the od off light is flashing on and off...the car is hunting for gears...any idea what to check??..thank you.....

Youll need to pull the codes from the computer. Flashing OD light indicates a transmission fault.

ok..thank you....so how many things could it be??!! something easy and cheap i hope.....

Dozens. The codes will be more specific and it could be anything from loose or corroded wiring to a transmission rebuild. Try to avoid driving the car until this is repaired.

well..i have to drive it to the shop..thats it..i have a bike..so hope no rain...!

Eenie meenie chilli beanie, the spirits are about to speak! ...

And the year, make, and model of your vehicle is ?

HINT/TIP: Put your vehicle information in your sig' -OR- provide it your posting(s).

2001 ford crown victoria p71 97K miles

Dont drive it anymore.
If the OD light is flashing, it can be a sensor of some kind. Need to have the code checked.

i concur about not driving it..but have to get it to the shop..pushing it sucks...towing well...sucks...driving it three miles is that bad??...thanks guys...

I just started getting that same thing bought the car two weeks ago, and now over 50 or 60 it does it, no shift problems or overdrive issues just blinking light.

So how do I pull the transmission codes? I have an OBDII scanner but I don't think it will help with the codes.

Mine does this also I got some codes from it about a month ago then everything cleeared up and worked great now it is back. The codes I got were P1783 trans temp, P1705 tran rng out of test rng, P1502 vss inter apcm functioning, P1501 vss out of self test rn, and P0500 veh spd vss er. These seem kind of random or are they related through one sensor? It is totally fine when driving very easy. Fluid is like new still cause it keeps leaking a little so I just keep adding it as it goes to keep it fresh!

High temp is one cause for a flashing light. If you can measure the temp with a touchless temp probe while it is flashing, you might see if the temp is too high, if the sensor is bad or not. You can shoot the bottom of the tranny pan and get a pretty accurate trans fluid temp that way.
Could be that your trans cooler is plugged up, or the thermostat on the trans cooler is frozen shut. Normal is around 180 degrees, mine takes a good 10 miles to get up that high unless it's super hot out.

That seems pretty high man unless you have a stall converter maybe. I had a scanguage on mine last year with the 3800 stall and 4.10 gears and never saw more than 165. I basically borrowed the device and beat the crap out of it for 15 minutes.

You can give it a try, some transmission codes can be read with a cheap scanner, if nothing comes up then you'll need to have it diagnosed with the proper scanner. I've seen that kind of behavior on transmissions when the Transmission Range Sensor aka Neutral Safety Switch or Manual Lever Position Sensor goes bad; a bad VSS can cause that too.



It looks like your fluid leak has caused intermittent contact with the sensors. I would inspect the connectors and sensors and give them a good clean with electric contact cleaner.

Oscar.