Just bought a 1990 Beretta from my buddy for $500. 3.1, A3, 144,000. Just wanted something I dont care if it gets trashed inside or out. Anyways, he said that the "lock-out soleniod" on the trans is bad. Basically, at cruising speeds, the torque converter will lock and unlock quite frequently. Just wondered if anyone had any info on how to fix this problem, or where to start. I'm not sure what transmission it has, he said its a turbo-matic 3 speed (I dont know much about the old GM fwd trannies).

The other problem it has, is the lights (interior and exterior) dim while driving, kinda like what would happen on a poorly set up subwoofer system while your banging. I'm thinking either alternator or bad ground, just wanted to see what others think. Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

dimming lights? Yah probably weak alternator.

And that 3 speed auto is not called a "turbo matic" he is wrong, its called something else, i forget what...

anyways.

Constant locking and unlocking means something is wrong with the TCC solenoid.
To replace it, the side pannel of the transmission has to come off.
Also the Air conditioning canister and line are in the way.

I did this before on my car, but when it went bad, it just got stuck on.
There is just enough room to get that side over off, and you will have to get a new gasket too.

jack the car up and take the driver front wheel off will help somewhat...
be safe about it please.

Other than that, that is what I recommend to do, you will have to properly mount it in the trans.
And you will probably have to cut, strip and crimp 2 wires as well.
Use the good but connectors, the ends I got when I bought the replacement were cheap. Just be careful, you only have so much wire to work with. lol

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The above is the most likely thing to do.

Let me know if it helps or not. also if its fixed.

 

Thanks bud, I did replace the TCC (wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but still sucked!), the alternator, cleaned up the battery terminals, and a new 2 gauge ground from the battery and alternator. That did the trick for my lighting problems.

I did not ever figure out what the 3 speed is actually called. I ended up selling the car to a buddy that needed it more than I did. He ended up getting t-boned by some foreign people, totaling the car

 

Thats just sad.

The Beretta is a rare car as it is anymore, Sad to hear its gone... so sad... :/

Its something like 3t40 or whatever.
Beretta.net is a web site dedicated to the Beretta, its there listed, we just have to search to remember, cuz I forget. lol