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I am having trouble with my 2004 E320 going into limp mode after driving the car for a while and the check engine sign comes up.
When the car is cooled down, I am able to drive the car as if nothing happened, and what I've noticed is when the temperature of the car hits 100 degrees the check engine comes on and goes into limp mode.
I can't shift to park unless I turn off the car first. And when I start again, it's a hard shift to drive and remains in limp mode. Unless the car is left alone to cool down. I hear the engine fan come on once it hits above 80 degrees.
I've read in the forum that the same problem occurred for another driver and they thought the Auxiliary battery was the issue. However, the auxiliary battery is new and is reading 12.6, the engine oil is 7.6L and the transmission oil is full.
The temperature hitting above 90 degrees is the only common/consistent time the issue comes up.
Any assistance or guidance will be greatly appreciated.
Chuck
Quick update: My car temperature gets to 80 degrees within 5 minutes of driving (with check engine light on from the get go).
When the car is cool, it's shifting regularly, but when it reaches 80 degrees, and when I make a stop at a light , the car has difficulty accelerating (more reving then actually moving), but once it finally gets to 30km, the car is moving at what it feels like second gear.
Until i turn off the vehicle and restart it, that's whenit goes into limp mode.
I purchased an MB II iCarsoft scanner that should be coming in today, where I wanna see the codes that I'll be getting. But so far mechanics have been useless. Everyone says to go and see a transmission shop, without even wanting to scan the vehicle. Very frustrating.
Any help is appreciated.
Thanks for the reponse tjts1
So I ran the scan and got the following codes:
p240c - the selector lever position sent from control unit A80...
p1856 -selector lever position detection has failed
As of right now, this is what I am trying to figure out by googling the problem and for the solution (s) . However if you or anyone can guide me that would be great.
I'll post what I learn or find out.
Thank you bbirdwell. This is very helpful. the question is how do I know if the electronic module thats the problem or just replace the whole gear lever ? unless I am misunderstanding something.
Thanks konigstiger for the link and help. I was going to open the console, remove the gear lever and grab the part number from there.
If it's better to provide vin number, I'll grab that and post soon.
So I took this baby out. And now what? Should I open this up further to check the electronic module or do I find a replacement? Any suggestions are appreciated.
If you're feeling ambitious, open it and check circuitry could be an easy fix depending on your abilities. All seems fine, replace used or new with same part #.
I took everything apart and this is what it looks like. looks in relatively good shape . Can't see solder/ joints cracked or anything out of the ordinary.
Is there any further tests I can do to check the board? are there services out there that can check the unit? Any help is appreciated.
Just wanted to give everyone an update on this. I opened the part up and got to the module/board and it all looked great. To get it looked at thoroughly and tested was going to cost me $300.
I had a friend try and source the whole gear box and new was not an option. So they found a used/warrantied from the west coast, that cost $700. I put it all back together and drove for an extended time, and it wasn't going into limp mode so far.
I am also in the process of changing the thermostat next as it's been 175k since last change .
Thank you for everyone that helped me here. Hope this will help someone else.
06-17-2022, 10:45 PM
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