Trans Failsafe Prog.

[pony tony]

hi there fellow 8ters and fellow beemers.my car is a bmw 840ci,1996 with tiptronic box.got a problem with my gear box. recently noticed that my gear indicator on the dash had a small delay in showing 'P'. didn't think much of it.car still started and drove fine. yesterday morning got in the car turned the ignition on and nothing came up at all. gear display showed nothing. turn the key to start the car,engine turned over but wouldn't fire up and hay presto i got 'trans failsafe prog' come up on my computer display.i,ve checked all the connections to the gearbox and for any leaks. all is fine. if i was to guess at a possible fault i think it may be the transmission control module. can anyone confirm this or suggest any other possible fault. thanks. hope to here from you.

[Estoril X5 D Sport]

Get it on a code reader mate nobody can guess at that one.

Stephen

[pony tony]

hi. thanks for the reply. my mate has got a code reader,but he's on holiday till 12th august. :( . gonna try the old disconnect the batteries wait 30 seconds and reconnect job.

[Estoril X5 D Sport]

lol has that ever worked for anybody???? Mate its an 840 not a 1994 1.2 Corsa, you really do need to get somebody with a launch reader get the codes read then work from there, a mobile mechanic may charge around £60 but you wont be guessing and not making matters worse!!!

Stephen

[pony tony]

well what do you know. it worked. don't know how long it will last. at least car is running ok for now. thanks. :)

[btmaldon]

well what do you know. it worked. don't know how long it will last. at least car is running ok for now. thanks. :)

Result. I hope it stays that way.

[pony tony]

Hi fellow be beemers. My failsafe programme returned. After a few attempts of trying to figure out the problem including changing the batteries I discovered the fault. As I moved the right side battery the fault cleared. Moved it again and it returned. So I checked the four red wires for a  break. The thin red wire has a metal link in it. One of the rivets was loose. When I wiggled it the failsafe returned. Hay presto. So I compressed the rivet. Taped it up with electric tape. Then taped it to one of the thick red wires to secure it further. Problem solved. Not had a problem since. The tiny movement must of been detected by the computer maybe. Or the thin red wire might be the live wire for the transmission ecu. Not sure but it's fixed. 

[E46King]

Good result well done Tony 

[vincent]

Hi team, I drive a BMW 8401 MREG and noticed that the TRANS FAIL-SAFE PROG came on yesterday once I started the car with a fault light showing on the dash. A few meters down the road and it clears all by it self with the fault light disappearing. Any time I start the car to move, it appears again and then disappears after a few trips round the block. Any body with similar experience?

[Greydog]

Morning Vincent

Welcome to the Forum

My first port of call would be Battery, BMW's are power hungry at start up all the systems are self checking and then a big draw to start. If your battery isnt tip top then trans fail safe is often the first indication.

How old is the battery? Is it charging correctly? Nothing causing a power drain? I would fully charge the battery and get it tested.

Happy Christmas

Dave

[vincent]

Thanks Dave, I will do as instructed and post the results.

One other problem I have been living with is the ABS light and warning on dash that pups up when I move the car a few meters. this stays on until I turn the car off and the circle starts again when I start and move. I have had my auto chap have a look and he claimed that the car sits for too long at a time as I work an 8 on 2off rotation offshore Africa so he believes the ABS pump has seized up. He gave the pump near the drive tire side a few wacks and it seemed to have solved the problem only for it to re-appear again. What  say the forum?

[Greydog]

Get a copy of BMW 1.4.0 and run a diagnostic check your self you will be able to cycle the ABS and test it yourself steering angle sensor/ABS (they are linked) are both low battery symptoms as well so start there.

Good Luck

Dave

 

[vincent]

thanks Dave, will get back to the forum with results as soon as I get this tips executed