Battery drain - gear selector lights

[blindin]

Hi guys.
I noticed during the week when I turned the car off that the lights by the gear selector stayed on. They weren't as bright as normal, but they were visible. Sure enough, flat battery when I next jumped in it a few days later.
At the time I thought it may have been something I hadn't noticed before, and that they may have stayed on for a few minutes after turning off, or come on when the door is unlocked.
Well I was checking today, and that's not the case. Ignition on, selector light on, ignition off, light off.
Before I go hunting through rave, or ripping the interior apart, has anyone else had the same fault, or know what it could be?
My initial thought is that the power would come from the becm, so hoping that this is not on it's way out. The other issue maybe touching wires somewhere or fuse box. Fingers crossed for an easy fix.
It is also worth mentioning, that today I do not have the problem.

[wayneg]

When the vehicle is left and all timers have timed out the BECM goes into "sleep" mode which reduces current draw to about 40 mA with the alarm armed. When an input is sensed (eg unlocking the vehicle), it returns to activation mode with a current draw of about 1 amp. This is the cause of some of the battery drain problems some owners have experienced when parked in areas of high radio interference -- the BECM keeps getting "woken up" by the alarm system's RF receiver. If this happened constantly the battery could easily be dead within 24 hours.


To test.

Park the vehicle in a dark garage. Put the gear lever in park.
Lock the vehicle. Look at the gear position indicator lights. Once the interior lights have faded and your eyes have adjusted to the dark the neutral position indicator light will glow red faintly. After a while the light will go out and the BECM will go to sleep. If it does go out check the garage every few hours to see ft the light stays out.

[daf11e]

Blindin, has anything changed where you park?...for example a new garage auto door in the street,alarm etc.... I Had this happen to me whereby parking at my home makes my battery go flat but if I park anywhere else it's all good..... I Pulled the lead from my RF receiver and haven't had a problem for the past 2 years.....only down side is to use my remote I have to place it close to the rear d/side glass.....I know there is an update receiver, not cheap, I just haven't got around to sourcing one....may be worth a try to unplug and see if the battery goes flat.

[blindin]

Hi, this isn't any thing to do with the alarm.
The issue is that the light on the gear selector ( the little red lights to tell you what gear is selected ) was staying on when the ignition was turned off. I haven't checked where the power comes from, but with the ignition off it should not have been lit up regardless of when the door was open / alarm etc...
I had originally thought that so didn't pay any attention to it. But today, I can open the door and close it with no light. As soon as the ignition is turned on, the light comes on, as soon as ignition is turned off, the light goes out. And does not come on again until the ignition is switched back on.
It must of had power from some where the other day to make it stay on.

[daf11e]

Mine was coming on faintly as the RF was waking the becm , ....just thought it may help.

[Keithy P38]

Blindin, what he was referring to is a common P38 battery drain issue whereby rf frequencies cause the BECM to stay awake with the vehicle locked (whereby you see the light on the tranny selector stay on).

Some don't seem to have this issue, others do.

Cheers
Keithy

[blindin]

Ah ok. I do know about the alarm keep the becm awake. Is that a symptom of it then?
I'm just about to have a look through rave to see if I can find any thing.
I noticed it at 2 different places on tuesday. 1 of them at home where it is always parked.
This morning ( hasn't been driven since tuesday ) the battery was completly flat. My key fob does not work, so it will only ever be looked with the key.
As mentioned before, the selector light stayed on faintly on tuesday, but I didn't take much notice of it. Today it is going off.

So are you saying that if the becm is picking up any type of frequency, the selector light will come on?
Is there any thing else which would allow the selector light to come on with no key in the ignition?

I have had a flat battery before on a couple of occasions, I have been working on the stereo, and thought I had done some thing wrong, and then installed another cable from the alternator as that was not putting much voltage to the battery. Now I am thinking its the same problem.

[daf11e]

I don't think rave will help you as much as rangerovernet will....simply search for RF receiver, there are many situations to read about.
If you are only using the key you should disconnect the rf receiver aerial and you may find it'll fix your problem. Keep in mind that the remote is the recommended way of entering your vehicle as using the key only could be a disaster if the lock fails, but that's aanother story.

[wayneg]

[
To test.

Park the vehicle in a dark garage. Put the gear lever in park.
Lock the vehicle. Look at the gear position indicator lights. Once the interior lights have faded and your eyes have adjusted to the dark the neutral position indicator light will glow red faintly. After a while the light will go out and the BECM will go to sleep. If it does go out check the garage every few hours to see ft the light stays out.[/QUOTE]

[davidsonsm]

The advice given here is spot on from what I have read. It's RF receiver related. Unplug it until you can upgrade it.

[Scouse]

It might be RF related but as Wayne is trying to get across: the selector lights do take some time to go completely out. You just don't turn off the ignition & check - it can take several minutes.


Wayne's advice about checking them every so often while they're supposed to be out is a good indication that intermittent interference is waking up the BECM from time to time.

[blindin]

Why would they most of the time go straight out? ( work with the ignition )
If the alarm was turned off with a nanocom, would the rf thingamebob still pick up stray frequencies?
I am going to get a new key made up in the uk ( although that's been in the pipe line since I bought it )
Yesterday I removed the key from the fob, and the car locked and unlocked, and also started. How far away would the fob need to be before i knew for certain that I can drive the car with the key blade on its own, as I need to send them the whole key.
How does the key fob work? Does it send out a constant frequency to disable the immobiliser? I am under 2 opinions,
1 - the key transmits some type of rolling frequency which for some reason can't be copied. This sorts out the immobiliser, and allows the car to start. In theory, without the fob, the car won't start. You do not need to press any thing, the car just picks up the key is the right one. The immobiliser should arm after a set period of removing the key. The immobiliser disarms when the correct key is inserted in the ignition.
2 - the buttons allow the central locking to work ( I thought this was what the rf reciever picked up )
This does not need to work as long as the car still starts.

Mine is a uk import, so think it runs on a 415mhz frequency, not a 433mhz like au cars.
Is there a fuse which could be pulled to see if that is the power drain?

[wayneg]

You can turn off the Immobilizer with diagnostics and just use the key blade to open and start the car. The remote will continue to function as before.
Inside you remote key is a transponder, this is the thing which send the code

You can get a new key via Vin from the UK if you have some one there to pay and pick up. I have done it. If your key works and is just falling to bits you can get a case from e-bay. There are 2 keys, one and two. You can only use one of each.

If your immobilizer is already turned off, as it appears , just buy a blank key case from e-bay and get the key cut here. Last one I had cut was $25

[blindin]

Yeah, defiantly turned off.
I took the dog out this morning, and only took the blade.
Its started, so that has confirmed that.
I would like to get the remote locking done though.
Has any one tried to get a key fob just to do the central locking before?
I am aware that there is only 1 of each key which will work - is this for the immobiliser or the central locking part?
It would be good if I could get the remote locking working with just a generic fob, and not have all the issue with every thing else.
I may turn on the alarm / immobiliser to confirm that my key actually works. If it turns out that it doesn't, is it going to be stuck in active mode? or will I still be able to turn it off? A little worried that it may need an active key to turn off if you get where I'm coming from. I do have the eka some where, but who knows if it'll work. Where did you get you key done from vin from?

[wayneg]

Yeah, defiantly turned off.
I took the dog out this morning, and only took the blade.
Its started, so that has confirmed that.
I would like to get the remote locking done though.
Has any one tried to get a key fob just to do the central locking before?
I am aware that there is only 1 of each key which will work - is this for the immobiliser or the central locking part?
It would be good if I could get the remote locking working with just a generic fob, and not have all the issue with every thing else.
I may turn on the alarm / immobiliser to confirm that my key actually works. If it turns out that it doesn't, is it going to be stuck in active mode? or will I still be able to turn it off? A little worried that it may need an active key to turn off if you get where I'm coming from. I do have the eka some where, but who knows if it'll work. Where did you get you key done from vin from?

You get the key from any main dealer, I sent my rego papers over to a UK relative to get one.
The transponder is the hard part, thats what you can only get from a dealer key.
Got my key blade cut from a locksmith in Freo, they even found the correct code for their machine so the new one was cut as new, not from the old worn key.
I am not sure if you can sync another random genuine key to operate remotely. The generic fobs are empty shells with a blank blade, no electrics.
You should be able to get the EKA code from any dealer, it can also be read with some diagnostics. If the immobilizer is turned of that will make it irrelevant.


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-Button-Replacement-Remote-Key-FOB-Case-FOR-LAND-RANGE-ROVER-Discovery-P38-New-/251716905258?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3a9b7f292a

[Rupert Prior]

it is possible to use other remotes. it is just a bit different how they are wired in.

[blindin]

Thanks guys.
I did purchase a blank key when I first bought the car, as the old one was falling apart.
Also aware about the awkward dealer only key, I did manage to track down 2 places in the uk who can duplicate them, and also produce other keys. So fingers crossed with that. That works out about 100GBP. I will try and find some info on the alternative central locking info when I get time, that would be useful, I have an old discovery key, so fingers crossed I may be able to use that.
I noticed yesterday, when I got into my car the dim light was on again, but I had just unlocked it ( in a car park ) It did go out though.
It seems very weird why some times it comes on and some times it doesn't.

[Scouse]

I noticed yesterday, when I got into my car the dim light was on again, but I had just unlocked it ( in a car park ) It did go out though.
It seems very weird why some times it comes on and some times it doesn't.Unlock a door or open a door = BECM now 'awake'.
You need to have everything closed & off to check these lights.

[glenhendry]

I have watched the little red light next to the "P"ark dear indicator dozens of times and it is exactly 2 mins. You can time it. Lock the car and watch the light 120 seconds later. It will go off, but then if you have a problem with the BeCM waking, it will come on again seconds later.

It must be fixed as it can cause countless other battery related problems. There are heaps of threads on here about battery drain and Becm lockouts and RF receivers. The RF receiver is the first thing to test, and its easy. Check to see if it happens in other (quiet) places, and then check to see if pulling the antenna wire off the receiver fixes it.

Get a charger on the battery periodically until the saga is completed. :)

[blindin]

Ok, Just a quick note going here.
I've had another flat battery this morning.
I've now got the rf antenna disconnected, as I didn't think that was the issue, as I was not getting the gear selector lights come on. ( and I thought that they did not come on at all until the ignition switch was on. The issue was randomly they stayed on after ignition was turned off on their dim stat, but not very often. )
Well, while I was charging the battery, and disconnected the rf antenna, I thought I would check again.
The light is so dim beside the gear lever I can only just see it.
It was showing about a pin head size, I can just make it out with one eye closed squinting down between my hands, shading the area. When I have noticed it in the passed ( only twice, it is clear as daylight ) Today I now believe it has been on every time I've turned it off, but it has been to hard to see. Well, the antenna is disconnected now, lets see what happens over the next month or so. If no flat battery, it is as every one has mentioned. the rf antenna.
Thanks I will report next time, if again, I get a flat battery. Fingers crossed.

[daf11e]

Doubt you will get a flat battery....I also have a very dim light, hardly noticeable and has been like that for 2 years ....no battery drain.