Super Turbine Kick Down

You probably have the ST-300, 2 speed trans. Is it a switch pitch? I know the ST-400 from those years do not have a 3-2 valve in the trans valve body. As a result they only have a full throttle kickdown. Also the valvebody tends to keep the trans in high gear, so the car accelerates on the converter(high stall of the switchpitch)

There should be an electrical conection on the drivers side of the trans. When it gets 12 volts, it activates a solenoid inside the pan to downshift the trans.

 

OK, you have a switch pitch. The 2 wires on the drivers side of the trans, are the kickdown and stator connections. The spade that runs vertical is the kickdown, the spade that runs horizontal is the stator connection. There are 2 wires inside the pan that lead to 2 seperate solenoids, one for the switch pitch, one for the kickdown. When 12 volts is applied to the stator connector, you get high stall, take away the 12 volts, low stall. When 12 volts are applied to the kickdown connection, the trans will downshift under the right conditions. The solenoids are inside the front pump(stator), and inside the pan (kickdown). Pull off the connectors(keep track of which is which). Run a temporary wire from the + side of the battery, and touch the wire to each connector on the trans. You should hear a distinct click emanating from the pan area for each connector. If you don't, either the solenoid(s) are bad, or the wiring inside the pan is at fault. If you do hear a click, then the problem may be the throttle mounted switches on the carburetor linkage. There job is to pass 12 volts to the right connectors at the correct time. The converter should be in high stall at idle, then go to low stall off idle, then go back to high stall at over 60% throttle. The trans should kick down at full throttle. Do a little testing with a test light to see where and when you get 12 volts. Hope that helps.