Hi gents!

Please help!

I was having a spirited drive with my ASM I V8V in D mode when suddenly a warning light came on with “Gearbox Fault Function Reduced”. At that point, the car went into paddle shift mode and D could not be pressed. The RPM needle also started to go a bit weird/inaccurate, seems to be a bit weak by displaying low RPMs and the acceleration felt a bit shaky.

I drove home and turned off the car. Before turning it off, I checked, I could put the car in N or Reverse but I could not put the car in D by pressing it. Now that the engine is off I am unable to start the car again. When I put the key into the ECU it makes a bunch of whirring sounds but it will not ignite. The same warning light displays “gearbox fault reducer function”. After system check, the engine light and oil light stays on.

Do you guys know what the issue could be?

The car has done 17k miles. And never had issues.

 

No expert, but the problem can range from the control module that sit atop the trans or just a battery/charging issue. As you can imagine, that is a $8,000-$500 swing. Also, look under the car to see if there is any fluids dripping, I think that the gear oil hoses can also split, that is about $2,000 at a dearer.

 

thanks for your reply. I’ve checked under the car. I don’t see any leaking fluids.

its rather strange. The dash lights are still on when I try to start the car, the engine just doesn’t start. Also it was still working the moment I got the error code while driving although with the fault code on/no D mode the whole time until I shut off the car. The engine just stopped starting again when I shut it off. The red ring around the ECU still lights but there’s no ignition sound. There feels like there’s some sort of a click response when I try to start it but no ignition.

I suspected battery too but….

could it be the battery if it was still drivable?

I was also driving it a day ago for about 2 hours perfectly fine. It wasn’t left for weeks without drive. Surely the battery is charged?

Btw, the battery is 4 years old.

 

Do you have a code reader like a Foxwell or Diag?

Could be any number of things but I would first disconnect battery for a few hours and check/ charge battery

 

I don't know how mechanically inclined you are, but I would recommend checking the rear fuse box, #8 30amp fuse for the ASM pump motor circuit.

 

Do you mean check if it has been dislodged?

 

More like a permanent vacation.

 

Everything you describe except for the part about it initially acting up in the middle of a drive sounds like a discharged/dead battery. Agree with MRCW to disconnect for a while and hook the battery up to a tender or multimeter to make sure its charged.

 

Turns out it was something software/sensor related. The mechanic was able to solve it with the AM computer.