1999 Range Rover 4.6 Auto Gearbox Problem
1999 Range Rover 4.6 Auto Gearbox Problem
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Discussion

IS200RJR

Original Poster:

796 posts

266 months

Friday 11th February 2011
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I know that the older range rovers have gear box problems however iv never heard this one.
Turn the key and a warning comes up Gearbox Fault and the car is really slugish and the sport button wont light up ?
next time i go to start the car no warning, car running fine until about 10 mins into the journey then beep warning Gearox Fault?

Anyone had this ? I'm the 3rd owner and its only traveled 76000, full service history.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Rich

BLUETHUNDER

7,881 posts

284 months

Friday 11th February 2011
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Gearbox e.c.u has gone.Last time i had one replaced it was £400.Do the selector lights flash as well??

IS200RJR

Original Poster:

796 posts

266 months

Friday 11th February 2011
quotequote all
No the selector lights don't flash and it seems to be intermittent ?

BLUETHUNDER

7,881 posts

284 months

Friday 11th February 2011
quotequote all
When there is a fault in the gearbox/e.c.u it goes in to limp home mode.Failure to select sport mode is a sign that the e.c.u is fubared.I had two go in mine over a period of 9 years.The symptoms are as you describe.Prices should be a bit leniant now as its an old model.

IS200RJR

Original Poster:

796 posts

266 months

Friday 11th February 2011
quotequote all
Thank you for that I will get it looked at. Will it damage the car if i use it in this way for a week ? I only do about 50 miles a week however don't have any other wheels at the moment ?
Cheers Rich

BLUETHUNDER

7,881 posts

284 months

Friday 11th February 2011
quotequote all
IS200RJR said:
Thank you for that I will get it looked at. Will it damage the car if i use it in this way for a week ? I only do about 50 miles a week however don't have any other wheels at the moment ?
Cheers Rich
I wouldn't like to chance it.When both mine went.It was on the motorway.Drove it home,then had it repaired the following day.

kooky guy

582 posts

190 months

Thursday 17th February 2011
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This is usually the first problem to manifest itself with low battery voltage.

Check the battery and alternator.

It will be sluggish because it has gone into limp mode, but low voltage will kick it into this mode.

Could also check the earths and any connections to the box (there are a lot), but it's most likely to be a voltage problem and not an actual gearbox fault.

Fingers crossed.

BLUETHUNDER

7,881 posts

284 months

Thursday 17th February 2011
quotequote all
kooky guy said:
This is usually the first problem to manifest itself with low battery voltage.

Check the battery and alternator.

It will be sluggish because it has gone into limp mode, but low voltage will kick it into this mode.

Could also check the earths and any connections to the box (there are a lot), but it's most likely to be a voltage problem and not an actual gearbox fault.

Fingers crossed.
The first thing low voltage in a P38 brings up in Trcation control failure and the ABS light on.

kooky guy

582 posts

190 months

Friday 18th February 2011
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BLUETHUNDER said:
The first thing low voltage in a P38 brings up in Trcation control failure and the ABS light on.
I disagree. That can often come up as well, but the gearbox fault is almost always the first thing to come up with a low voltage problem. Other random fault messages generally follow.

In any case, it's worth checking before panicking. The gearboxes (especially the ZF4HP24 on the 4.6) are pretty reliable. The 22s on the DSE can have problems with the clutch packs especially if a powerbox is fitted but they don't generally report a gearbox fault in those situations.

Worst case, go and get the gearbox fault codes read, although it'll cost you about £50.

BLUETHUNDER

7,881 posts

284 months

Friday 18th February 2011
quotequote all
kooky guy said:
I disagree. That can often come up as well, but the gearbox fault is almost always the first thing to come up with a low voltage problem. Other random fault messages generally follow.

In any case, it's worth checking before panicking. The gearboxes (especially the ZF4HP24 on the 4.6) are pretty reliable. The 22s on the DSE can have problems with the clutch packs especially if a powerbox is fitted but they don't generally report a gearbox fault in those situations.

Worst case, go and get the gearbox fault codes read, although it'll cost you about £50.
The gearbox is relaible.But the ecu that runs it is st.I would lay good money down that the pro
blem lays with the ecu.In all the years i had one and been around them,when low voltage appeared it never triggered gearbox fault and the the sport button to become inoperative.Its the sport button being inoperative that leads me to suspect that the ecu is at fault.

kooky guy

582 posts

190 months

Friday 18th February 2011
quotequote all
BLUETHUNDER said:
he gearbox is relaible.But the ecu that runs it is st.I would lay good money down that the pro
blem lays with the ecu.In all the years i had one and been around them,when low voltage appeared it never triggered gearbox fault and the the sport button to become inoperative.Its the sport button being inoperative that leads me to suspect that the ecu is at fault.
Sport Button will not function if the gearbox ECU has gone into fault state so that's no indicator of anything other than the fact that the gearbox is in fault mode which we know already because the dash is telling us so.

It may well be that the ECU is dead but in my experience it's almost always a result of a voltage problem - battery/alternator/bad earth. I would expect a dead ECU to be permanently dead - not repair itself occasionally, whereas a bad earth/voltage problem matches these symptoms perfectly.

This issue comes up frequently on other RR forums and it's almost always what I'm suggesting. I've never heard of a bad gearbox ECU being the cause.

Getting the faults read may give some indication but I wouldn't leap to the conclusion that it is the ECU without some evidence to back it up.


eliot

11,989 posts

278 months

Friday 18th February 2011
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I have seen gearbox fault on mine when the battery was low due to batt drain problem.

BLUETHUNDER

7,881 posts

284 months

Friday 18th February 2011
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eliot said:
I have seen gearbox fault on mine when the battery was low due to batt drain problem.
I would only get that momentarly on start up with a low battery. Never had it refuse to select or drag,or revert to limp home mode. I guess we will have to find out if the o.p. gets back to us with his findings. It was my second gearbox e.c.u fault that finally spelt the end of my 9 years of ownership of my P38 and Range rovers altogether. Now i just use them for work.

IS200RJR

Original Poster:

796 posts

266 months

Monday 21st February 2011
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Hi guys,
It seems there are a number of things that could have caused this fault.
Since my first post this problem has only arisen once and so iv not had anything done yet.
One other symptom is the radio cuts in and out? I’m not sure if this is a completely separate issue or related to the gear box.
When I bought the car it had been sitting for about 4 months and the battery had been disconnected.
I have found a garage to read the fault codes so should have an answer soon.
Thanks Rich

bobtreeman2011

1 posts

172 months

Friday 16th December 2011
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hi, i was wondering if you found out what the problem was as im having the same issues.
cheers