Land Rover Repair: automatic transmission, park position, disengage, landrover discovery, check fuse

Question
1996 LandRover Discovery. Start engine, foot on brake, push
thumb release, shift lever will not budge, remains in Park. Level
ground. Last gear used, reverse to park for shut down. Is the
thumb release mechanical or electrical? There appears to be no
cabin access via interior cowling. From beneath I don't know what I
am looking for other than intactness of visible elements. No
obvious binding. The manual does not include detail drawing nor plan.
Hence examination is rudementry. I do not know what I am
looking for, nor where to look. My hunch is that it is a simple
problem. In spite of all my mechanical experience I am in the
dark. Thank you for your attention. ronald

Answer
Hi Ronald,

So your Disco is stuck in park.  It may be just as you suspect...a simple problem.  I hope so.  

Here is a method to verify and correct this problem:

Check Fuse F1 in the fascia fuse box. If the fuse is blown, replace.  If the fuse always blows, check the terminals on the rear defrost to make sure there is not a short.  This has been known to happen.

If your brake lights DON'T come on when you press the pedal, inspect the four wires on the brake light switch above the brake pedal. If switch looks ok, using a small spare wire, jump the green/purple wire and the green/orange wire. The brake lights should come on and you should be able to shift out of park.  

This little fix will leave your brake lights on all the time! You'll have to visit your LR dealer to have this serviced.

If your brake lights ARE working when you press the brake pedal, you should examine to verify if the clip on the shift lever button is intact. They have been know to come off and not lift the rod in the handle.

Best of luck,

JohnMc