What is a transmission conductor plate?
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Joined: Apr 2017
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BMW 535i
What is a transmission conductor plate?
What does it do ?
I never heard of such a thing till I was looking at a benz wagon for sale, it says it has a Manual transmission but needs the conductor plate replaced.
What does it do and will I be able to drive the car home and replace it later ?
And are these only in automatic transmissions or is in Manual transmission too ?
Thank you.
I never heard of such a thing till I was looking at a benz wagon for sale, it says it has a Manual transmission but needs the conductor plate replaced.
What does it do and will I be able to drive the car home and replace it later ?
And are these only in automatic transmissions or is in Manual transmission too ?
Thank you.
Member
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 208
Likes: 46
2012 E350 4Matic
The conductor plate is part of the electrical system within the transmission; all of the sensors and solenoids connect to the conductor plate, which in the automatics lives on top of the valve body. Think of it as a large circuit board. There is a multi-pin connector attached to the conductor plate that sticks out of the transmission case, where the vehicle wiring harness connects. The connector seals are also prone to leaking, and if left alone long enough can result in the wiring harness becoming contaminated with transmission fluid, and if left way too long the transmission fluid can actually wick up the wires and contaminate the transmission control module ($$$$ if it gets to that point).
Have you seen pictures of the interior to confirm that it is indeed a manual transmission? I don't believe any manual W211's were sold in the States, so if it really is a manual it would have to be an imported car. I'm not sure whether or not the manual transmissions even have a conductor plate, since they don't have a valve body or shift solenoids.
Depending on how bad the problem is, the car may be stuck in "limp home" mode, where it won't shift out of second gear. It may also not shift into reverse.
I've seen a couple of videos on conductor plate replacement and it looks pretty straightforward, the most important thing being to keep everything perfectly clean so as to not contaminate the transmission with foreign material. Dropping the pan and valve body is a very, very messy job though, there is a lot of fluid in there.
Have you seen pictures of the interior to confirm that it is indeed a manual transmission? I don't believe any manual W211's were sold in the States, so if it really is a manual it would have to be an imported car. I'm not sure whether or not the manual transmissions even have a conductor plate, since they don't have a valve body or shift solenoids.
Depending on how bad the problem is, the car may be stuck in "limp home" mode, where it won't shift out of second gear. It may also not shift into reverse.
I've seen a couple of videos on conductor plate replacement and it looks pretty straightforward, the most important thing being to keep everything perfectly clean so as to not contaminate the transmission with foreign material. Dropping the pan and valve body is a very, very messy job though, there is a lot of fluid in there.
Last edited by Andre91; Apr 16, 2017 at 10:46 AM.
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 3
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BMW 535i
Maybe this is a stupid question but what do you mean when you say Valve body ?
I saw photos of this conductor plate, it looks to be plastic and I assume it fits inside the transmission inside the transmission pan once it is removed?
Thank you.
I saw photos of this conductor plate, it looks to be plastic and I assume it fits inside the transmission inside the transmission pan once it is removed?
Thank you.
Member
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 208
Likes: 46
2012 E350 4Matic
The first part of this video explains the basics of how a valve body works. It works like an electronic circuit board - except instead of electrical current running through copper traces it has transmission fluid under pressure moving through various fluid passages to operate valves that engage/disengage the various clutch packs.
The conductor plate that has a tendency to go bad in the 722.6 automatic transmission is mounted to this valve body, and provides the electrical connections to the shift solenoids and various sensors that are installed in the valve body.
