Delica Canada | Mitsubishi Van Club

1998 L400 gen II V6 gas auto.... I think that is the necessary info i always forget some part of. The other day i had a blinking N light on my gear selector after about 20km climb on a logging road. I was in two wheel drive at the time and the outside temp was in the 30's. About a year ago i had the same blinking light under similar circumstances ,though that time i was in four wheel drive. In both cases the only place the selector could be in to negate blinking was when it was in N (and i think P as well). In both cases i was almost at my destination when i noticed it, and when i returned to the van to restart, it no longer blinked. I'm guessing this is telling me that something is over heating. Thoughts?
The second half to this is that this is my first ever auto. I continuously rue the decision to not get a manual trans. That having been said, am i just driving my van wrong? If this is something over heating, is there something different i need to do shifter wise to keep it from happening?

The auto's in L400's are very stout so your purchase was not in vane....I made the switch too and had reservations but its been over 2yrs for me.

Here's a link to our tech section for the Auto Transmission-L400
http://www.delica.ca/forum/viewtopic.php?f=71&t=7489

Here's the link to the chassis electrical (includes instrument cluster)
http://www.delica.ca/forum/viewtopic.php?f=71&t=7489


The UK websites point to excess heat and or electrical issues...in one case it was traced back to a faulty Throttle Position Sensor which your GEN II is equipped.

Most of the UK guys speak to heat build up and the flashing light is the warning that the tranny needs cooling. If heat keeps rising the tranny could flip to safemode and which usually means there has been electrical damage because the flashing light was ignored.

Check your coolant level as the Delica's do route tranny fluid through the lower rad tank and then through an auxiliary cooler on the left side behind the grill, just below the left headlight.
Check your radiator for damaged fins or dirt/bug jams....
Check your tranny fluid condition and level.
When was the last time it had a fluid service for the tranny?
The next time you're doing a trail or working the drivetrain a little harder than normal drop the Delica into 4-Low and keep an eye on your engine temp.

OG and BB
I found this article dealing mainly with V6 automatic. I doubt the transmission is very different than the diesel tranny. Correct me if I'm wrong please.

http://www.rpw.com.au/index.php?option= ... v6-6g7-mod

My 99 V6 auto showed no overheating in +30 deg Coquihalla operation but I thought about a larger Trans cooler or fan assist after reading this article. Mardy at Amazing Auto told me to use Toyota transmission fluid rather than the usual Can tire generic type. Mardy is usually right on when he gives advice.

I also noticed the air opening to the trans cooler compartment is much larger in the 1999 over the 1995.

At the very least drop down a gear to circulate more trans fluid when climbing logging roads.

TLGF

Life got busy here and didn't get a chance to look back here after my post. Thanks for the thoughts. Trans fluid it at correct level and clean looking, rad not blocked, full fluid flush about 14 months ago...maybe 30k since. Dipping down to low range would not have made sense in either case. Four wheel was not really needed the first time either. Just a Long slog up compact/loose gravel. Left it in drive (overdrive on). Should I be turning off overdrive? I read most of the stuff on the UK site the first time it happened, but it didn't seem totally applicable to me. What is "safe mode"?
As for my wishing I had a manual ....it's not a question of reliability, it has more to do with what the marketers over at Volkswagen termed Farfegnogan. (I'm sure I spelled that wrong) You know, the joy of driving. For me, driving an auto is like saving sex with a condom on. Sure it's sex, but you know, it doesn't feel the same.
Again, that it only happened under very similar circumstances, and separated by almost a year would suggest it is something I'm doing, but I don't know exactly what to do to make it not happen again. Thanks for the input.
I only have the factory temp gauge on my van, but I have never, under any circumstance, seen it rise above about a third of the way up. This includes both times I had the blinking light.

your first thought, on a hard drive/climb you should take the tranny out of Overdrive. This will keep the engine in a higher rev range.

safemode: the transmission in an L400 is computer controlled and relies on proper sensor activity to run right. If a key sensor is affected the transmission will only engage 2nd and reverse
Its how the tranny protects itself from more damage.