volts is flowing through the solenoid is beyond my knowledge at this time.

So, I'm going on to testing the wiring harness.

Thanks.

 

that manual was really helpful... I tried on my camry even though its working fine just wanna try and it work.