ECT power

Hey guys wondering if anyone has any info on the ECT power light on a 91 super custom?
Van seems to be reving pretty high (2500rpm going about 75km on flat highway) and I’m wondering what might be causing this? Or if that’s normal for these vans? New to this and any thoughts would be super appreciated!
Thanks,
Carley.

Hello Carley and welcome to the Forum!

I don’t know the answer to your question (I have a M/T) though 75 km/h is about 46 mph and 2500rpm seems a bit high so it’s possible your van isn’t going into higher gears(?).You don’t state what engine / trans you have but I’m presuming it’s an auto as I think the ECT (electronic controlled transmission) keeps the vehicle out of ‘overdrive’ gears for better acceleration. I think for autos the current gear should be indicated in the dash label/light, no? I also think the red button on the auto selector is the overdrive button but I don’t know if this is also the ECT.

In the absence of expert knowledge from anyone else, I think you should work out the rpm to speed values for your van. It might be helpful for lots of reasons and is determined by gearbox, diff ratio and tyre size. An excellent and easy to use site is:

https://www.blocklayer.com/rpm-gear.aspx

To get the input data there are quite a few posts on here that describe various gear ratios fitted to Hiaces and these are also covered in the manuals that are available on the “Hiacesoutheast” website (download everything!) if you can’t find them elsewhere. Your build plate will state the vehicle (engine, gearbox and diff) codes and you should be able to decode these on the same site.

Putting the data into the above link will tell you what rpm and speed you should be getting and you can explore the differences.

HTH!

Hi again.

I've just put my gearbox (G52), diff (G145) and tyre size (195/80/R15) into the site I suggested (above) and ~2500 rpm in 5th gear comes out at ~78 km/h (49 mph) so perhaps not so different!

Do check your figures though and report back.

Just shows how low-geared these are. I've a VW (car) and it sits happily at ~70 mph at pretty much bang on 2k rpm in 6th gear, but I don't hussle my Hiace.

Interestingly, the Hiace in low range at ~2500 rpm in 5th is 31 km/h (19 mph).

Cheers!

The Electronic Controlled Transmission (ECT) power light just changes the transmission shift points a bit higher.

46mph @ 2500rpm is very short gearing to be in OD with the converter locked. My wife’s 1993 van does well over a 100 before the rpm’s touch 2500.

Verify when your van is warm or the converter will not lock up. It should shift 3 times and then a 4th little shift/shudder showing the converter locks up as you approach highway speeds. If that happens you just have a ton of gear in your rear end and that is just how it’s designed. If it doesn’t you have a problem you can fix.

Good luck Carley, have an awesome weekend ahead.
-Bryan

Thanks so much for all that Bryan I really appreciate all the info and thoughts! I will definitely try that out and see how it goes. Admittedly some of that is a little over my head lol but I’ll do my best! After taking it in to the mechanic the other day it’s sounding like I’m going to have to have the transmission rebuilt or replaced which is a bit of a bummer and hopefully will be doable!
Totally in love with it otherwise!