New P38 owner with a few questions

[ScottW]

Hi all

After lurking here for a little while researching, I just got myself a 1998 P38A and so far I'm liking it. Nice to drive.

The fuel gauge doesn't work, and I can make do with that hopefully, but the other problem is a pain. When I pop the bonnet, only the drivers side catch releases and the bonnet won't open.

Any help would be appreciated so I can change the oil, bleed the brakes and all the other things that should be done.

Cheers
Scott

[strange_rover1]

Gday scott,
I too am new to the P38 club, I have found Rangerovers.net to be very helpful so far, have a look at the problems and fixes section, it may be in there? Also Ron may be able to help, he should see this soon!!
Shano

[rovercare]

www.rangerovers.net (http://www.rangerovers.net)

Is a wealth of P38 info, just watch out for Ron beckett, apparently a bit of a trouble maker:angel::D

[p38arover]

I was sleeping with his wife the other day and she told me the same thing! :D

[p38arover]

Re the bonnet catch - I have never experienced that problem. I don't know how one would open it. You can't remove the grille unless the bonnet is open. I don't know if the RRNET site mentions it. You could try the RRNET forum.

Ahh - see the third post at RangeRovers.net • View topic - Hood Stuck (http://rangerovers.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=18755&p=132367&hilit=stuck+hood#p132367)

That covers how to access the LH catch.

Let me think about the fuel gauge.

[rofosixone]

if your fuel gauge isent working ,i had same problem. at 240,oookm it stopped went to range parts toongabbie and peter told me that in the tank pump and gauge sender are together you can not buy seperate. cost me 518 dollars 3 years ago put it in than gauge worked but remember dont throw away unit because you can still use pump for spare later on , that was my problem could be yours (the sender) .by the way when the gauge is working the yellow light when comes on you still have 60/70 kms left in tank highway driveing ,cheers ralph.

[pomonastik]

i'm not sure this will necessarily work in this case but the old way of fault finding with fuel gauges/senders was to identify the relevant lead at the tank, unplug it and touch it to earth. if fuel gauge then shows full its the sender and/or its earth at fault, if not its either the gauge or the line.
two points:
1/ make sure there is no chance of petrol fumes becoming exposed to the spark.
2/ obviously ignition must be switched on

[p38arover]

Regrettably, one can't access the sender without dropping the tank as it's part of the pump assembly and it's fitted from above. Dropping the tank is a pain (I did mine recently to fit the long range tank).

I think you'll need to get the Electronic TroubleShooting Manual (ETM) and trace wires back to the BECM. I think you'll find it's not a direct feed to the fuel gauge but goes via the computer.

If you don't have a workshop manual and ETM, see here: AULRO Classifieds - Message - Powered by PhotoPost Classifieds (http://www.aulro.com/apc/showproduct.php/product/1164/cat/34)

[ScottW]

I have been on Rangerover.net too a fair bit, looking up things.

Seems a common problem with the fuel gauge is the contacts (on top of the tank) corroding. Have to drop the tank and see. Until then, I guess I'll have to rely on the trip meter and some maths. Does anyone know how much does the tank holds?

With the bonnet, I used the highly technical method of slipping a set of needle nose pliers in between the grill slats, carefully grabbing the bonnet catch cable, and then giving the whole thing a good yank. Popped straight open, and has worked fine every time since.

After 2 days driving it's all good so far, although I think the air suspension may have a leak somewhere. I set the suspension on high and left it overnight and it kept the height, but the compressor seems to run too much so I'll have to go leak hunting.

I have a Rave CD to and I'm quite familiar to the RRC's and Rover cars as my father has owned a few, including one with a manual p76 with carb spacers and twin su's from the early rover cars which will probably be parted out soon due to a small fire. Car was re-wired and still runs fine, just got too ratty fo the road.

Thanks for the help, and I"m sure there will be more questions.

[PaulP38a]

Seems a common problem with the fuel gauge is the contacts (on top of the tank) corroding. Have to drop the tank and see. Until then, I guess I'll have to rely on the trip meter and some maths. Does anyone know how much does the tank holds?



Hi Scott
Standard P38 fuel tank size is 100L. Around town, I'm lucky to get 400-450KM before the orange light comes on. Highway driving up to 600KM if I behave. I've never fully tested the "< 80KM range" warning but have driven at least an extra 40KM with the orange light and the display warning.

cheers
Paul.
1995 P38A Range Rover 4.6 HSE

[ScottW]

Thanks for that Paul. Hopefully I will see slightly better figures than that, since I have the smaller 4.0 engine and drive like an old nana.
I filled the tank yesterday, so I'll see how it goes when I re-fill next week.

[Rusty Rangie]

Hey scott,

I just bought a 96' P38. I have the same problem with my fuel gauge.
I have been told two things from dealers
1. Sender unit and pump are one unit around $600 plus two hrs labour
2. Sender unit can be replace by itself, around $270 plus 2hrs labour.

I found the sender units for sale by british parts in the UK Range Rover P38A--Fuel-Emissions (http://www.britishparts.co.uk/.sc/ms/cat/Range%20Rover%20P38A--Fuel-Emissions).

$61 plus postage.

Can anyone tell me how hard it is to drop the tank and replace just the sender unit? I'm thinking off doing it myself and saving same cash.

Cheers Russ