Help....Numerous Problems

[Lola Beatle]

Hi everyone, need help, my Disco 3 HSE V8 is doing all kind of weird things, husband work away, his idea to get me some advise/help.

Alarm keeps going off, suspension height warning light on, today thw whindsceen wipers came on, and wouldnt turn off...........OMG, what is going on, she had a full service 5000 klm ago, no problems noted, just dont know what it could be, could it be damp, living in the NT, we have had a huge wet season .........any advise would be much appriciated
cheers

[Basil135]

How long since you have had the battery checked / replaced?

For that many weird problems to all occur at once, it more likely to be something simple (r) ;)

[Michael2]

Sounds like :
(1) Battery
(2) Computer
(3) Power to the computer (or earth from)

(1) if you turn the ignition on, but with the car not running, then turn on the headlights, are they bright or dull? Dull would indicate a low battery.
You can put the car on a battery charger to see if the problems resolve after awhile.
Do you have a multi meter? with the engine off measure voltage across the battery, should be over 12.5 volts. with the engine running, measure voltage across the battery, should be over 13.8 volts.

(2) Computer - Do you have a Hawkeye or similar diagnostic? Probably not. Disconnecting the battery completely may reset the computer, but you will probably have to reprogramme the security code on your radio, so have that handy.

(3) Check that the earth wire from the ECU is not loose. The earth wire will go from the computer and bolt onto the car. I only have a D2, so I'm not sure what the D3 set up looks like. Tighten the loose bolt (if there is one) and that should resolve things. Other things to check for are loose plugs to the ECU.

If there's a handyman handy with a multi meter, he needn't be a Land Rover expert to check some of those things.

[Lola Beatle]

Thanks guys
all sounds like good sound advise, dont know how i can do any of it, husband not due home for another week or so, i will talk to him about it, see what he says, may know someone who could help.
cheers

[Basil135]

If you are a member of the Auto Club up there, give them a call & get them to come out. They will be able to diagnose the issue.

But, my money is on the battery.;)

[willem]

The battery, I'd agree, is the most likely culprit.

But there's also a clue in the note about the big wet. If you have done a lot of off road driving and dust has collected on cable connections the moisture from the wet can cause problems. I was talking with a heavy machinery mechanic when I was working on the Tiwi Islands for a while. He reckoned the biggest killer of electronic machinery in tropical conditions was dust accumulating on electrical connection points and attracting moisture when the wet came.

I'd particularly check cables under the front wheel arches. I have been told that is a possible source of problems.

Willem

[rijidij]

The battery is the first thing to check with multible faults going off.
Most car battery sellers will test your battery free of charge if you just drive in.
Go to a battery specialist, for example, Exide Batteries at 7 Tang St
Coconut Grove. They will be able to tell you for sure if the battery is on it's way out.

Cheers, Murray

[lewy]

i am in gove until tomorrow.happy to have a look after i finish work but d3 may be a mystery to me.can however look at the cables etc. there is a lot of batterys collapsing at the moment though

[Lola Beatle]

Hi everyone, thanks so much for all your, advise, i have managed to book car in to Darwin Landrover for Monday, had a battery test done, when it was serviced last, about 5000klm ago, battery was all good, but i know that means nothing, up here, batteries dont last long, and the big wet wont have helped.

Hoping it is something simple, as car is running really well, cant see it being a major drama.

Thanks again for help,
cheers

[Lola Beatle]

Hi all, Landrover Darwin are telling me that it needs new Compressor for air bag suspension, $3,500 fitted, i removed wind screen wiper fuse, they put it back in and hey presto, working fine, they put it on scan tool, no faults for alarm coming up.................... very confused,

Having lived in Darwin for quite some years, i am very sceptical that they know what they are doing at all, we certainly cant afford that sort of money at the moment, what should i do????????????????

[Tombie]

Does the suspension take a long time to lift at the moment?

If so, You can order the compressor from the UK and spend some time underneath fitting it up :) save a bundle...

Or it may just need the desiccant replaced in the air inlet for the compressor - over time this can become clogged and cause compressor issues.

[BSM]

You can order the compressor from the UK

Tombie, which are the UK companies that will sell and ship compressors to Oz?

[Tombie]

Paddocks, Rimmer Bros

[scarry]

Does anyone know a good LR independent in Darwin,so can give another opinion?

That would probably be the best thing to do.

Maybe top end rover 0429648413

[Tote]

Compressor failure will be indicated by the suspension warning light. When I have had compressor problems it will typically start and run and will fault after a couple of minutes when insufficient pressure is detected. Turning off and restarting will clear for another period or it may generate enough pressure for the compressor to not fail. From your original description of lots of faults this sounds like a low battery or a bad connection or similar. My D3 will generate faults on the display if not driven for a couple of weeks when starting it. The other possibility is a faulty brake bulb or the brake switch these will generate multiple errors as well that are easily reset with a power off.
If the service centre cannot find permanent faults logged my bet is that they are speculating that the compressor might be on the way out and proposing to charge you for their fault finding time.

Regards,
Tote

[SBD4]

don't forget, the cheapest thing to try is the brake light switch located above the brake pedal. it's the source of many issues when it goes bad and only about $30.

[RichardK]

$3500 for a compressor replace seems to me to be very excessive, if I recall somewhat the cost of a compressor is around $800 - $1000 so where the rest of the expense is I dont know because it's not a hard job to do.

[lewy]

this is reasonable,but needs to have some installed software.
Air Suspension Compressor LR023964 LR010376 RYG500160 RQG500072 RQG500090 LR0452 Island 4x4 - Specialists in Land Rover and Range Rover Parts and accessories for all models. UK and worldwide mail order. (http://www.island-4x4.co.uk/suspension-compressor-lr023964-lr010376-ryg500160-rqg500072-rqg500090-lr045251-lr044360-p-4763.html)

[Michael2]

Hi all, Landrover Darwin are telling me that it needs new Compressor for air bag suspension, $3,500 fitted, i removed wind screen wiper fuse, they put it back in and hey presto, working fine, they put it on scan tool, no faults for alarm coming up.................... very confused,

Having lived in Darwin for quite some years, i am very sceptical that they know what they are doing at all, we certainly cant afford that sort of money at the moment, what should i do????????????????

Sounds like a computer glitch, not a compressor. I wouldn't rush to spend any money on that advice.

Sent from my MB526 using AULRO mobile app

[kiwirich]

Hi all, Landrover Darwin are telling me that it needs new Compressor for air bag suspension, $3,500 fitted, i removed wind screen wiper fuse, they put it back in and hey presto, working fine, they put it on scan tool, no faults for alarm coming up.................... very confused,

Having lived in Darwin for quite some years, i am very sceptical that they know what they are doing at all, we certainly cant afford that sort of money at the moment, what should i do????????????????

Hi Lola,

You could go & hire a car until your husband gets home. Then It'll be his problem.
When he goes to Landrover they'll change their tune .....
$3500 for a compressor is a rip

[discojools]

Yes $3500 for a compressor is a ripoff! Should be about 1000 to 1500 at most,!