GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

help!!! i have no overdrive ok so ill explain this.so i was adding a aftermarket shift knob to the vibe, and i had snipped the O/D wires, well the gas gauge crys all the time now, it just sucks it back ( yes sounds odd for a 4 banger) anyways, me and my girlfriend have been sick of using so much gas( filling every few days) and we had added new wires, and hooked it back up to the oem switch, and voila it shows on the dash that you can turn off the o/d and back on. well it didnt!:@i had frozen my rear end off, and got this to happen, so i jumped for joy, and took it back out of the garage for a spin, and it did NOTHING!!! i had played with the switch repeatedly and it flashes on and off on the dash, but the engine did not cut down on the RPM's now all you vibe owners should know on O/D on it should sit under the 1000 mark. well it dont.sooooo please any electrical-savy ppl plssssss help.. my girl drives a good 45 mins back and fourth to work all week starting spring and gas sucks here in the niagara region

was the car up to operation temp? It will need to warm up before it will go in to Over drive

the cars op-temp is generally around the 1/2 way mark, a lil under to be precisebut the car has always ran on o/d as soon as you start it, its auto on

according to my scangauge the auto will not shift to overdrive until the coolant reaches approx. 137 deg. F. Which is normal for the Vibe.

With our current temperatures around here, you'll probably have to drive for a while (10 minutes or so) before things are warm enough to engage O/D. It's also unlikely it will ever drop the RPM to under 1,000 except when idling. Mine's an entirely different beast ('09 with 2.4 auto), but the lowest I've ever seen it allow the torque converter to stay locked up is about 1,400RPM. With the 1.8 having notably less torque, I would be surprised to see it run at much less than 1,800 in any gear, unless while coasting or decelerating. At least that's what I noticed whenever driving one equipped as yours is.I feel your need for the fuel economy though. I'm in my 11th year driving to work in Burlington from St. Cath every day for work. I'm actually enjoying our "lower" prices right now compared to what we've paid over the last couple of years. I guess I'm just used to getting gas every 4-6 days (for the car that is).I'm sure if you hit the QEW and head towards Toronto, O/D will probably engage before you hit Jordan. Our van with 4-speed automatic takes about that long to engage. I get on the highway at Niagara St.This situation is actually one of the things I've grown to like about getting the 2.4. It doesn't appear to have any restrictions about going into 5th when cold (although shifts are unusually mushy for a few minutes) - and it will lock up the converter within 1-2 kms even on the coldest days. I can typically accelerate onto the highway and cruise without ever exceeding 2,500RPM. I live just over 200m from the highway - so whether or not it actually makes a difference to the car, it makes ME feel better to not be revving the snot out of the thing when it's still cold. I'd like this car to last as long as possible!One thing I've found with mine - is that as soon as I drive any faster than about 110km/h, my fuel economy takes a big hit. If I keep it down near the limit, it saves me a lot of money over the year. When gas was up around $1.30/L, there were a lot more people doing "my" speed - but not so much these days. If traffic requires it, I'll speed up, but otherwise keep to the right hand lane at no more than 105. Cruising at up to 130 increases consumption by about 1.5L/100km in mine. That adds up fast - not to mention the risk of getting a ticket!Try taking it for a longer run and let us know how it behaves.John

well guys no luck still, i had the car runnin at normal operating temp, and yet it still will not kick on.we may have to go to a electrical shop and get them to do a diagnostic on it...ouchhhhhhh labour should be fun there

this might sound stupid but are you sure you have the switch wired correct? I mean the OD could be on when your light if saying it's off.

i tried playing with the switch nothing happened, it is not reversed at all