230 SL Kickdown

[dkatz]

Please help with troubleshooting. The transmission seems to be in good working order going through all 4 gears smoothly. When placed in drive the transmission pulls off in 2nd despite flooring the pedal. If I place the shift into 2 then the vehicle will pull off in 1st and change to second gear. The kickdown is not working. I have made sure the kickdown switch is being engaged by the pedal. What else can be the problem and how can i troubleshoot my way through this?

[Pawel66]

The movement of the 3 way solenoid on the transmission. Does it get the signal from kick-down switch? Does it move when it gets the signal?

And of course:is it moving from position to position across its whole movement range?

[Bob G MN]

Had a similar problem  Try to disconnect the fuse for the kickdown switch and see if u still have that problem.  If not it probably needs a new switch

[ja17]

Yes first confirm the fuse for the circuit is making good contact on each end. If the kick down switch is ok, then the linkage rod on the transmission or one of it pivots on each end can be seized.

[balimatharu]

Car switched on, engine off press the accelerator all the way down. You should be able to hear a distinct click.
If you do not hear the click, no power to the switch, switch defective ( which is rare make sure you press hard enough) or the solenoid and the lever are jammed.
In my case it was the solenoid jammed. Sprayed the lubricant and manually moved the levers which freed the seized components