Disco TD5 auto M & S lights flashing

Hello all,

I know there is a thread on this, but I have just driven onto a ferry! Started car to load onto car deck and sluggish to pull away and I saw M S and gear lever telltale red light flashing. Auto box has been perfect up to now. It’s a 2004 by the way. The handbook says I need to seek urgent assistance (and the car too I expect!!!).

Looking at a thread or two, the problem may be the xyz switch. I did move the lever to all positions and restarted on the car deck but the lights flash still. Now I’m on board where I can get internet access.

I have a couple of questions, first is it safe to drive in this state, I have about 60 miles to my first stop (and have a small trailer on the back)? Then I have about 250 miles to go in France.

I have a nanocom with me and RAVE but I can’t use it until we get off, but what sort of fault code may I be looking for?

I don’t have any significant facilities until I can get to the end of the 250 mile stage, or internet once I get off.

It’s 3pm now and we dock at about 8:30pm, so if anybody can suggest any solutions, or if I can carry on, I will be mooooooosssssst grateful. In the meantime, I’ll keep reading about m&s lights.

Many thanks.

Cheers, have a good Sunday!

You would probably be better reading about automatic gear box in Rave where it list the fault codes which cause flashing m+s lights and limp mode and until you read fault codes stored in eat (electronic automatic transmission) ecu it would unsafe to advise you on driving car.
The fault code p705 indicates a fault in the gear position circuits which include xyz switch.
While you have nanocom plugged in it is worth checking in the bcu ecu that the vehicle is registered as automatic as it is not unknown for the bcu to change registration from automatic to manual transmission without reason and this does not create a fault code.

ROY SIMPSON said:

You would probably be better reading about automatic gear box in Rave where it list the fault codes which cause flashing m+s lights and limp mode and until you read fault codes stored in eat (electronic automatic transmission) ecu it would unsafe to advise you on driving car.
The fault code p705 indicates a fault in the gear position circuits which include xyz switch.
While you have nanocom plugged in it is worth checking in the bcu ecu that the vehicle is registered as automatic as it is not unknown for the bcu to change registration from automatic to manual transmission without reason and this does not create a fault code.

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Many thanks for your help. Nearing French coast now. Will plug nanocom in, and multimeter for batt voltage and see. May get next ferry back depending on nanocom.

Thanks again, will keep you posted on progress.

You'll be in France by now, presumably Cherbourg. After you got back to the truck and drove it off, presuming you managed this, were the lights still flashing? I am in France but much further south than you so cannot be any physical help, but Landyzone International may well have someone nearer you who could help. Also, if Cherbourg doesn't have a Landy specialist then Caen should have. I'll have a look and see who I can find on the internet for you.
https://www.landrover.fr/national-d...211&filter=All&foundName=Cherbourg&country=FR gives you the nearest actual LR garages. I was right, Caen or Le Havre. I suppose you could have gone there but the timing don't seem right.

Have you tried starting in neutral, giving the engine a few seconds to settle and then shifting straight to D and not putting any undue electrical load on (headlights etc) until you're ready to move if you need to move the car?

Thank you Roy, Stanley and Feathers,

I am now back with internet access at my destination! After restarting on board and also switching to position 2 as per previous post, each time the M&S lights were flashing I had to assume the fault was hard.

After 6 hours switched off on the car deck during the crossing I came back to it, prepared Nanocom, multimeter etc and started the truck. No M&S lights, so decided to go to first destination without doing any diagnostics in case I provoked the devil, auto box behaved perfectly, just as normal, for all 1 1/2 hours. Multimeter plugged into cigarette lighter showed charging voltage of around 14.4V at start and 14.1V at end, as charging voltage should fall with rising temperature and time, but was not load dependant. So all fine there.

This morning I connected the Nanocom and the fault code stored in EAT was "Code P1843, CAN timeout monitoring". There were no faults in the engine ECU. I cleared the fault and headed off down here. In over 7 hours on the road, with a couple of restarts, the truck has not missed a beat. The engine never misfires hot or cold. it had the injector loom replaced some time ago by a previous owner.

I assume the truck just gets sea sick! The last time we took the Portsmouth ferry, we drove off with "3 Amigos", not to return since! I shall keep an eye on things and check the obvious. I've only had it a year.

Next on the list are the steering knuckle ball joints........

Thanks to all you knowledgeable people.

Cheers.

Nice. Whereabouts in France are you?

Glad you got sorted!
These warning lights are a complete mystery to me. I had something very similar to your when I accidentally tried to start the car with the gear lever in D, or something other than N or P. Had to withdraw the key. Lock with fob, unlock with fob, then it started, drove fine no warnings.
My SRS light comes on and off now for an absolute pastime. When it stays on consistently I do something about it but I frankly don't give a monkey's unless it is near MOT time.

Feathers McGraw said:

Nice. Whereabouts in France are you?

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In the Charente, roughly half way between Poitiers and Angouleme.

PopPops said:

In the Charente, roughly half way between Poitiers and Angouleme.

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Hope you have a trouble free trip.

Feathers McGraw said:

Hope you have a trouble free trip.

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Thank you!

Stanleysteamer said:

Glad you got sorted!
These warning lights are a complete mystery to me. I had something very similar to your when I accidentally tried to start the car with the gear lever in D, or something other than N or P. Had to withdraw the key. Lock with fob, unlock with fob, then it started, drove fine no warnings.
My SRS light comes on and off now for an absolute pastime. When it stays on consistently I do something about it but I frankly don't give a monkey's unless it is near MOT time.

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Yes, the electrical system is a bit of a "challenge"!

As a now retired electronics engineer I can't wait to start hammering it into shape and getting it reliable. It really isn't too complicated, just very poorly executed, from what I have seen so far. Some of the earthing/grounding arrangements (the absolute cornerstone of electronics and that which MUST be right) is really awful - cascaded daisy chained grounds from different system through multiple connectors is just WRONG! It allows often completely apparently unrelated systems to interact. I only looked at the earth distribution wiring diagram for the sunroofs which have a habit of doing their own thing and found it difficult to believe anything works at all!

I hope to be able to repay all the helpful advice I've received here by being able to provide advice on getting all these electrical gremlins sorted, but I have a patio to lay, a conservatory to finish building, steering knuckle ball joints to do, and that transfer box looks a bit oily...... So it may take a few days yet!!

Have a good one!

PopPops said:

Yes, the electrical system is a bit of a "challenge"!

As a now retired electronics engineer I can't wait to start hammering it into shape and getting it reliable.

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Using a hammer on the electrics. Looking forward to this!

PopPops said:

Yes, the electrical system is a bit of a "challenge"!

As a now retired electronics engineer I can't wait to start hammering it into shape and getting it reliable. It really isn't too complicated, just very poorly executed, from what I have seen so far. Some of the earthing/grounding arrangements (the absolute cornerstone of electronics and that which MUST be right) is really awful - cascaded daisy chained grounds from different system through multiple connectors is just WRONG! It allows often completely apparently unrelated systems to interact. I only looked at the earth distribution wiring diagram for the sunroofs which have a habit of doing their own thing and found it difficult to believe anything works at all!

I hope to be able to repay all the helpful advice I've received here by being able to provide advice on getting all these electrical gremlins sorted, but I have a patio to lay, a conservatory to finish building, steering knuckle ball joints to do, and that transfer box looks a bit oily...... So it may take a few days yet!!

Have a good one!

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I too am retired, three years now, but still working a 6 day week on DIY stuff like you mentioned! Still working on decking in 30 degree heat on our house in France, then have a bathroom to finish installing including tanking a shower, etc. Sometime wish I was back at work where towards the end I only did 4 days a week.
Like your idea about earths. Maybe we could all take a lesson from this and find a means of supplying our fuse boxes etc with individual earths for each circuit.

PopPops said:

but I have a patio to lay, a conservatory to finish building,

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...and you are doing this in the Charente? People call these things "holiday homes". Hah, wish I could have a holiday in mine! ("Ours", ouch, Wifey stop hitting me.)

Stanleysteamer said:

...and you are doing this in the Charente? People call these things "holiday homes". Hah, wish I could have a holiday in mine! ("Ours", ouch, Wifey stop hitting me.)

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Yes, all this in the Charente! Ditto, but I need to be doing something. My wife never fails to find me jobs! It makes the evening beer & wine all worthwhile!

PopPops said:

Yes, all this in the Charente! Ditto, but I need to be doing something. My wife never fails to find me jobs! It makes the evening beer & wine all worthwhile!

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You only get it in the evening, poor you! At least we do both lunchtime and evening! But then we feel you have to die sometime why not enjoy yourselves before it! (Never more than one glass of wine at lunch, especially when using powertools in the pm!)

Stanleysteamer said:

You only get it in the evening, poor you! At least we do both lunchtime and evening! But then we feel you have to die sometime why not enjoy yourselves before it! (Never more than one glass of wine at lunch, especially when using powertools in the pm!)

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I agree, but if I had a drink at lunchtime I wouldn't trust myself to do anything right after!!

Close to beer time now...

PopPops said:

I agree, but if I had a drink at lunchtime I wouldn't trust myself to do anything right after!!

Close to beer time now...

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That's why we work according to "sun time". We stop when the sun tells us it is 12 o'clock, i.e. is due south, cool off, have a soft drink, eat, siesta, then back to work when the sun tells us it is 2 pm. so we operate about 1 1/2 hours later than the French. This way we keep cooler. But we have to watch it if we want to get anything done in the a.m. as of course life stops for 2 hours at French midday. Staying cool plus the siesta we feel mitigates the effects of a glass with lunch. Weekends we do differently though...!