Member Since: 21 Jun 2011
Location: North Worcestershire (not far from Redditch)
Posts: 385
Another thing to check - Transfer Box Control Module
Hi all,
Just thought I would share my latest adventure into the world of ‘My D3 is broken, how do I fix it’.
This was a few weeks ago now but to cut a long story short, I was getting messages that suggested the battery was low. Took the battery out to charge it and when I put it back in, I was getting a big E message, followed by ‘Transmission Fault. Limited gears available’, then ‘Park Brake Fault’ followed by ‘Auto release not functional’. I hooked up my laptop and a number of fault codes all saying lost communication with the transmission control module. There is a picture in my gallery that shows all the faults that came up.
Still thinking it was battery related, I did various things to try and get the fault to clear itself without success (checked bulbs, new brake light switch amongst others). Then saw a few posts about one of the control modules behind where the battery sits and figured I may have disturbed the wires and that was causing the problem, so I investigated further and this is where I discovered something not nice… a corroding Transfer Box Control Module!!
When I first found the module, all looked well until I started to unplug it to find….
And the plugs were not great either…
But after a good clean and some TLC….
I spent the evening cleaning the module and making sure all the contacts were as pretty and shiny as possible. Couple of days later, I connected it all back up and… same fault appeared!!!
I then found that fuse 30 in the box next to the battery had blown, so I replaced it but the fault still stayed.
I gave up and called out the RAC with a view to being towed to a garage but the guy who turned up was determined to have a go at sorting it (he also happened to be a RR Sport owner). He checked the fault codes and then cleared them but the same errors kept pinging up. He checked the 30 fuse and it had blown, so he replaced it. I jumped in, but was met with the same error on the dash…. ’Fuse has gone again’ he shouts… ‘I will put another one in… ok, try again’…. And this time… no error code… starts fine as if I never had a problem!
I jump out and shove my head over the fusebox with his… we both get a faint smell of momentary electrical burning / fuse popping or something.
He connects his laptop back up and clears all the fault codes again and everything is coming back fine.
It has been running fine since with no problems starting and no error messages. Still not sure what the smell was from, but I do wonder if it was the suppressor on the gearbox going pop. I have seen posts from folks talking about similar faults as I had and then all been well in the world once they had disconnected or replaced it… so I don’t know if it’s just chance or if there is some correlation between this type of error and an issue with the suppressor…..
Anyway, moral of the story is check your ECU behind your battery! What I did was disconnect and remove the battery and then did a hard reset just to make sure everything was discharged. I waited for about half an hour after just to be on the safe side before taking the 3 plugs out. If you do need to take the module out, it’s held in place by a plastic clip on the left and right of the module. You need to push them up to release it to come out. This is where it is located:
... just behind where the battery sits, inside that black box...
This info is out there and has been talked about before on the forum, but because it’s that time of year that many of us seem to have battery / alternator / electrical problems, I just wanted to share what had happened to me and what I found when I checked the module…
I’ve put some more pictures in my gallery just in case they help anyone in terms of where the unit is, but it’s just another thing to add to the ‘list of things to have a look at to make sure all is well’.
Chris.
PS. Thanks to Robbie, Flack and BigDave for their support and assistance .. still learning )
Isofix car seat, Isofix baby seat base, crushed carpet crisps, sticky leather seats (next to Isofix car seat), upgraded front rubber cup holder things, wired up USB charge and audio for my iphone, side steps, de-tango'd lights, H7 OSRAM Nighbreakers, LED side lights, LED reverse lights, clear repeaters, Narpy Grill... tools I don't know how to use.... yet..
26th Feb 2014 1:44 pm
TOMR67
Member Since: 22 Oct 2014
Location: N.J.
Posts: 29
I am glad to see land rover made such tremendous strides in the electrical since my d1 was built, guess I need to check this before its an issue
On the d1 I smeared dielectric grease in all the connectors to keep moisture and corrosion out
28th Oct 2014 1:25 pm
Robbie
Member Since: 05 Feb 2006
Location: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Posts: 17932
Re: Another thing to check - Transfer Box Control Module
Chris1969 wrote:
Thanks to Robbie, Flack and BigDave
For some reason our first single never made it to the charts.
8)Land Rover - Turning Drivers into Mechanics Since 1948
Member Since: 22 Oct 2014
Location: N.J.
Posts: 29
checked my 05 today no corrosion all shiney, I did slather dielectric grease in those connectors and all others in that area, hopefully this will prevent any corrosion from starting in the future by not allowing a place for the water to go, I also have the battery compartment cover
now I checked the 06 hse it has a ton of corrosion in these connectors also the batt box cover has been missing for an unknown amount of time, even though the actual module cover was intact and tight
28th Oct 2014 9:10 pm
mcsimmo
Member Since: 08 Aug 2011
Location: North of the south
Posts: 1795
Thread resurrection time.
My D3 dies on Monday with the exact same faults as mention hereon the display. Still in the garage undergoing tests ets. be interesting if it turns out to be the same problem.Man with no D3 anymore, but cant leave the forum....how sad.
12th Mar 2015 9:29 am
Chris1969
Member Since: 21 Jun 2011
Location: North Worcestershire (not far from Redditch)
Posts: 385
Fingers crossed they get it sorted for you. It's a year on since i had this problem but it's been fine since. Clearly the corrosion was not helping the situation at all, but I'm pretty convinced it was the suppressor on the gearbox that was the main cause of it!
Hope the people you have taken it to know what they are doing but if they do come back with a big long list and its some big bills, get them to disconnect the suppressor first and see what happens!
I did buy a new suppressor but never got round to fitting it but I've had no issues since and no issues from having it disconnected .. still learning )
Isofix car seat, Isofix baby seat base, crushed carpet crisps, sticky leather seats (next to Isofix car seat), upgraded front rubber cup holder things, wired up USB charge and audio for my iphone, side steps, de-tango'd lights, H7 OSRAM Nighbreakers, LED side lights, LED reverse lights, clear repeaters, Narpy Grill... tools I don't know how to use.... yet..
12th Mar 2015 9:44 am
mcsimmo
Member Since: 08 Aug 2011
Location: North of the south
Posts: 1795
Its at Green Oval, (Site sponsors) who I have used for years, so I know its in good hands. I'll post the outcome.Man with no D3 anymore, but cant leave the forum....how sad.
12th Mar 2015 10:56 am
Compusmentis
Member Since: 18 Feb 2016
Location: Effingham
Posts: 237
The second thread resurrection....
I had to use the battery from the D3 to start a JCB stranded in the middle of a building site.
All was fine, but the battery was very muddy when refitted, so when I got home I washed it with a sponge (no jet wash or hose)
When I came to start it, all the warning signs as listed above, but the common denominator in the fault codes was no communication with the transfer box module.
I took the battery back out, and found the blue connector on the module was full of water. The others were dry but showing corrosion.
Mopped it out, dried it with a hair drier, squirted it with electrical contact spray, and it seems to have done the trick.
But I am very disappointed that Land Rovers have gone so soft. How it is going to cross a swamp in Borneo if it can't cope with a sponge in Surrey..?
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