Please Help - something is wrong with my tiptronic display can't shift manual

[mudd1011]

Hi, I had a dime fall back in my front ash tray so I removed the tiptronic cover and unplugged the shifter gear selector/circuit board so I could remove the ashtray..I had to move the car a few feet and turned on the ignition while the tranny gear selector cable was unplugged. Now the display on the instrument cluster says PRNDS in red. when I select a gear, it doesn't change on the display, nor can I shift manually. The car seems to shift fine on it's own, but not sure what I need to do to get in back to the way it was. I did some searching and some people mentioned the magnets getting out of position. Not sure how that would happen as they are embedded in the rubber shifter sleeve. Do I have to take it to the dealer?

It's a 2006 B7 Avant

Any ideas?

Thanks

[walky_talky20]

If the magnets are out of place, you won't have access to Tip mode. But that won't affect the gear selector display, other than not engaging Tip. When the gear selector display is all lit up like that, it usually means there is a fault code stored in the transmission computer. There are several faults that can cause that. Usually you just clear the code and all is back to normal. Sounds like you just triggered a code by starting the car with that thing unplugged. No big deal.

[mudd1011]

are you saying if I clear the code, my tip will work again ? I just drove it and it shifts fine in D, also in S (It just doesn't display D or S as selected or let me shift manually - I can move it to Tip mode but it thinks it's still in D and does the shifting for me. That would be great if it's just a fault code that needs to be cleared.

Thaks

[walky_talky20]

Yes. The display showing all positions lit up is an indication that a fault code has set. Usually when it does that, the fault code has something to do with gear shifter position. For example, the range switch at the transmission triggered a fault, or in your case probably "open circuit" for the tiptronic select sensor. Even if the fault is resolved, the transmission sort of protects itself by not automatically resuming normal function. That way you take it to a shop, they pull the code, and check it out before clearing it.

I believe clearing the code will permit it to resume normal function without issue, as long as nothing is actually broken. I suppose it is possible that disconnecting the battery for a bit, or just driving time may reset it, but I doubt it. The TCU codes generally don't go away until you clear them.

[mudd1011]

thanks again..I've decided to pony up and get the ross tech cable/software so I can diagnose issues and my screw ups without paying the dealer to fix (since I'm out of warranty). Hopefully clearing the code will work and I did nothing else to damage it.