2001 Range Rover 4.6 Vogue Gearbox Fault please help

2001 Range Rover 4.6 Vogue Gearbox Fault please help

Author
Discussion

djo2267

Original Poster:

91 posts

205 months

Friday 12th September 2014
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Hi, Driving home the other day and gearbox fault comes up on message center. As i pull away have to rev a lot more to get going, to build up speed, feels like its stuck in 3rd or 4th gear. The odometer does not display what gear i am in anymore as well and the sport mode is not working. I got it home and when parking it cluncked a bit when put in reverse, so i turned the engine off and looked underneath the car and there was water leaking for about 10-15 mins. Its definitely water and not coolant, coming from the area of where the gearbox is. I did have the aircon on, so not sure if the drains are there, but i did have some water in the passenger footwell about a month ago. The gear selector lights work and are not flashing and i have put a new bosch s4 silver battery on. If the aircon drains are blocked can the water be leaking elsewhere ie footwell and causing the problem. Can anyone tell me where the gearbox ECU is and can water get into this? Any advice would be much appreciated.

BLUETHUNDER

7,881 posts

260 months

Friday 12th September 2014
quotequote all
Water leaking from the area you describe is from the airport. Water inside sounds like the o-rings have gone. Rub your hands on the carpet and see if you get a sickly sweet taste. As for the gearbox,then I would think gearbox ecu.

paintman

7,687 posts

190 months

Friday 12th September 2014
quotequote all
Im assuming this is a late P38?
Have a look at this from Ashcrofts:
http://www.ashcroft-transmissions.co.uk/frequently...
Might be an idea to give them a ring & see what they say.

Water dripping underneath is usually condensation from the aircon drains & can affect the xyz switch - but your display appears to be working normally.
http://www.rangerovers.net/repairdetails/drivetrai...





Edited by paintman on Saturday 13th September 08:42

djo2267

Original Poster:

91 posts

205 months

Friday 12th September 2014
quotequote all
thanks for your replies, yes its late p38. Can you tell me where the gearbox ECU is please, also can water get inside them and stop them working?

paintman

7,687 posts

190 months

Saturday 13th September 2014
quotequote all
Under the passenger seat.
http://workshop-manuals.com/landrover/p38/44_autom...
http://workshop-manuals.com/landrover/p38/44_autom...
Get fault codes read using LR specific test equipment.


djo2267

Original Poster:

91 posts

205 months

Saturday 13th September 2014
quotequote all
I have had a look at the ECU under the seat and unplugged and put back together and looks clean and dry, but obviously it could still be dead. I used contact cleaner inside the 2 connectors under the expansion tank and checked fuses. Can i still drive the car to the garage or can this cause more damage? Also if the display is not showing what gear i am in, does this mean it is definitely electronic prob, not the gearbox gone?

paintman

7,687 posts

190 months

Saturday 13th September 2014
quotequote all
You need to speak to a LR garage - either a dealer or preferably a good indy. If you gave an idea of your location someone might make a recommendation - if in the Leicester area I would suggest Swinfield Cooper in Leicester or AE Armson at Syston.
These are electronically complicated cars & changing parts at random is likely to achieve little other than emptying your wallet which is why you need to have the fault codes read. If you ask on a LR specific forum you might find someone who has one & who would be prepared to let you use it.
Give Ashcroft a ring as I suggested earlier.

djo2267

Original Poster:

91 posts

205 months

Sunday 14th September 2014
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I am in enfield middlesex. I need to get it looked at, but dont want to cause any damage to the gearbox, by driving to a garage. I might have a look at the XYZ switch, that was mentioned, as when the gearbox fault come up, i stopped and looked under the car and there was a lot of water coming out of the ac drains i presume and i haven't seen this happen before. Maybe the water can be going in the XYZ switch and causing the fault.

djo2267

Original Poster:

91 posts

205 months

Tuesday 16th September 2014
quotequote all
battery and alternator tested 14.36v. Can i disconnect any connector plugs by the gearbox ie xyz switch to see if there is a bad connection or oil etc on them?

eliot

11,423 posts

254 months

Wednesday 17th September 2014
quotequote all
It's in limp mode and stuck in 3rd, hence why it needs more revs. OK to drive it to a garage, just take it easy.

Ignore the liquid, its the a/c drains if underneath and the matrix o-rings if imside and the drivers carpet is wet and sweet tasting.

Gearbox fault usally low battery voltage, but 14v seems ok.

djo2267

Original Poster:

91 posts

205 months

Wednesday 17th September 2014
quotequote all
Someone said that the ac drains can drip water into the xyz switch if the breather tube is not attached. when gearbox fault came up, i stopped and looked under car and there was water coming out for 15 mins, never noticed this before and i would of thought it wouldn't normally come out for this amount of time. Also, would the gear selection on the display dissapear if the xyz switch was faulty?

eliot

11,423 posts

254 months

Wednesday 17th September 2014
quotequote all
I'm not sure there is a breather tube, I thought there is just a little rubber nipple protruding about 1" below the top of the tunnel. You can see the drains from the top in my photos:
http://www.mez.co.uk/p38-heater-o-rings5.html
Pretty sure I could see daylight once i had cleaned them out - unless any further attached pipe had fell of years ago.

But either way, its quite easy to crawl underneath and inspect the connector for water/dirt ingress.

djo2267

Original Poster:

91 posts

205 months

Wednesday 17th September 2014
quotequote all
thanks for the pics. I meant there is a breather tube on the xyz swtch and if it has come off water can get inside. Its going for diagnostics on friday. Since the gearbox fault came up, i have put a new battery on, checked alternator ok and cleaned the two connectors under the expansion tank, as was told this can cause problems. Also checked fuses. Is it possible that i have cured the problem, but need the gearbox fault cleared, or would it of cleared on its self.

eliot

11,423 posts

254 months

Wednesday 17th September 2014
quotequote all
In my experience of gearbox fault through low battery condition, it clears when the battery is charged/replaced.

djo2267

Original Poster:

91 posts

205 months

Wednesday 17th September 2014
quotequote all
ok, if the gearbox or transmission oil is low, can this bring up a gearbox fault on the message center?

eliot

11,423 posts

254 months

Thursday 18th September 2014
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djo2267 said:
ok, if the gearbox or transmission oil is low, can this bring up a gearbox fault on the message center?
Possibly - although depending how low it was it wouldn't drive in limp mode either.

djo2267

Original Poster:

91 posts

205 months

Friday 19th September 2014
quotequote all
went to the garage today and there diagnostic tool cant get into the system, but it has come out of limp mode. They checked gear selector switch and clean and dry. Drove home and went back into limp mode, so i thought of trying all elec switches in the car and when i turned the headlights on, left hand low dip beam bulb failed, came up on the message centre. I checked the lights and the bulb is working and not failed, also when i put the lights on the message display goes dim and when i turn lights off, it is bright again. The car had also come out of limp mode as the gear selection was showing on the message centre again. Does anyone know if this is connected to the gearbox fault coming up on the mc.

paintman

7,687 posts

190 months

Friday 19th September 2014
quotequote all
Is the garage a Land Rover specialist? (not necessarily a franchised dealer, many of the indys are FAR superior)
If it isn't a LR specific diagnostic tool it may well struggle.
It could be something as silly as dirty connectors & the disconnection/reconnection has improved the contact.
I stand to be corrected but dash lights dimming when the vehicle's lights are turned on doesn't surprise me as this is common to avoid dazzle when driving at night so I wouldn't necessarily consider that a problem.



Edited by paintman on Friday 19th September 20:41

djo2267

Original Poster:

91 posts

205 months

Friday 19th September 2014
quotequote all
local garage, not land rover specific tool. After they tried with the diagnostic, i noticed it wasn,t in limp mode anymore, can they clear fault, without getting into the system, sorry what connections are you talking about?

djo2267

Original Poster:

91 posts

205 months

Monday 29th September 2014
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Sorry have been away the last week, so took the rangie for a drive, started with no fault coming up, but after about 15 mins gearbox fault comes up and into limp mode. I got home turned it off then restarted and fault gone, so last few journeys it happens 15 mins from start, then turn off, restart and ok again. Its very consistant 15 mins from start, can this be when the ac drains start dripping possibly on to xyz switch, or transmission oil getting hot, possibly oil cooler not working, any ideas please. thanks