Speedometer needle bouncing accompanied with up down up shiftingon highway

[ConnieG4]

'94 ram 1500 v8 5.9l with automatic transmission and 4wd. Recently and at the same time, the speedometer gauge needle started bouncing at all speeds. Around the same time my transmission can't decide which gear to be in while driving on the highway. It shifts up an down and up and down between 4th and 5th gear or 3rd and forth gear. I'm not sure how many gears it has or which tyranny is in it as I haven't had this truck for very long. Are the two issues related? And how do I identify which tyranny I have and how many gears are in it? Of course any ideas as to what is going wrong?

 

[RamDiver]

Beware of autocorrect when using a phone to post on public media sites.

My silly android phone makes the same correction.

And yes, I would say the speedo and tranny issues are related.

I have no idea where the speed sensor is located on a '94, however; I'm confident that another member will point that out before I can find it online.

And, to Ram Forum

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[ConnieG4]

Thank you for the fast response. From reading other members posts, I came to realize that the other button on the dash next to the fog light button is for overdrive on/off.Now my question is, when the indicator light is lite is overdrive operating or is it off? Up to this point the light has been out.so I went for a drive on the highway and when I hit the button ,the indicator light turned on and the up, down, up shift problem stopped. Push the button, light goes out problem returns. So it has to be something wrong with the over drive. Can I get any suggestions on what and where to look, and any way I could diy test components before replacing any parts or taking it in to a shop. Surprisingly, I am a fairly adequate "wrench turner" and have done all of my own maintenance and plenty of elbow deep repairs on my own for several years. However aside from swapping out a transmission and doing a filter change, I have stayed away from trying to do any kind of work beyond that in an automatic transmission. And finally, thank you for the welcome to dodge forums and maybe I will have the opportunity to share some advice in the future.

 

[RamDiver]

Thank you for the fast response. From reading other members posts, I came to realize that the other button on the dash next to the fog light button is for overdrive on/off.Now my question is, when the indicator light is lite is overdrive operating or is it off? Up to this point the light has been out.so I went for a drive on the highway and when I hit the button ,the indicator light turned on and the up, down, up shift problem stopped. Push the button, light goes out problem returns. So it has to be something wrong with the over drive. Can I get any suggestions on what and where to look, and any way I could diy test components before replacing any parts or taking it in to a shop. Surprisingly, I am a fairly adequate "wrench turner" and have done all of my own maintenance and plenty of elbow deep repairs on my own for several years. However aside from swapping out a transmission and doing a filter change, I have stayed away from trying to do any kind of work beyond that in an automatic transmission. And finally, thank you for the welcome to dodge forums and maybe I will have the opportunity to share some advice in the future.

You're most welcome.

That's what this site is all about, members contributing knowledge and experience so, anytime you see something that you can assist with or share your own experience on, please feel free to add a post.

I will have to hunt down an answer for the overdrive indicator because I don't know. It would stand to reason that with the lamp on, it's enabled or overdrive on unless it is labeled as OD off.

If the truck is performing properly with the light on, I would leave it there until you get this sorted.

I'll ping some members that might be experienced with older Ram trucks and search for answers tomorrow am.

This site is mostly about DIY solutions, whenever possible. Not many people have extra $ to donate to mechanics or stealerships, especially in recent years.

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[metalchewy]

Sounds like the speedometer cable may have hardened grease or debris in it, causing it to bounce. 94s had speedometer cables to run the speedo.

You can probably still find a new replacement. Or try cleaning the old one, but it could be on its way to breaking once clean.

Not sure if the speedometer is your shifting problem or not. Could be kickdown cable or linkage issues.

Try to pick up a '94 Dodge truck technical service manual, it will have instructions, or Youtube probably has instructions for kickdown linkage adjustments.

 

[metalchewy]

Speedometer cable Cleaning and lube instructions here.

Last time I did my old Dart's cable, I used MolyGraphite assembly lube, instead of mixing lithium and graphite.

 

[ConnieG4]

Thank you for the cleaning tips. I do have engine assembly lube, I was thinking chain and cable lube but assembly lube will probably last longer.