Hey all. Attempting to start my 99 D2 after a couple of months sitting, and it appears to no longer want to shift out of park. Here's what I have so far:

1) The brake lights work.
2) Jumping the brake switch did not resolve the issue.
3) Applying 12V directly to the shift interlock solenoid allows the vehicle to shift.
4) The first time the vehicle was started, the M and S lights started flashing. This didn't happen again, but the transmission computer is reading 0705 - Position Switch Monitoring. The CEL is not on. I'm unclear if this is related, but it doesn't seem like this should stop the interlock solenoid from activating.
5) It's unclear from what I can read off the BECM if the brake signal is being read, but again, it doesn't seem that this should stop the interlock solenoid from activating (based on the wiring diagram from the RAVE manual, the brake switch should be directly connected to the solenoid).

I haven't yet traced the wiring throughout the car, but it's clear that header 0287 is getting power from the brake switch. Is this a sign of something more serious, or could I restore functionality for now by just removing the shifter solenoid?

 

Sounds like low battery voltage or dirty terminals. These things don’t like to sit very long. Your battery needs to be 100 %

 

Potentially? The Ultragauge showed a good voltage, so I'm not certain why that would lock it in park, but I can certainly try again.

I'm also thinking it might be a problem with the integrated relays in the fuse box. I had to remove the transfer case interlock a number of months ago; I thought it was an issue with the solenoid, but now I'm wondering if the relays are slowly going bad...

Is there any way to test this?

 

So what happens when you bypassed the solenoid ? Can you put it in drive and drive it ?
Does your dash say your in park ? If not than maybe look into your xyz switch that tells the computer what gear it thinks it’s in

I had my disco sit for 2 months when I started it the s and m lights were flashing
Tried driving it but something was off like it was stuck in 1st gear or something
I let it idle for 15 min let battery charge and when you leave these discos sit for a while the battery terminals get acid or corrosion on them
disconnect cables take a wire brush and clean the connectors and terminals
after I did that it’s been fine for 4 months now

 

When the solenoid was bypassed, it shifted fine, and the gear indicators appeared to be fine as it went through the various positions. I didn't try driving it at the time, but I will when I get home from work.

 

Update: Peeled back all the godawful tape on the wiring harness under the driver's side dash to try and find a voltage and accomplished nothing. Apparently the wire between the BCU and the fusebox is a serial data port, which isn't helpful. There doesn't appear to be a voltage at the interlock solenoid, so something is getting lost somewhere, but I can't figure out if it's the BCU gone bad or the fusebox.

 

I ran into this a few weeks back. I was in denver changing out a starter switch on my girls truck and then could not switch out of park. Somebody said to look at the break light switch. Bottom line it was getting dark and I was bored so I just yanked the solenoid and called it a day. It just takes away one less reason for late night emergency calls so I don't see a downside to it.

 

Yeah, the number of craps I've given about keeping the interlock functional has dropped precipitously in the last day.

 

Just to be clear, my primary concern is that whatever is happening here isn't a sign of more serious issues that will eventually cause the car to break down in a way that isn't easily fixable.

 

Sigh.

So after tearing apart the wiring harness under the dash, replacing the brake switch, and ultimately removing the shift interlock solenoid entirely, I sat back and thought to myself, "Jason, what if this is happening because you're an idiot?"

When I first got my Nanocom, I went in and changed a bunch of settings (superlock, single locking, etc.). Went back in this evening and there it was: Shift Interlock: NONE. Which, contrary to what I thought at the time, did not permanently disable the shift interlock, but made it so the BCU never sent a signal to deactivate it.

Lesson learned: Do more research before fiddling with stuff.