2000 740i Transmission/electrical problem

Hello,

I have a 2000 740i

The other day this started happening.

The transmission seems to lock in 2nd gear and the message I am getting on the computer is "transmission failsafe program."

In addition to that the Temp Guage goes completly up and the speedometer and tach won't work at all.

The check engine light comes on.

The local mechanic without doing much diagnostics thinks this is some kind of electrical problem rather than transmission problem.

Any thoughts before I take it to the BMW Dealer????

Jeff

Yup. If the gearbox electronics loses volts - or they are low - it goes into limp home mode where only one forward gear works.

You might do better with an auto electrician.

3rd usually

Assuming you haven't really boiled it over then low battery is the most common cause of silly electronics.

I'd be very surprised if that took out the speedo.

When a lot of seemingly-unrelated things happen, it is often because they share the same ground connection and that ground is bad or noisy.
The electrical diagram for the car will help a lot. Look for where the transmission control system and the speedometer and tach stuff come together. What do they share in common?
Electrical work on a 740i is sheer torture and I would not wish it on my worst enemy.

--scott

snipped-for-privacy@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) wrote in news:fq40s0$7a9$ snipped-for-privacy@panix2.panix.com:

Thanks for the input

The problem turned out...ready for this? The ABS Module was bad.

$1,400 later it's now working fine.

Thanks for your help.

Jeff

What was the OBD II code?

And, I hope they gave flowers after bending you over like that.