FIXED... Won't start, no gear indicator light..?

[mam4.6]

No TRANSFAILSAFE...

Problem, folks... Need some help. Driving along the other day, transmission didn't seem to want to shift correctly. I pulled over and turned off the engine. Went to start and... ...nothing. Light in the dash all come on, but no click from the starter, starter doesn't turn over, no sound from the engine bay, nothing. Noticed the light in the cluster that indicates what position the gearshift is in disappeared. My first thot was gear position switch/sensor. Remember the thread??

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...on-switch.html

Took a look, sure enough, the wires had separated further to the point of barely hanging together. Ordered a new OEM sensor/switch, installed it this afternoon, no dice. Still nothing. Do I need to clear the memory somehow? I noticed while i was underneath, I heard a very faint car alarm/siren sound. not the horn-alarm type, but the siren-alarm type. Thought maybe something outside somewhere, but no, I can't hear it from top-side of the engine bay, only flat on my back, close to the bottom of the engine bay. EWS related? Maybe? Everything lights up on the dash as normal, but nothing when i turn the key further.

Any help and suggestions are greatly appreciated...

[upallnight]

Got a second key? Try that.

[mam4.6]

Sadly, I didn't have any time this weekend to check things out further.

No, i don't have another key. Yes, I've learned my lesson and will be getting another one....

I'll see if I can get INPA up and running one evening this week, maybe that'll give me a clue on where to start...

[525iT_Feen]

This sounds like an alternator issue.
My 740i did something very similar to me once and it ended up being the alternator. Just a thought.

[mam4.6]

Just a short update for anybody interested. Tried messing with the Romanian suite on my laptop and didn't get it communicating with the X. Couldn't find the time to spend diagnosing, so I dropped it off at the Indy a couple days ago. He called me today and say the only thing they can find possibly wrong is a faulty gear position switch. A bit strange that a brand new OEM switch would be faulty, but I guess it could happen. He stated that one of the wires in the harness is supposed to have continuity at all times, no matter what position the switch is in. They can't find any continuity at all thru the harness, so they suspect a fault. They've got another one ordered... They've also arrested me a new key, just so I'll finally have a spare. One I should have had a long time ago, lol... I,lol keep you updated with further results...

[jopecasa]

Hope it's a simple fix.

Please let us know and update us on the solution.

[mam4.6]

UPDATE... Finally back from vacation and back to the X. Diagnosed a bad TCM, replaced it with another from same month/year production 4.6IS.Starts up and drives now, but goes into TransFailSafe as soon as I start moving. I've heard differing opinions on needing to code the TCM to the vehicle. Do I need to, is this what is causing my limp-mode? Or is my transmission toast as well? Any help would be appreciated...

[upallnight]

If the trans is going into limp mode, it has a fault code. You need to have the X scan and tell us what the fault code is. Anything else is just a WAG (Wild Ass Guess) on our part.

[bcredliner]

Originally Posted by upallnight

If the trans is going into limp mode, it has a fault code. You need to have the X scan and tell us what the fault code is. Anything else is just a WAG (Wild Ass Guess) on our part.

[kvc]

Hmm... I feel for you. Hope you manage to get things sorted out. Keen to hear the outcome.