Ford Motor Co. New Digital Transmission Range (DTR) Sensor for Some 1997 and Later Vehicles

Change:
Beginning at the start of production for the 1997 model year, some vehicles are equipped with a new digital transmission-range (DTR) sensor, which externally looks identical to the previous manual-lever position sensor (MLPS) except that there are 12 pin locations in the connector of the DTR (refer to Figure 1). Internally, however, the operation of the new DTR sensor is totally different from that of the previous sensor. The new DTR sensor completes the start circuit in Park and Neutral, the backup-lamp circuit in Reverse and the neutral-sense circuit (4WD only) in Neutral. The new DTR sensor also opens/closes a set of four different switches that are monitored by the powertrain control module (PCM) to determine the position of the transmission manual lever.
Reason:
Increased accuracy of information to the PCM, and increased durability of the sensor.
Parts Affected:
DTR sensor – Replaces the previous MLPS and is identified by the new basic part number, -7F293-, as shown in Figure 1. The prefix and suffix will vary with the vehicle model and transmission type.

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