Gearbox fault, dead ignition, P1562 Error

[goldiloxgirl]

Hi everyone, hoping somebody can give me pointer here. Recently the gearbox fault warning came on followed by the ignition going dead for 30 seconds. This has happened twice but on a third occasion the gearbox went into limp mode instead. I've read the fault with my Faultmate, which says there's a low voltage problem- Error Code P1562. Has anyone experienced the same and is there a likely bad connection spot for me to hone in on? Thanks in advance.

Regards,

Lani

[Graeme]

Some gearboxes have a large externally mounted capacitor that fails with low resistance causing low voltage to the gbox electrics. The capacitor only exists to reduce electrical noise for the radio so it can be disconnected to see if it was causing the low voltage. It is usually mounted somewhere around the bottom of the gearbox on a bracket with 2 wires into it with one going to earth.

[Keithy P38]

When my alternator died this is what happened to me (in both of my P38's).

Check your alternator and battery.

Cheers
Keithy

[DT-P38]

All the above and then do a fluid and filter change on the auto. Not an expensive (or hard) service task.

[goldiloxgirl]

Thank you for your replies. Dave, gearbox had a service 2 years/10,000ks ago but as I'm planning a big trip I will do it again. Keithy, your fix sounded more expensive than Graeme's and fortunately both the alteration and battery are fine. Battery is holding a true 12.4 volts (not surface charge) whilst alternator is delivering 14.3 volts. So that means I have to put my pants on and climb under to check the gearbox capacitor. Oh the joy of trusting the well being of my refined rangie to the best woman for the job. ;)

Kind regards,

Lani

[goldiloxgirl]

Just giving a follow up report about this problem. Couldn't find a capacitor on the gearbox but the general consensus pointed to low voltage being the culprit. This made sense as my P38 is only used periodically for country drives and the voltage does drop down after a month or so of non use. I felt the car was telling me to use her more often so I obliged with some longer trips (currently on my way to the Cape) and I disconnected the battery if it was parked up for more than a few weeks. This appears to have solved the problem :)

Regards,

Lani

[TheTree]

Hi

One of the first things I bought after my P38 was a good quality 7 stage battery charger :p

Steve

[PaulP38a]

One of the first things I bought after my P38 was a good quality 7 stage battery charger :p


Agreed, I am very happy with the AC Delco charger. My Soarers rarely last more than a week or two without discharging, and the Freelander maybe 3 weeks. The Crewman ute maybe 3-4 weeks. P38 seems pretty good in comparison as long as the doors are locked so the BeCM can rest easy.
Whenever I have a car in the garage to do some work on it, I put the charger on "maintenance mode" to keep it topped up.