Autobox S&M warning lights

HI everyone, when I turn the ignition key on my 1999 td5 I get an audible "bong bong" warning sound and the S & M lights flash and there are no red lights on the gear shifter plastic housing, nothing happens when you turn the key, I had the multi plug connecting the XYZ switch to the cars loom rewired last week as it looked a bit ropey and I thought that might be the problem, car worked fine for a week, started 30 times at least and drove 600 miles, this afternoon i drove back from Newcastle to Grantham no problems, stopped off in town, went to start the car the same happened again, called out green flag, he removed small wire of starter motor, did something with it and started the car, drove couple of miles home fine no problems everything working fine, parked up turned off, went back an hour later and back to square one, flashing S & M lights and the bong bong bong sound, car wont start. ive read lots about the XYZ switch, but my problem seems intermittent and more electrical, im in Grantham / Lincs if anyone has any ideas, thanks, Graeme.

S&M lights flash when you aren't getting enough S&M ... try and be more adventurous in the bedroom. (sorry, couldn't resist)

These lights can come on the dash from having a low battery, Just a thought

Battery off, fully charged no difference, checked wiring on xyz switch, getting bloody fed up with this to be honest, may be appearing on e-bay very soon!!!!!!!

Double check the Hill Descent button hasn't been pressed accidentally.

hi, no that's not been touched, I don't understand how its fine for 10 days and 600 miles then nothing, total failure, and what did the green flag man do to get it running, he said he bypassed one of the wires on the starter motor, its baffled me, I really don't know why I bother with Land Rovers, its all frustration and hassle, I've no confidence in this car now, I wouldn't take it to the shop down the street.

Older Landies are about getting hands on, it goes with the territory I'm afraid. If you were hoping to get something that was going to be a guaranteed daily runner with no issues then I reckon you knocked on the wrong door, I've spent the past week working on ours - it was a school runner and even so the number of things I have found that needed poking, repairing and replacing has been quite significant but it's what I was expecting, what I wanted and what I have prepared for

Ive made a bit of progress, took the small wire off the starter motor and ran a wire from the starter to the poss on the battery, turned the engine over a few times, replaced the wire on the starter and its been fine the last few times, could there be a crank sensor fault, im going to see if I can get it fault code read tomorrow.

Ah, so what your saying its ok for land rovers to be unreliable and **** really, and that's acceptable, not sure land rover would share that marketing strategy, this disco is the same age as my Ford Cougar and that's never missed a beat, I have had a 200 V8, a 300 tdi and I now have a series one as well as this TD5 so I've been hands on for a long time knocking on the Landie door.

gecouger said:

Ah, so what your saying its ok for land rovers to be unreliable and **** really, and that's acceptable, not sure land rover would share that marketing strategy, this disco is the same age as my Ford Cougar and that's never missed a beat, I have had a 200 V8, a 300 tdi and I now have a series one as well as this TD5 so I've been hands on for a long time knocking on the Landie door.

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Thats landies for ya

gecouger said:

Ah, so what your saying its ok for land rovers to be unreliable and **** really, and that's acceptable, not sure land rover would share that marketing strategy, this disco is the same age as my Ford Cougar and that's never missed a beat, I have had a 200 V8, a 300 tdi and I now have a series one as well as this TD5 so I've been hands on for a long time knocking on the Landie door.

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I'm afraid All british cars are crap, badly designed badly made and only improved when the alternative was bankruptcy The driving force behind almost all british cars Has been "yes they're crap" But hey at least they've got character And Just be glad, that we were too greedy to invest in new or even modern technology. Cos if we had kept up with the Japs, swedes and Germans. You'd be fooked when it came to trying to repair them, everytime they broke down.

Aye you would be better to get it on a diagnostic test then go from there, around 50 quid but well worth it. They are frustrating when the break but it's all part of the course with Landy ownership. It should be a simple fix and your motor will be running perfect again soon.

I feel I need to balance the books a little against this anti Land Rover wave.

In the last 15 years I've owned and run a number of Discoverys:

1 x TDi 200 - utterly reliable, amazing mpg - only fault was it needed a new boot floor;

3 x TDi 300 - utterly reliable;

3 x TD5 - utterly reliable.

All were maintained applying a pro-active approach rather than "repair when bust" and all did the job I wanted them to do.

Yes a few LR's might have issues, but just remember that they are a lot more complex than a family car and need much greater maintenance.


Theres my two penn'th

Dave

thebiglad said:

I feel I need to balance the books a little against this anti Land Rover wave.

In the last 15 years I've owned and run a number of Discoverys:

1 x TDi 200 - utterly reliable, amazing mpg - only fault was it needed a new boot floor;

3 x TDi 300 - utterly reliable;

3 x TD5 - utterly reliable.

All were maintained applying a pro-active approach rather than "repair when bust" and all did the job I wanted them to do.

Yes a few LR's might have issues, but just remember that they are a lot more complex than a family car and need much greater maintenance.


Theres my two penn'th

Dave

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I couldn't have put it any better Dave.
True, there are a few Land Rovers out there that spend more time being towed or in the workshop than they are actually driven.
I believe we've all come to learn the basic do and donts that come with owning these vehicles; respected and adhered to and you got yourself a very very reliable vehicle.
There happens to be a fleet of 200tdi defenders that are operated by a mine my company provides services to that are in their nineteenth year of service out here in the tropics.
You would say the attention given to the vehicles by said company's transport department hasn't gone unrewarded.
Personally, my discovery 2 has shown amazing reliability over the years with the only major jobs done being replacing the old springs which had sagged, as well as a pending job of replacing a cracked flex plate.
Comparing the disco to my Toyota hilux, I would say its just as reliable and have never regretted getting it.

ifloochies said:

I couldn't have put it any better Dave.
True, there are a few Land Rovers out there that spend more time being towed or in the workshop than they are actually driven.
I believe we've all come to learn the basic do and donts that come with owning these vehicles; respected and adhered to and you got yourself a very very reliable vehicle.
There happens to be a fleet of 200tdi defenders that are operated by a mine my company provides services to that are in their nineteenth year of service out here in the tropics.
You would say the attention given to the vehicles by said company's transport department hasn't gone unrewarded.
Personally, my discovery 2 has shown amazing reliability over the years with the only major jobs done being replacing the old springs which had sagged, as well as a pending job of replacing a cracked flex plate.
Comparing the disco to my Toyota hilux, I would say its just as reliable and have never regretted getting it.

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Good man you !!!


Dave