P38 Lock out engine disabled mistery. Please Please try and help me

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andytaylors

New Member
Posts
6
Location
Farnborough, Hampshire, UK
Hi, i know alot of people post this problem so will keep my progress to date brief, if you can make any suggestions i would be extremely grateful

I have a P38 M reg (1995 i think?) 4.6 HSE.

Had a gear box fault message intermitently pop up, so was told maybe its low battery voltage, so removed charged and put back in. Then all goes to pot! The gear box fault is now last of my worries!

  • currently after waiting half hour for key code lock out to clear from dash, i can open only drivers door with key.
  • all other doors are superlocked, so pulling the door pin lock up does not release locks
  • when key is in ignition says 'engine disabled press button or use code', press either button on fob, suprise suprise it does nothing.
  • attempt to enter code via drivers door as per manual, can see head light dash light flashing so it recognises code input. so its not a faulty micro switch on door lock.
  • once entered unlocks drivers door only.
  • when drivers door is opened or closed the horn beeps twice
  • if i close door turn to lock once the indicators flash and all locks make locking noise, turn to lock in total 3 times again indicators flash and all locks make locking noise. not sure if this is significant or not.
  • tried on fob pressing unlock then phisically unlocking with key and vice versa for locking. also tried doing that the opposite way round.
  • also tried holding unlock, whilst still holding unlock physically unlocking and same for locking.
  • i have tried with all windows set and unset, by disconecting battery etc. should not be an issue but i have never been able to set the sunroof??
Essentially i have tried everything i have read about on these very usefull forums, but i am completely stumped!

Im starting to believe that my only option is to get one of these guys to reset my BECM, however i am sceptical as to whether this really needs doing? some people says its the only way, some say they have never had to do so and you should never need to. Having spoken to a BECM unlocking guru he says i have put the BECM in some sort of stage 2 of lock out, which means i have no hope what so ever apart from new BECM or getting it reset! I really dont know if he thinks he has a license to print money from un-knowledgeable folk like me or he in fact does offer a genuine service for a this genuine issue! by the way he is quoting around £200 initially £100 or so for unlocking, maybe all i need, then the rest for resetting my settings???? does that really need to be done??

Thanks for your time and if you can think of anything no matter how small please let me know.

Thanks

Andy
 
If you put your location in your profile, members close to you may offer to come and assist...
 
i would sugest, you send a pm to irishrover. tell him what is going on, he will tell you if you can do it your self or if, you need help. all so put in where you are as it could help..
 
:welcome2: Welcome to the forum. Please put your location in your profile..it really helps.


Sounds as though the Becm has Armed itself, which is what your "Guru" says is "Level 2".

The Becm can be unlocked and reset with suitable software which myself and some others have.

Rick the Pick is based in Brighton area and is probably the nearest to you. He is well versed with P38 Becm problems.
I can also do it but it would mean shipping the Becm over to me in Ireland.

The software for the unlocking is not cheap, therefore the cost of between £100-200 for unlocking, testing etc. is reasonable compared to around £1000 for a new Becm fitted.
:behindsofa:
 
Yes I agree with Irishrover.Your Gems P38 BECM has gone into what is also known as "Help i am beiing stolen mode".
You do need the special software to Unlock your BECM and then have it reset.
This means removing your BECM and soldering wires to the Internal PCB and then using the software to unlock and program.
I too am in Hampshire and have suffered from this exact problem after filling up at a garage in North Warnborough.
I took my BECM to Rick at Callrova in Brighton who did the necessary.
 
i can,t get my head around why by just removing the battery this lads been severly left in the ****!i too need to disconnect my battery(cleaning up earth points,starter motor terminals etc)but after reading threads like this it scares the foooking life out of me and if been honest its another reason why i,ve kept my trusty old 3.9 lpg disco,i,m not electrically minded which is why my 2,5dse is heading closer and closer towards fleabay every day:)
 
Thanks for all your responses so far, really appreciate it!

ok looking back at exactly what i did when first reconnecting the battery.

I think straight away the dash came up with 'Key Code Lock out' and whilst that was displayed i was trying to perform the EKA entry code. the horn was beeping at every turn of the drivers door lock. I had no idea this was not normal and tried a few times. also had no idea you had to wait half hour for the key code lock out message to disapear! i did not come across anything in the manual regarding this! only found out those two things by looking on forums after 'DOH' :doh:

So anyway do you think that my repeated attempts to sort her out have pushed the bitch into stage 2? if so i would love to deliver a slap to the damn designers of the system its rediculous that just by disconecting the battery you can very easily get your self in such deep **** :confused:!

So if the BECM does need resetting can i get away with just the reset for about £100 or do i need him to tinker further with resetting the settings the Guru was talking about which will cost about £200? Also any ideas what these setting are anyway?

Lastly regarding the origonal reason for removing the bloody battery in the first place :mad: ! Can low voltage really cause the 'Gear box fault' message to come up?

thanks again

Andy
 
Don't know where your "Guru" gets all his other setting resets from which involve extra costs, unless you have a host of faults cropping up as a result of your battery disconnection. Unless he is charging you for "Window & Sunroof Not Set" messages and maybe a key synchronisation, in which case that's taking the p**s.
The gearbox fault message is almost certainly down to a low voltage from the battery, so either the battery was almost flat and is shot, or the alternator is not doing it's job. That fault is common under these circumstances and will disappear when the battery is good.
Question......did you use a normal charger on the battery or a high capacity Booster ?
For future reference, do not disconnect the battery from the car when you charge it,a normal charger delivers around 14.5 volts and despite peoples fears, this will not harm the ECU's. I leave my P38 permanently on trickle charge as I do not use the car that often and have done so for years without any problems.
Go for the unlock and disarm of the Becm, it looks to be the only way out to get it running again. If you wish, the alarm and/or immobiliser functions can be disabled at the same time it's unlocked, takes a couple of clicks of the mouse to do,so don't fall for extra costs for this option.
If you saw the number of locked out Becm's that Rick & myself do, you would be surprised how often it happens..it is not an "Urban Myth", it's a fact. It seems to be more prevelant with the Diesel and Gems models.
:behindsofa:
 
Irishrover said:
Mention laying out money and all goes quiet.................Burn it !!!!
:behindsofa:
Click to expand...


AFTER hes "TRIED" to get it fixed "Elsewhere" & it aint worked.. (Coz it NEVER fookin does) ..he'll be back on here John, I'll bet yer a pint of Guiness!!!....

He'll have tried some **** stain with a "Snap On" bit-o-kit made the fooker worse & then he'll be on here again


& We'll STILL be here!!!
 
my brothers previous p38 had becm problems and he opted to have the alarm disabled like irishrover has said, he never had any problems since he had that done and the car was still safe as it was still immobilised, ok the alarm siren wouldnt go off if anyone smashed a window but they wouldnt be able to start it and if they wanted something inside the car a siren isnt going to stop them.
 
i had th sam problem lat year had all sorted for 1£169 had to send my becm to brighton but the guy was excellent took 2 days and i received back if u need his info plz let me know he solves all sorts of problems too i just didnt live local enough sara
 
Sorry for the long time in replying sorted it and never got round to coming back on here!
Basically the tw@ that sold ne the car gave me a keycode which had nothing to do with mine, lol! So went to local land rover dealer who had the right code, entered that and she disabled a treat! So thus makes me suspicious that anyone needs to send there BECM away for resetting unless they don't have the right code I suppose. Thanks for the help!
 
just a quick reply, my gearboxoverheat message is on all the time now, and I have got a new battery, and the message did not come up when the new bat was fitted. So how can I get rid of it please. Everything is checked levals etc. I was told that there is a sensor in the bottom cooling pipe which may be where the problem is, 1998 year on R
 
Irishrover said:
:welcome2: Welcome to the forum. Please put your location in your profile..it really helps.


Sounds as though the Becm has Armed itself, which is what your "Guru" says is "Level 2".

The Becm can be unlocked and reset with suitable software which myself and some others have.

Rick the Pick is based in Brighton area and is probably the nearest to you. He is well versed with P38 Becm problems.
I can also do it but it would mean shipping the Becm over to me in Ireland.

The software for the unlocking is not cheap, therefore the cost of between £100-200 for unlocking, testing etc. is reasonable compared to around £1000 for a new Becm fitted.
:behindsofa:
Click to expand...
 
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