Brake,ABS & DSC warning light and TRANS FAILSAFE PROG message
 

4.4is 2003 Auto

whilst travelling back from holiday 3 warning lights came on which were ABS & DSC according to manual, a few miles on and TRANS.FAILSAFE.PROG message appeared at which point I could only use 4th gear
I beleive this is a result of a sensor failure, has anyone experienced this any is it an easy repair or expensive dealer Job!!

many thanks

Darren

do a quick search on DSC/ ABS in the forum, some of us have had this problem, with good results...Hint _ have it scanned, its cheaper on the long run.
Good luck

This is most likely a weak battery or bad alternator. Check you battery.

If your red battery light happened to come on while driving right before this then you're luck enough to just replace your alternator... Otherwise, have all the codes read and analyzed/diagnosed by the dealer as it should be treated as if it were a check engine light. Too many things that can cause it to even begin to guess.

Hey Weasel,

How do you know it points to the alternator immediately. Why not the battery? Not questioning, just trying to understand :)

The red battery light is really a charging system light. It comes on while the engine is running if the charging voltage drops below a certain threshold or the diodes start going and it see's too much AC voltage.

Gotcha thanks. Mine came on while driving home yesterday, and within 10 minutes of it coming all all systems started to fail, DSC, trans failsafe, airbags etc. My alt was replaced in 2007, guess it's gone again.


Thx

ABS/TRANSFAILSAFE
 

Had a guy look at problem, his diagnostic pointed to offside rear wheel sensor £99.00 from main dealer, did not cure problem so went into an ex BMW mechanics garage. He has suggested the ECU or ABS unit which is £1000 from main dealer or £375 from Parts (Bosche unit same a main dealer!!) unfortunately out of stock till Dec10th

Would be interested to know if your dianosis was the Alternator?

Darren

Mine was the return pump in the ABS hydraulic module, I had replaced the DSC electronic module , coded it and it ran OK for about a week. Once scanned the return pump came up as the only fault. The GT1 test of the pump passes 2 out of 3 times. I have not installed the replacement yet, The car is at the paint shop,( Teenager rear-ended the wife at a red light). I`ll let you know how it turns out...

So did you have the battery and alternator tested?

If you have the original battery I would look at replacing it before continuing more diagnostic. Its due regardless.