Land Rover Repair: 1996 range rover auto, instrument pack, rangie

Question
hi,
recently bought a range rover 1996 auto 2.5 dse. When I selected low range than returned to high range, the green lights on the h gate started flashing and a message saying "select Neutral". It now comes and go's, its still ok to drive (I think) but the flashing and the message wont go. can you help. Also, first thing in the morning I have to heat up the plugs twice before it will start. again can you help.

thanks

peter

Answer
Hi Peter,

do you have an owner's manual for that Rangie?  Here's what I found and maybe it can help:

LOW RANGE GEARS
ONLY use low range gears in situations where low speed manoeuvring is necessary, such as reversing a trailer or negotiating a boulder strewn river bed; also use low range for more extreme off-road conditions where progress in high range cannot be maintained.  When low range is selected, the message centre displays 'LOW' momentarily, and then 'L' is displayed along with the relevant gear
selected (eg.'L2').

High/low range change warning
An audible warning will sound whilst a change from one gear range to another is attempted. The warning will cease once the change is complete or cancelled.

Using the 'H-gate'
To make a change from high to low or vice versa, the vehicle must be stationary!
• Apply the brakes and select 'N'.
• Ensure the vehicle is stationary, then fully depress the catch built into the handle of the selector lever and move the lever across the cross-piece of the 'H-gate'. On reaching the required gear range position, the 'H'-gate illumination and the transfer gearbox warning light (in the instrument pack) start to flash and the audible warning sounds.
• Wait until illumination of the new gear range selector positions is constant and the transfer gearbox warning light extinguishes (the audible warning will silence and High or Low is displayed in the message centre), before selecting the desired gear in the new range and releasing the brakes.
• If the vehicle is moving when a transfer gear change is attempted, the message centre will display 'SLOW DOWN' and the audible warning will sound.
• If the gear range is changed and forward or reverse drive engaged without first waiting in 'N' for the illumination to stop flashing and the audible warning to stop, the message centre will display 'SELECT NEUTRAL' and a warning will sound -reselect 'N' and wait for range change completion before selecting the required driving gear.

WARNING
To avoid personal injury and possible damage to the transmission, it is essential to ensure that any change of gear range is fully completed before releasing the brake
and driving, i.e:
• Illumination of the gear range selector positions is continuous.
• The transfer gearbox warning light has extinguished.
• The audible warning is silent.
• The message centre displays the
appropriate message - 'HIGH' or 'LOW'.

And here's what I can tell you about your plug problem:

According to LR techsheet - Glow plug preheating time is regulated by the heater timer relay in the heating time control unit. This connects to the glow plugs in the cylinder head and to the ECM.

The control unit monitors and operates the glow plugs; operating time for the glow plugs is dependent on engine temperature.

Do you live in an extremely cold region?

Best of luck,

JohnMc