Thread: New to LR and need some advice

Originally Posted by Disco convert

Hi everyone

I am now the proud owner of a MY12 D4 (3.0 SDV6 SE with technology pack) which I purchased recently in Sydney and drove back to WA. It now has 115,000km on the clock. Absolutely love it and it is everything I thought a D4 would be (and more)! I discovered AULRO during pre purchase internet research sessions and I am equally impressed with this forum and the level of camaraderie and assistance offered to fellow owners. I'm beginning to understand that owning a LR is not like owning other cars .....................

So, similar to many who have preceded me and will follow me, I have a million questions about servicing, modifications, where to buy parts, etc. For the most part, I hope to be able to find most of what I need in the various threads but I do have a couple of (related) questions that I'm hoping somebody can help with. You see, my D4 has this funny glitch that happens........................I knew you'd understand!

On the second day of my trip from Sydney, I was driving along when a msg popped up on the screen saying something like "Cameras unavailable at this time. Please consult your dealer". After that, the screen went blank, the radio and the climate control/air con turned off, the time and date disappeared from the info centre in the speedo/tacho console, and I lost indicators. "OMG what have I done" says I, as you can imagine on the fourth day of ownership! I remembered not to panic (advice from a LR mechanic) and, sure enough, everything seemed to reset and came back on after a couple of minutes. it did the same thing about 3 or 4 more times during that day and then nothing more for the rest of the trip or the next few weeks.

I have now owned the car for a bit over 2 months and it has just started to do this again, and more. In summary, it still does all of the above but has now added the following to it's repertoire - window lock does not operate, passenger side window won't operate from the driver's control switch panel (but will from the passenger switch), passenger side mirror won't adjust, central locking won't work (including the "beep beep" 'stuff you' tone from the horn), and all of this seems to happen around the same time. Incidentally, I hopped out to check the indicators and they do actually work but no audible or visual indications inside the cab.

This pattern seems to be happening more frequently now (over the past 2 weeks) but some days all is well and everything works perfectly. (?????????) Has anybody had a similar pattern happen with their D4?

My related question concerns diagnostic tools (surprise). Not being too flush with money, I would like to do as much of the maintenance on it as possible, and I don't want to take it to a dealer or LR specialist every time it has an electronic hiccough. So I'm in the market for a diagnostic tool and it seems the general consensus is that the IID Gap Diagnostic tool (Bluetooth version) seems to be the go. Would that be a fair assumption? And is Island 4 x 4 (UK) the place for the best price on these (and parts in general)? I have been quoted just under $800 to purchase this in WA, which seems a little over the top to me................it looks like you could even purchase it for about $650 from the Gap Diagnostic website.

Obviously, any help people are able to offer would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers

Hi.

Sorry to hear you've had so much trouble already.

Wiser heads will probably comment but a diagnostic tool would say what's possibly wrong. I have a GAP tool. As for price, I paid $593.31 (GBP350) on March 30 this year. I wrote to Dan Roberts at duckworth LR (danroberts@duckworthlandrover.co.uk) mentioning that he had been recommended on this site. He provided the best price I could find by far. Had it in my hands on April 10.

Forgot to say that a member nearby may be able to help with a diagnostic tool.

Martin

Originally Posted by Disco convert

... a msg popped up on the screen saying something like "Cameras unavailable at this time. Please consult your dealer". After that, the screen went blank, the radio and the climate control/air con turned off, the time and date disappeared from the info centre in the speedo/tacho console, and I lost indicators. .... it did the same thing about 3 or 4 more times during that day and then nothing more for the rest of the trip or the next few weeks. .... window lock does not operate, passenger side window won't operate from the driver's control switch panel (but will from the passenger switch), passenger side mirror won't adjust, central locking won't work

This looks similar but not identical to issues suffered by myself and Mungus (thread links below). There seems to be a correlation between the loss of functions on the dash etc and a shorting canbus wire somewhere. In my case this was in the engine bay caused by the sharp edge of my dual battery tray. In his case it was the rear a/c squashing a wire. Having said that, we both had "Smart Key Not Found" messages which you haven't mentioned. It is also feasible that you have a loose earth connection somewhere. It certainly seems intermittent rather than the usual suspect of dying battery but that is always worth eliminating first just in case.

Centre Console & Dash Off & Not Starting
No Brake lts/Hazards etc on Auto H/Lts + Long Hard Reset

Yes it will be invaluable to have an iiD Bluetooth to even get clues as to what's happening. As mentioned, check Island 4x4 and Duckworths for pricing (usually the best).

Scott

I havent heard of anyone using these, but I seen this option floating around ebay:
FOR Land Rover Range Rover Vogue Diagnostics kit IDS "SDD" v130 | eBay

Welcome. Stick to getting the Gap tool

Seems to be a problem (possible short circuit) with the medium speed can-bus somewhere causing lack of communications between the various attached modules. The GAP tool show give a clue if used whilst the fault condition exists as well as showing all the fault codes generated. A module communications network diagram for the medium speed can-bus from the WSM for your model may be helpful. The MY11 copy that I have may not be close enough to your model.

MY11..

I would have to agree with Scott & Graeme, it seems most likely a connectivity issue in the CAN bus or an earthing issue. Also, don't discount a possible problem with the instrument cluster, everything goes through this.

Once you get the diagnostic tool, post up the errors and we'll have a shot at deciphering things for you.

Do you know anything about the history of the vehicle (dealer servicing etc)?