Land Rover Repair: DII M&S lights flashing and no start, check fuse, blown fuse

Question
Hello. I have a 2000 Discovery Series 2 w/ about 90k miles. In
the mist of driving the vehicle, the manual & sport mode lights
started flashing so i pulled over & turned the car off.....But it
would not  start back up again. So i just replaced the
battery....still no luck. (just get a click but car doesnt turn over &
what's strange is that after attempting to start the car the first
time w/ no luck, afterwards everything goes dead until i unhook
the battery, then re-connect) The manual & sport lights are
continuing to flash) So as of now it sounds like i have 2
problems, a possible gearbox/transmission problem, as well as
needing a new starter or alternator. It's a little wierd that both
issues would happen at the same time though....any ideas? How
could these 2 issues be connected? Is it possible that it's an
electrical problem? Thanks  

Answer
Hi Steven,

When the M & S lights flash, your vehicle has moved into "Limp Home Mode" because an electrical fault has been detected within the electronic transmission.  Sometimes it's as simple as a faulty battery (perhaps this is why you changed yours), other times it could be a blown fuse caused by an electrical short.  Check Fuse #21 in passenger footwell - this has been known to trigger the M&S fault.  

I don't think you have two problems. What can happen is that the shifter interlock is triggered and won't let you start your vehicle.  Have someone check the wiring on your shifter for a short.  This problem can also be caused if you traversed deep water OR your transmission ECU connectors are either wet or corroded.

I hope this helps.  May not be as serious as it seems but if you are unfamiliar with solving electrical problems you'll have to put your DiscoII into the hands of an expert.

Best of luck,

JohnMc