Ford Repair: 99 Ford Explorer XLT 4x2 - Occasional Flashing OD Light, ford explorer xlt, ford dealership

Question
Hi Erik -

Ocassionally over the past couple of years, my OD light will start flashing.  Usually this happens while going up a steep hill for a longer period of time.

But, it doesn't happen all the time.  And, as soon as I shut the car off and restart it, the OD flashing goes away and everything is back to normal.

This happened again to me this past weekend but hadn't happened since October.  When the OD light starts flashing, the transmission seems to shift a lot harder (it's an automatic).  But, when restarted, everything is fine again.

It's a 99 Ford Explorer XLT 4x2, 6 cyl. Auto.

Thanks for your help.

- Nick

Answer
Hello and thanks for the question...I'll try to help.
What I would suggest is that you have your vehicle check over by a Ford dealership or your local garage for fault codes in the computer. When the OD light flashes your transmission goes in to "limp" mode and will shift hard and will not shift past 3rd gear. This is to save the transmission so you can get it to a shop for repair.
Hope this helps,
Erik