Something is bleeding down I bet. Fluid is getting past a seal or something.
Can't hurt to try an additive at this point to see what happens.

 

mine does the following...it takes a about 15 secs to engage Reverse on 1st cold start

It used to rev high in 1st before upchanging 1st cold start

my understanding is there is a spring loaded valve that prevents fluid draining out the torque convertor, presumably this isnt working as it should

 

Sounds like that is probably the problem. Maybe an accumulator? Should I drop the tranny and put a shift kit into it or check out the spring loaded valve he was talking about. If anyone can tell me where that is or the name of it.

 

Measure the solenoid resistance when cold. It's possible you have a bad solenoid that starts working once it's warmed up.

 

I feel like this is most likely what is happening but what seals could be the culprit. Also if I were to test the 1-2 solenoid how would I do that.

 

Use a multimeter set to Ohms in the 200 range. Test each of the highlighted pins against an earthing point and you should see between 11-15 Ohms if I remember correctly. A good reading just means the solenoid will pass current, which in most cases means it will work fine but it could still struggle to operate with a good reading. No reading indicates either a damaged wire or a faulty solenoid.

 

Ok thanks I will try this. It’s just funny to me how it works fine when warmed up so doesn’t really make a ton of sense that it would be a solenoid. Maybe a valve body rebuild or something like that would fix or help if this doesn’t show any signs.

 

One more thing...as per the FSM test, my trans also takes 1.7secs to engage reverse...outside the maximum spec of 1.5secs

the high RPM upchange on 1st start went away when I completely changed out the fluid (12 litre flush)

my trans showed signs of very poor PO maintenance, and I did not believe it had long to live, so got myself another, which I will fit if mine goes boom

I have found it much cheaper to buy when someone else wants to sell, than when you need to buy

 

Electrical components react to temperature.

 

Isn’t there also a way I can disconnect the tcm and shift manually to see if it’s mechanical or electrical problem.

 

Yep. Unplug the TCU and shift manually. You,ll have Reverse, 1st, 3rd, and OD

 

So I tested all the solenoids. They all read 15-16. I think this is the correct range. They all passed when cold. My next guess would be the fluid bleeding down in the valve body that maybe a valve body rebuild would fix. Any suggestions? I have yet to try to disconnect the tcu when cold.

 

Disconnect the TCU.

 

So I unplugged the tcu and it shifted from 1st into 3rd just fine. Reverse worked just fine. The problem was that when cold or sitting it wouldn’t shift for a couple minutes out of first. The problem was that it wouldn’t shift into 2nd gear. But with the tcu unplugged there is no way to test 2nd. Only 1 and 3. What does this tell me? It still shifted fine manually out of first to third though.

 

Did it move immediately?