Thread: Disco 1, came with plip and keys. Vehicle battery gone flat. keys won't open vehicle!

With a bit of luck you should be able to access the battery cable on the starter motor from under the car, attach a wire there to connect up your charger/spare battery.

Definitely sounds like the ignition batrel has been replaced. Give the seller a quick call, it may have been an o ersight on his part and the other keys are sitting in a drawer somewhere.

Originally Posted by bee utey

With a bit of luck you should be able to access the battery cable on the starter motor from under the car, attach a wire there to connect up your charger/spare battery.

That sounds great, just hope there is nothing too fancy on the car to be affected by the charger, as the battery will perforce remain connected. It's -2 degrees over here in pomland but if all else fails I'll give it a go.
Thanks for the tip. If it was a 300tdi with no ECM, I'd do it straightaway.

Originally Posted by Stanleysteamer

That sounds great, just hope there is nothing too fancy on the car to be affected by the charger, as the battery will perforce remain connected. It's -2 degrees over here in pomland but if all else fails I'll give it a go.
Thanks for the tip. If it was a 300tdi with no ECM, I'd do it straightaway.

I don't think the 14CUX computer is particularly delicate, they're pretty primitive. If in doubt, connect your extra power supply via a 55W globe to limit inrush currents. As soon as the globe dims, go direct.

Originally Posted by mike123

Definitely sounds like the ignition batrel has been replaced. Give the seller a quick call, it may have been an o ersight on his part and the other keys are sitting in a drawer somewhere.

Hi Mike
I've already emailed previous owner, he only had it a short time and cannot be sure he ever opened a door with the key. There are three keys with it, all with the same profile but one with a curious small head on it, if you see what I mean. I feel the two obvious Land Rover keys were the two that came with either the vehicle or the replacement barrel, and the third is a spare that was cut. I once had to replace a barrel on my other Disco 1 and the replacement came with two keys that were lookalikes for a Land Rover key. I took one off the ring and put it on the original ring with the plip and the original key so that this could not happen. I suspect the previous owner who changed the barrel just put the plip on the ring with the two keys and, as you said, left the original keys in a drawer. But unfortunately it was not the owner previous to me.
Previous owner suggests door locks may be sticky so I'll try lubing them with WD40 and/or silicone spray. It IS cold over here so its faintly possible they are a bit frozen too, so a blast with a hairdryer may help. I'll also get hold of a bit of flexible plastic strap and do the old car-thief trick to see if I can lift the lock button.
If all else fails I'll try a charger attached to the starter motor lead and an earth somewhere.
Thanks for the tips and advice All, I'll keep you posted and enjoy the run up to Christmas on the beach! (Cannot imagine what that is like, we'll be in the Yorkshire Dales enjoying some snow on single track roads in our Disco 2 td5!)

Originally Posted by bee utey

I don't think the 14CUX computer is particularly delicate, they're pretty primitive. If in doubt, connect your extra power supply via a 55W globe to limit inrush currents. As soon as the globe dims, go direct.

Bee utey, you are being so much help. I really appreciate it. If I am not being too thick, I think you mean connect an old main beam headlight bulb in series with the positive lead of the charger before attaching it to the positive lead off the starter. I am not great with electrics, although I manage but I am too old to really know about ECMs and I did damage one on a TD5 simply by accidentally dropping it about two feet onto gravel! No wonder the army will not use them!
Please reply to let me know if I have understood you correctly before I try what you suggest. Thanks again ever so much.

Originally Posted by Stanleysteamer

Bee utey, you are being so much help. I really appreciate it. If I am not being too thick, I think you mean connect an old main beam headlight bulb in series with the positive lead of the charger before attaching it to the positive lead off the starter. I am not great with electrics, although I manage but I am too old to really know about ECMs and I did damage one on a TD5 simply by accidentally dropping it about two feet onto gravel! No wonder the army will not use them!
Please reply to let me know if I have understood you correctly before I try what you suggest. Thanks again ever so much.

Pretty much, although it depends a bit on your charger. Modern chargers may not even work with a dead flat battery (i.e. no detected voltage to work with), and older chargers don't have any protection against arcing. Using jumper leads off another vehicle you have the potential for a large arc so there the globe is most beneficial in limiting initial current to around 4 amps.

Hi Stanleysteamer, I did the same as your earlier D1, swapped ignition and had the new key and old key together. It made it simple. I put a small collar of shrink wrap at the top of the new keys to distinguish between old and new key.

Yorkshire's a nice place for the cold. Friends from there were doing up a Defender for Iceland.

Hope you get it resolved quickly.