JCT - Engines and Vehicles Department Advanced Chassis and Body Control Systems

Outline of Automatic Transaxle

Types of Automatic Transaxle

Automatic transaxles can be basically divided into two types, those used
in FF (Front-engine, Front-wheel-drive) vehicles and those used in FR
(Front-engine, Rear-wheel-drive) vehicles.

Transaxles for FF vehicles have an internal final drive unit, but those for
FR vehicles have a final drive unit (differential) mounted externally. The
type of automatic transaxle used with FR vehicles is called a
transmission.
In the transversely-mounted automatic transaxle, the transmission and the
final drive unit are housed integrally in the same case. The final drive unit
consists of a pair of reduction gears (the drive and driven gears), and
differential gears

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JCT - Engines and Vehicles Department Advanced Chassis and Body Control Systems

Torque converter

The torque converter both transmits and multiplies the torque from the
engine using the ATF (Automatic Transaxle Fluid) into the transaxle
(planetary gear unit) as the medium

Planetary gear unit

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JCT - Engines and Vehicles Department Advanced Chassis and Body Control Systems

Transmission Control Unit

A transmission control unit or TCU is a device that controls modern

electronic automatic transmissions. A TCU generally uses sensors from
the vehicle as well as data provided by the engine control unit (ECU) to
calculate how and when to change gears in the vehicle for optimum
performance, fuel economy and shift quality.

Electronic automatic transmissions have been shifting from purely hydro-

mechanical controls to electronic controls since the late 1980s. Since
then, development has been iterative and today designs exist from several
stages of electronic automatic transmission control development.
Transmission solenoids are a key component to these control units.

The evolution of the modern automatic transmission and the integration

of electronic controls have allowed great progress in recent years. The
modern automatic transmission is now able to achieve better fuel
economy, reduced engine emissions, greater shift system reliability,
improved shift feel, improved shift speed and improved vehicle handling.
The immense range of programmability offered by a TCU allows the
modern automatic transmission to be used with appropriate transmission
characteristics for each application.

On some applications, the TCU and the ECU are combined into a single
unit as a powertrain control module (PCM).

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JCT - Engines and Vehicles Department Advanced Chassis and Body Control Systems

1. Input parameters
The typical modern TCU uses signals from engine sensors, automatic
transmission sensors and from other electronic controllers to determine
when and how to shift. More modern designs share inputs or obtain
information from an input to the ECU, whereas older designs often have
their own dedicated inputs and sensors on the engine components.
Modern TCUs are so complex in their design and make calculations
based on so many parameters that there are an indefinite amount of
possible shift behaviors.

Vehicle speed sensor (VSS)

This sensor sends a varying frequency signal to the TCU to determine the
current speed of the vehicle. The TCU uses this information to determine
when a gear change should take place based in the various operating
parameters. The TCU also uses a ratio between the TSS and WSS which
is used to determine when to change gears. If either the TSS or WSS fails
or malfunctions/becomes faulty, the ratio will be wrong which in return
can cause problems like false speedometer readings and transmission
slipping.

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JCT - Engines and Vehicles Department Advanced Chassis and Body Control Systems

Wheel speed sensor (WSS)

Modern automatic transmissions also have a wheel speed sensor input to

determine the true speed of the vehicle to determine whether the vehicle
is going downhill or uphill and also adapt gear changes according to road
speeds, and also whether to decouple the torque converter at a standstill
to improve fuel consumption and reduce load on running gear.

Throttle position sensor (TPS)

The TPS sensor along with the vehicle speed sensor are the two main
inputs for most TCUs. Older transmissions use this to determine engine
load, with the introduction of drive-by-wire technology, this is often a
shared input between the ECU and TCU. The input is used to determine
the optimum time and characteristics for a gear change according to load
on the engine.

Turbine speed sensor (TSS)

This may also be known as an input speed sensor (ISS). This sensor sends
a varying frequency signal to the TCU to determine the current rotational
speed of the input shaft or torque converter. The TCU uses the input shaft
speed to determine slippage across the torque converter and potentially to
determine the rate of slippage across the bands and clutches. This
information is vital to regulate the application of the torque converter
lock-up clutch smoothly and effectively.

Transmission fluid Temperature sensor (TFT)

This may also be known as Transmission Oil Temperature. This sensor

determines the fluid temperature inside the transmission. This is often
used for diagnostic purposes to check ATF (Automatic Transmission
Fluid) at the correct temperature. The main use of this has been as a
failsafe feature to downshift the transmission if the ATF becomes
extremely hot. On more modern TCUs this input allows the TCU to
modify the line pressure and solenoid pressures according to the changing
viscosity of the fluid based on temperature, and also to determine
regulation of the torque converter lock-up clutch

Kick down switch

One of the most common inputs into a TCU is the kick down switch
which is used to determine if the accelerator pedal has been depressed
past full throttle. When activated the transmission downshifts into the

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JCT - Engines and Vehicles Department Advanced Chassis and Body Control Systems

lowest permissible gear based on current road speed to use the full power
reserves of the engine. This is still present in most transmissions though
is no longer as necessary to use as the TCU uses the throttle position
sensor and rapid rate of change to determine whether a downshift may be
necessary, thus there is no need to use the kickdown feature in most
circumstances.

Brake light switch

This input is used to determine whether to activate the shift lock solenoid
to prevent the driver selecting a driving range with no foot on the brake.
In more modern TCUs this input is also used to determine whether to
downshift the transmission to increase engine braking effect if the
transmission detects that the vehicle is going downhill.

Traction Control System (TCS)

Many TCUs now have an input from the vehicles traction control system.
If the TCS detects unfavourable road conditions, a signal is sent to the
TCU. The TCU can modify shift programmes by upshifting early,
eliminating the torque converter lock-up clutch application, and also
eliminating the first gear totally and pulling off in 2nd.

Switches

These simple on/off electric switches detect the presence or absence of

fluid pressure in a particular hydraulic line. They are used for diagnostic
purposes and in some cases for controlling the application or release of
hydraulic control elements.

Cruise control module

An overlooked factor is that many TCUs also have a signal from the
cruise control module in order to change gear change behavior to take
into account the throttle is not being operated by the driver, this
eliminates unexpected gear changes when the cruise control is engaged.

Inputs from other controllers

A wide variety of information is delivered to the TCU via Controller Area

Network (CAN) communications or similar protocols (such as Chrysler's
CCD bus, an early EIA-485-based vehicle local area network).

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JCT - Engines and Vehicles Department Advanced Chassis and Body Control Systems

2. Output parameters
The typical modern TCU sends out signals to shift solenoids, pressure
control solenoids, torque converter lockup solenoids and to other
electronic controllers.

Shift lock

Many automatic transmissions lock the selector lever via a shiftlock

solenoid to stop a driving range being selected if the brake pedal is not
depressed.

Shift solenoids

Modern electronic automatic transmissions have electrical solenoids

which are activated to change gears. Simple electronic-control designs
(such as Ford's AOD-E, AXOD-E and E4OD) use the solenoids to
modify the shift points in an existing valve body, while more advanced
designs (such as the Chrysler Ultra drive and its follow-ons) use the
solenoids to control the clutches directly, by way of a greatly simplified
valve body.

Pressure control solenoids

Modern electronic automatic transmissions are still fundamentally

hydraulic. This requires precise pressure control. Older automatic
transmission designs only use a single line pressure control solenoid
which modifies pressure across the entire transmission. Newer automatic
transmission designs often use many pressure control solenoids, and
sometimes allow the shift solenoids themselves to provide precise
pressure control during shifts by ramping the solenoid on and off. The
shift pressure affects the shift quality (too high a pressure will result in
rough shifting; too low a pressure will cause the clutches to overheat) and
shift speed.

Torque converter clutch solenoid (TCC)

Most electronic automatic transmissions utilize a TCC solenoid to

regulate the torque converter electronically. Once fully locked, the torque
converter no longer applies torque multiplication and will spin at the
same speed as the engine. This provides a major increase in fuel
economy. Modern designs provide partial lockup in lower gears to
improve fuel economy further, but this can increase wear on the clutch
components.
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JCT - Engines and Vehicles Department Advanced Chassis and Body Control Systems

Output to ECU

Many TCUs provide an output to the ECU to retard the ignition timing, or
reduce the fuel quantity, for a few milliseconds to reduce load on the
transmission during heavy throttle. This allows automatic transmissions
to shift smoothly even on engines with large amounts of torque which
would otherwise result in a harder shift.

Outputs to other controllers

The TCU provides information about the health of the transmission, such
as clutch wear indicators and shift pressures, and can raise trouble codes
and set the malfunction indicator lamp on the instrument cluster if a
serious problem is found. An output to the cruise control module is also
often present to deactivate the cruise control if a neutral gear is selected,
just like on a manual transmission.

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