Noise is Neutral

clarkgriswold · 12-23-2008, 11:43 AM

Last time I put up my 2004 Honda Rubicon AT I had no issues. Now, I get it out for four wheeling and it "--" blinking on the display when in neutral. I look it up in the owner's manual and it says to turn it off and back on to reset the automatic transmission. That works. Then, I find that it goes in D & R roughly and also it makes a sound (like a fan or dry bearings) when it's in neutral. No noises in D or R. All fluids are clean and full.

Any ideas about Honda Automatic transmission noises in Neutral?

Raptor8 · 12-27-2008, 06:55 PM

The most common problem is a shift angle sensor. It tells the tranny what gear you want. With the -- I would suspect that to be it as they are usually trouble free. It a sensor that screws into the back of the trans and faces the rear tire. If you don't normally get -- then you might make sure it is plugged in....if it is, I'll bet that is the problem.

clarkgriswold · 12-27-2008, 10:17 PM

Yep, already checked out all the circuit for the angle sensor and it was bad. I've replaced it but same problem. The odd thing is that it does it after the engine/transmission is warm. It subtransmission is smooth and quiet until it warms up.

Raptor8 · 12-27-2008, 10:47 PM

correct fluids? it wasn't low? I'll have to think about this one...usually angle sensor fixes it. You might unhook the battery overnight. Does this ride spend time in deep water?
it sounds like it is still not reading your angle sensor correctly. hmmm.

clarkgriswold · 12-27-2008, 11:40 PM

No low fluids and the new angle sensor did clear the problem code. So, I think the new one is working fine. No deep water rides either.

Raptor8 · 12-28-2008, 12:49 AM

let me ask someone on Monday....I Hope it's a simple fix.
if it's not a shifter code then it's likely a bearing. We'll see.

clarkgriswold · 12-28-2008, 10:32 PM

The characteristics are: noise after it warms up and and shifts hard from neutral to drive/reverse (after it warms up). When the engines cold it shifts from neutral to drive/revers perfectly and NO noise from the engine/transmission area.

clarkgriswold · 12-28-2008, 10:38 PM

Forgot to mention that even when it's warmed up and making the noise in neutral, its quiet when it's in drive & reverse.

clarkgriswold · 12-29-2008, 11:58 AM

Found out what the problem was! Turns out it was simple. Idling too high. Some way (perhaps when the angle sensor went out) the idle adjusted itself high. Not high enough that I noticed it ....but high. That resulted in the hard shift from neutral to drive/reverse and also the noise in the engine in neutral only.

BuckBilly · 12-29-2008, 12:00 PM

Glad you got it figured out. Thank you for sharing it with us.