MB DOC,

I have been out looking at this solenoid again to make sure it was checked correctly.

I am presuming that there must be a way of testing this solenoid and the sensors that triggers this action?

The tranny seems to work as designed after the initial delay. That is: the delay is not present on subsequent 2 -3 shifts so long as I do not switch off the ignition.

If I switch off for longer than about 5 seconds, the car/tranny seems to "forget" that it has just been working fine, and reverts right back to this long 2 - 3 delay....EVEN IF THE CAR AND TRANSMISSION IS REALLY HOT.

I feel that there must be some sort of timing circuit or flag that is being reset everytime I switch off the ignition.

I can see the delay box on the driver's side of the tranny with a cable coming up to an area under the airfilter. There appears to be a connector block in this area at the Airfilter.

If I unplug this cable, should this effectively defeat the delay mechanism?

If this does not affect the incorrect delay operation, where should I look for the next clue?

Also, how does one get to this delay solenoid if I wanted to replace it? It seems the only way is from the bottom...are there any gotcha's I need to keep in mind when doing this?

__________________
Don

_______________
'90 300SL
'90 190E 2.6
'87 300TE (gone to car heaven)
'84 190D (passed along...still in the family and used on a daily basis)