Hello All,
Started the Rover this morning and my M&S lights were flashing hence 3rd gear only in Limp Mode. I have a Scan Gauge it show 13.7 to 13.9 volts on start up and 14.1-14.5v when driving. When this happened a year ago my battery was dyeing, now its 1 year old.(Optima Red Top) I don't have my multimeter with me. But will test it later tonight. I was going to put a charger on the battery for the night at friends house and see if it goes away. Any ideas on this?

 

Battery, trans ECU or XYZ switch.

 

Does scanner show any codes?

Have attached two pages of tranny codes, only one turns on M&S light and NOT the MIL light -


MIL Off M&S On

So battery volts could be low to just the tranny ECU even though rest OK. Could be wiring or ground.

 

I tested the battery with a volt meter and got 12.3v after a 3 hour charge. I let a charger sit on it for about 6 hours tonight. No more Flashing M&S lights on a quick startup. I'll let it charge overnight on trickle charge and see how it behaves in the morning. I have no codes or stored codes or SES light. I will have my alternator/battery tested at a Autozone to see if they both pass. I have a spare factory alternator that tested good in case I need it.
Is there anyway to diagnose the XYZ switch or trans ECU?

There is a special procedure to charge these AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) SpiralCell batteries...Optima RedTop. From the directions on the paperwork. You charge it in a series. Basically use a spare car battery and run jumper cables to your battery, then put your charger on your battery additionally. Luckly I have a spare battery. Its funny though, Optima does not detail this on their website, only on their paper work included when you buy the battery new. This is to bring back an AGM battery that is below 10.5 volts. I didnt do this tonight. But thought I would throw it out there for those who have an Optima and did'nt read the directions.

 

Battery sounds low if only 12.3.... Sounds like a dead cell if running volts from alternator in the 14 volt range. Think your problem is that and not xyz or ecu, unless additional wiring issues.

 

I am having a similar issue. One probably dumb question:

What is the MIL Light?

I looked in the manual and searched here. I see a lot of references to the MIL light but not in the manual.

Is the MIL the service engine light?

I have the M & S lights flashing with the gear indicator on the dash and a red light flashing next to the "D" on the shift bezel.

Sorry for the dumb question..

Art

 

Malfunction Indicator Light , aka check engine. Not dumb. If you have no service engine light lit, the code pages in the RAVE for automatic tranny (listed above) show that only one code turns on those lights, and DOES NOT turn on check engine (MIL). That is the one for battery volts low (under 9 volts, but maybe it only takes a moment). Thru fuse 12 in the underhood box the tranny ECU gets 24 hour power. I guess it is possible that the voltage is monitored at times when we would not expect it. So battery has to be 100%. In the old days the schematic for a Rover was one page of paper. A'int computers wonderful?

 

optima red tops are iffy at best, the build quality has gone hill over the past few years just my 2 cents....

 

die hard plat FTW

 

Same battery here.