trans program message

[ejhiggins]

i had the trans program message pop up this morning, i was driving and all of a sudden the engine died and the message came up, i couldn't start the engine it would crank but it felt like there wasn't any fuel being delivered to the cylinders, i waited about ten minutes and the car started again and the trans message was gone, the car drove fine with no noises or any apparent mechanical problems, the same thing happend three times today with the same outcome, the one thing that caught my attention was that every time this happened the car was sitting at a stop light or idling for more than 5 minutes , so i think heat has a lot to do with this

[Kalevera]

My buddy EJ -- Do a search yet? We yammer away about this one all the time...

But, we need more info besides "engine just died" -- died where/how? sitting at a stop light? under hard acceleration? any noises or weird preexisting behavior?

best, whit

[ejhiggins]

the engine died sitting at a stop light once and twice while the car was idling for more than 5 minutes, there were no weird noises , it just wouldn't start. after i waited about ten minutes it started fine and drove like nothing ever happend. every time this has happened the engine was warm and the outside temp around 98 F (i live in phoenix) it's never done this when the engine is cold or with the car driving at speed

[ejhiggins]

i searched for a while but didn't find anybody that had their engine quit while the trans program message poped up

[ejhiggins]

anybody with a 530 or 540 that has had the same problem?

[E34 530]

I had this when I left the door open on my 530i while cleaning it. It said trans control module has failed. We just jumped the car and it went away. Don't know if that's your problem, but just thought I'd chime in.

[ejhiggins]

i did a search and found a couple of people had a similar problem wich led me to check the throtle position sensor, according to the bentley manual there is supposed to be continuity (4.0 ohms) between the terninals, mine doesn't have continuity at all even when i open and close it and the weird thing is that this is not making the check engine light come on. Could this be what's making the engine die when idling for a long time and making the TRANS PROGRAM message come up ?

[Randell]

had a similar thing happen to me when i was driving a W126 420SEL a few years ago... the car would just stall while driving, then wouldn't start but would crank... let it sit for a bit and it would start up again and drive fine

i let it happen for a few days to try and work out a pattern, but there was none.. bloody dangerous problem to have! turned out to be the fuel pump relay

[Dan in NZ]

Trans program could just be coming up becuase hte engine died and the tranny comp got confused... Happened to me once when I ran out of gas. I just undid the battery for a while and it cleared itself.

[632 Regal]

I agree with Dan here, might have just been a fluke.


Trans program could just be coming up becuase hte engine died and the tranny comp got confused... Happened to me once when I ran out of gas. I just undid the battery for a while and it cleared itself.

[Russell]

Perhaps the alternator is not charging properly and this or a related electrical problem is causing the engine to shut down and the trans program is a side effect.
For example, I had the trans program come on for no reason when the battery was low.