Thread: Electrical woes

Dud battery, loose terminals, dirty connections on the earth strap, that sort of thing?

Originally Posted by bee utey

Dud battery, loose terminals, dirty connections on the earth strap, that sort of thing?

Thanks - I've suggested that sort of thing to him, but don't know how well-checked it's all been. He took the vehicle to a sparky a few weeks ago with these symptoms and returned with a new starter motor (which of course was unlikely to have been the problem). I don't know how thorough the testing was beforehand.

I'll certainly remind him of this things you suggest. My biggest worry is that he will get the sh*ts with the vehicle (his in-laws are visiting from overseas and the lack of car is affecting everybody's family holiday...), turf the Land Rover and go over to the Dark Side.

Cheers,

John

No other ideas coming to mind? This bloke's wife is not impressed...

It really sounds like crappy connections somewhere (or 2). Check ALL earth straps, not just the battery one. As already said, clean battery terminals, verify battery is good,even to the point of swapping it out for a known good one if available.

if all else fails, how much does he want for the Disco ??

earths and the central locking might be the drivers door lock spring given up the ghost and dropping the mech down which tricks the central locking into locking the doors.

tell your mate to get a keyfob with a retractable string and put it on the key and his wallet (or something else he never puts down) and to wind the drivers side window down as soon as hes got the door open if he has to leave the vehicle for any reason.

unfortunately from my experience electric probs need very thorough and complex testing to put your finger on whats going on...

I have a 300tdi and had all the described issues at some stage (but not at the same time)

1.) "ticking noise" while turning the key = dead battery.

if it only happens sometimes and is fine other times it could be loose connections @ battery or alternator as suggested already, or a prob with the alternator: I took mine apart and the little bushes at the and of the springs needed a good filing down to get proper contact again, then all was good

2.) misbehaving central locking

mine turned out to be 3 of 4 doorlock actuator on their way out.... I lived with it for a yea or so, always amazed at the new combinations it came up with (whcih door locks and unlocks at what time etc) until it got annoying since the drivers door would not unlock anymore and I regularly had to enter the car through the passenger door... 39 dollar actuator kit from supercheap and a couple of hours of tinkering fixed it

3.) aircon turning itself off

turned out to be a switch in the thermostat housing. called aircon compressor cut out switch - supposed to open at a certain temperature to (as the name suggests) cut out the aircon compressor when engine is getting too hot.
If this switch is "right" (i.e. working correctly) it would obviously point towards other issues with the cooling system (and yes, I also have been there... there are many!!) or, if the switch is "wrong" (i.e. not working correctly) you're laughing and just have to replace the switch.


As I said,... probably needs more testing to isolate & pinpoint issues.
Good luck!!

Simone

i would go for the earths first as this is a common problem, it has even been suggested on this forum that it becomes a maintenance item

Thanks very much to everybody for their thoughts. I will certainly start by looking at the earth straps and any other connection I can find. I am kind of hoping for that sort of fault, which would be consistent with several components all acting up at once.

Stay tuned.

Thanks again,

John