VR-4 Transmission stuck in 2nd sometimes

Hi I have a 98 Legnum VR-4 Auto and sometimes when i start it and put it into gear in jolts in to gear quite hard and will go into 2nd not 1st, even if I try to manually shift it will stay in 2nd. It will go away once i start driving but I have to accelerate hard upto about 70Km/h then it will change gear and be completely fine.

Also sometimes the transmission will slip when changing up gears but only sometimes and mostly only when going into 3rd but sometimes it will slip them all.

Transmission was rebuilt buy the previous owner and had the pressure turned up apparently.

Transmission has no codes even when its stuck in 2nd, however the engine has showed code 64 every time this has happened. (64 FR Alternator System Terminal)

Any help would be much appreciated.

So it doesn't do this every time?

Not something I've really heard of. Could be a wiring fault - there are connections on top of the gearbox (below all the air intake pipework) that could be getting fouled up. Also, what ATF is in there, and what is it's condition?

Yea only does it sometime, today hasn't done it all day. But has slipped 2 out of the 3 times its been driven today.
I got the transmission fluid changed last week as it was black, so replaced fluid and filter on top of gearbox but hasnt seem to help it. Also not getting any warning lights or anything.

I will defiantly check that plug.

Go for a drive, park somewhere level, leave the engine running and put the gear lever in N. Now check the fluid level in the gearbox, it should be in the hot area of the dipstick.

The other thing I would check is the battery voltage,can you get a multimeter set up so you can see it whilst driving? It would be interesting to see if the alternator fault code does mean anythingand if so does it correlate with the issue?

How was the fluid changed? If the contents of the sump were dropped then that would only be about half of it, as the rest remains within the gearbox workings. If so, then your new ATF is now mixed with the old, and possibly not doing much good! The best way to change the oil is to pump it out whilst refilling. Whilst the gearbox's capacity is 8.9L, it usually takes around 10-12L to do the full flush & change procedure.

The ATF needs to meet Mitsubishi's SP-III spec. Dexron-III is not suitable as it has the wrong friction characteristics, and can cause running issues.

If the line pressure has indeed been turned up, then I suspect that this may well exacerbate problems caused by incorrect/bad fluid.

It's not all bad though, you do have an awesome car after all! /yes

Thanks for the replies guys, So took the car away on the weekend for a long drive. Its no longer slipping at all but the starting in 2nd is worse. will now do it almost everytime especially when its cold. and it takes between 1- 10min to correct its self. before you could accelerate hard and it would sort its self out, now that doesn't work and you just have to drive revving high until it finally selects 3rd and once it doses that its fine drives like a normal VR4. ill check the batt valts and recheck the level in the morrining, thanks for your help!!

Tested the fault codes and the N flashed DCC solenoid system – Bad System but dont know what this is

Assuming you are getting 5 long flashes and two short?

This is the damper clutch control valve. It could be the solenoid has an incorrect resistance or is foobarred, the wiring to the solenoid is foobarred or the TCU has an issue. There are workshop manuals in the members area, but the English language ones are for the UK market and don't cover the VR4. Most information can be worked out though.

O cool thanks ill have alook! cheers