2001 Disco TD5 dash lights up, but won't start.....

Morning.

After the gearbox went on my manual TD5 late last week, it was left in my yard with the key in the ignition for 5 days (in the off position). Yesterday, I went to start it up, and move her, but nothing happened. When I first got in the car and turned the key to position 1, all the dash lights came on like normal, but there was a bleeping I have never heard before and a flashing symbol in the digital mileage display. I turned the key to start the car, and no joy. It didn`t turn over, or attempt to crank, literally nothing happened. It was as if the battery was totally dead, yet this can`t have been the case as all interior and dash light were on. I also noticed that while the car will lock as normal with the remote, when I press the button to open the car, I need to press it twice in order to open the doors. (normally 1 press opens the drivers door, and 2 will open all doors)

I`ve search on google, and read my owners manual, but can`t find any info about this. I wondered whether it could be the remote battery, so changed this (although not with a panasonic one, as suggested by LR) and still no joy.

Has anyone had any issues like this before, or knows what it could be?

Thanks,

Rob

It's possible that the BCU "went to sleep"... what about the red LED on the dash?

U can try the next trick: lock with the fob, unlock with key, lock with fob, unlock with fob and try again. If no joy introduce EKA code....but before that put the battery on charger for a few hours, tha fact that the lights are working doesnt mean that it has enough juice to activate the starting systems.

sierrafery said:

It's possible that the BCU "went to sleep"... what about the red LED on the dash?

U can try the next trick: lock with the fob, unlock with key, lock with fob, unlock with fob and try again. If no joy introduce EKA code....but before that put the battery on charger for a few hours, tha fact that the lights are working doesnt mean that it has enough juice to activate the starting systems.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. The LED on the dash seems to be normal; rapid flashing for 10 seconds when locked, no prolonged flashed when unlocked.

I`ll try the other suggested ideas this afternoon, and will have my fingers crossed!

If the alarm led is behaveing normal then i dont think it's an immobiliser issue... put the ignition on position II and listen in the boot...do u hear the fuel pump working?... if yes look to the wire which feeds the starter solenoid.

sierrafery said:

If the alarm led is behaveing normal then i dont think it's an immobiliser issue... put the ignition on position II and listen in the boot...do u hear the fuel pump working?... if yes look to the wire which feeds the starter solenoid.

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Fuel pump is definately working, as I heard this last night. i`ll check the starter though, as this would make sense.

Thanks again.

That flashing thing on the odometer is not good... it means there is something related to the BCU, does it look like a B crossed with a line?...disconnect the battery leave it so about 10 min. connect it back and try again.

By the way... was the car exposed to rain in these 5 days?

Not 100% sure but I think i have heard of something like this before and it was that the BCU / ECU had lost the sync / info on the vehicle and was therefore blank - needed resetting with Nanocom etc.

this happened to me. I left my key in ignition overnight. Same problem.. Fortunately, I managed to figure it out. I locked the doors double locked them by pressing the button again from inside the car then unlocked them with the fob. Then the car started fine. A techie who was with me at the time said it was an immobiliser issue . The immobiliser basically came back on and got stuck. Failing that as another thought, It could also be your selector? Do you have auto??? If you do, try selecting the gears and back to P. Sometimes if the ECU thinks it is out of park, the thing wont turn over.

MudRat

sierrafery said:

That flashing thing on the odometer is not good... it means there is something related to the BCU, does it look like a B crossed with a line?...disconnect the battery leave it so about 10 min. connect it back and try again.

By the way... was the car exposed to rain in these 5 days?

Click to expand...

Yep, that`s the one! I couldn`t think of any way to describe it. I disconnected the battery for about 20 minutes last night, to no avail. With regards to rain, certainly not an excessive amount. The window was down about 2 inches due to an issue (another one!) with the regulator, but I can`t see this causing an issue?

AndyPoole said:

Not 100% sure but I think i have heard of something like this before and it was that the BCU / ECU had lost the sync / info on the vehicle and was therefore blank - needed resetting with Nanocom etc.

Click to expand...

Thanks, thats certainly the impression I`m getting now.

MudRat said:

this happened to me. I left my key in ignition overnight. Same problem.. Fortunately, I managed to figure it out. I locked the doors double locked them by pressing the button again from inside the car then unlocked them with the fob. Then the car started fine. A techie who was with me at the time said it was an immobiliser issue . The immobiliser basically came back on and got stuck. Failing that as another thought, It could also be your selector? Do you have auto??? If you do, try selecting the gears and back to P. Sometimes if the ECU thinks it is out of park, the thing wont turn over.


MudRat

Click to expand...

I`ll try this trick, and see how it works out for me. It`s a manual. by the way.

I`ll head upto the yard now, and see if I can shed any light on this!

Anyone want to buy a troublesome Disco?

If the BCU lost communication with the BCM (BCU), the engine would start and run for three seconds and then cut out so I think you can rule that out.
There is a transciever on the ignition barrel that sends a "correct key" signal to the BCU this may be the problem, have you tried a spare key?

Rain could be a factor cos it's quite common for D2's water ingress to the BCU....that's why i've asked

Thanks for all the help guys...........all sorted now!

To be honest, I don`t really know how I started it. I just tried a sequence of all the suggested ideas, and all of a sudden, it turned over and fired up. I`ve started it a number of times now too, using both keys and (touch wood) it seems back to normal.

Again, thanks for all the help.

Rob

i'm sure at one point u unlocked the door with the fob didnt u? ... cos that is usually resetting the BCU.... glad u finally sorted it no matter how

sierrafery said:

i'm sure at one point u unlocked the door with the fob didnt u? ... cos that is usually resetting the BCU.... glad u finally sorted it no matter how

Click to expand...

So many times, I lost count. I also unlocked it with the key, lcoked it with the internal button, disconneted the battery etc. Not a clue what actually helped me in the end, but it`s started, which is the main thing!

Which window was down?

Arent the connectors for the BCU located at the base of the A post behind the kick panel?

They wouldnt be happy if wet.

I am having the same problem with my TD5 this is the second time in 4 days it won't start with the flashing b coming up on the dashboard. This time at least it is on the drive, it spent 24 hours parked at a petrol station earlier in the week!!

I am going to disconnect the battery as suggested as i have tried numerous times unlocking it and locking it. It is so frustrating. I can hear the fuel pump working so that's a good thing.

Any more tips would be gratefully received.

Me too and funnily enough at the same petrol station both times ( not too sure if theres a connection there or not, as it was one of those Tesco option to pay at the pump....err...pumps )

Anyways, the fellamelad behind offered to gives the car a shove to get it out of the way and then goes on to say he had the same problem and it ended up being a bad earth

Not had chance to check this yet.

The starting issue has occured since on a couple of other occasions, and putting into park instead of Drive helped enormously:doh: