Please help Discovery 2 on the verge of extinction

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Fuse2904

Member
Posts
29
Location
Hampshire
Hi all. Just joined the site as I could really do with some knowledge and assistance. I used to be part of other owners forums when I was a bit younger and they were always a good source to bang heads together for ideas.

Long story time....
My father owns a Discovery 2 TD5 ES, Circa 150k. A few months ago it failed the MOT on an oil leak from the sump gasket. I can put my hand to a set of tools but this seemed too big a job to do on a driveway. There was a few other items that it failed on but these seemed to be a suitable driveway job. Local to us we have a garage who are pretty handy with mechanical jobs and do not charge the earth for work. These are the sorts of people who you wouldn't want to touch anything electrical!! Whilst doing the sump, my father in all his wisdom asked them to do brakes and front suspension. Since then the car has had the 3 amigos lit up and the handbrake light.

They have washed their hands of it and we have been digging into the issue. Tried to read the fault codes but the OBD isn't reading on any machine, power to all the leads into the OBD and the machine lights up but no communication.

There is a power drop between the main fuse box and the ECU drops down to 7v. When you run a second cable it continuously lights all the dash up but the lights do not go out.

Tried the 3 Amigos mod with the shuttle valve, still no joy.

Now were stumped and throwing wasted money at this car!.

Logical head now, it wasn't there before so it must be something they have done! They have replaced front brakes and suspension so the hubs would have been off. So I am thinking replace both front hubs, rings and sensors to see if the problem goes away? Or a cheap ECU in case they have fried that but I would have thought if that was the case the vehicle wouldn't start?.

Other faults that may be related, leaking air bags so the vehicle goes to bump stops over night, or rear abs sensors and it is just a coincidence?

Any other thoughts or ideas would be appreciated.

Thank you in advance.
 
Hi all. Just joined the site as I could really do with some knowledge and assistance. I used to be part of other owners forums when I was a bit younger and they were always a good source to bang heads together for ideas.

Long story time....
My father owns a Discovery 2 TD5 ES, Circa 150k. A few months ago it failed the MOT on an oil leak from the sump gasket. I can put my hand to a set of tools but this seemed too big a job to do on a driveway. There was a few other items that it failed on but these seemed to be a suitable driveway job. Local to us we have a garage who are pretty handy with mechanical jobs and do not charge the earth for work. These are the sorts of people who you wouldn't want to touch anything electrical!! Whilst doing the sump, my father in all his wisdom asked them to do brakes and front suspension. Since then the car has had the 3 amigos lit up and the handbrake light.

They have washed their hands of it and we have been digging into the issue. Tried to read the fault codes but the OBD isn't reading on any machine, power to all the leads into the OBD and the machine lights up but no communication.

There is a power drop between the main fuse box and the ECU drops down to 7v. When you run a second cable it continuously lights all the dash up but the lights do not go out.

Tried the 3 Amigos mod with the shuttle valve, still no joy.

Now were stumped and throwing wasted money at this car!.

Logical head now, it wasn't there before so it must be something they have done! They have replaced front brakes and suspension so the hubs would have been off. So I am thinking replace both front hubs, rings and sensors to see if the problem goes away? Or a cheap ECU in case they have fried that but I would have thought if that was the case the vehicle wouldn't start?.

Other faults that may be related, leaking air bags so the vehicle goes to bump stops over night, or rear abs sensors and it is just a coincidence?

Any other thoughts or ideas would be appreciated.

Thank you in advance.
I would think they have buggered up the hub sensors. You will need a nanocom or Hawkeye to read any faults and find out which hub(s). Other code readers don't work on the D2.
 
Hi Bobdog.

Thanks for the quick reply. Really appreciated.

Are they quite expensive to buy? If so would it be easier to just replace both the hubs and hope the lights go out?

Does the d2 reset itself or does it have to be cleared?
 
Hi Serrafery.

Ran from b1 and b2 from the fusebox to the Ecu plug both test and second wire
Sorry that's too vague to me, in order to be able to help you i need to know EXACTLY which pin of the plug was with 7V also i dont know what do you mean by b1 and b2 :confused:
 
Best bet is to offer cake and tea for someone local with a suitable reader to get the codes for you and then we'll be able to assist better. :)
 
OK some simple tasks to check

1) Have the sensors been unplugged and not properly refitted?
2) Check the wiring from car to hub, have they broken the wire?
3) Has the sensor been removed from hub and not pushed back properly?
 
By "front suspension" do you mean they did the front ball joints? Quite easy to damage the sensor/cable if it's been removed & put back as part of this job, if you're not careful.

The ABS sensor cables are routed VERY close to the driveshafts as the cable comes out of the hub. The cable has a couple of rubber grommet thingies that sit into metal brackets to stop wires & driveshafts getting together! Any chance the clips were missed off, some similar misdemeanor? Would be worth a good visual inspection with wheels off IMO & then as the Right Honourable Bobdog suggests - time to call the Hawkeye/Nanocom cavalry!
 
Hi Bobdog.

Thanks for the quick reply. Really appreciated.

Are they quite expensive to buy? If so would it be easier to just replace both the hubs and hope the lights go out?

Does the d2 reset itself or does it have to be cleared?
As others have said, do a visual check first, to make sure nothing is obviously out of place. If not, then go down the nanocom/Hawkeye route. You will need one to reset the lights/clear fault. The hubs are ridiculously expensive if you go genuine, aftermarket are much cheaper but quality can be a bit of a minefield. Don't go too cheap, buy OEM from a reputable company but find out if you need to first. ;)
 
None of that would stop you reading the codes :)

You can have problems reading brake codes with the engine running....or you do with the Delphi I have.
 
A simple check measuring the resistance of each ABS sensor from the connector C0505 on the SLABS unit (under the glovebox, passenger side) can be done in 10 minutes, and avoids getting filthy!

Check the values against the RAVE documentation. A damaged electrical connection reading may help you to home in on the relevant wheel(s) more quickly.
From memory the pins to measure between are 1 and 2, 3 and 6, 4 and 5, 7 and 8. 'Fraid I can't remember which reading refers to which wheel, though I have it etched in my brain that pins 3 and 6 refer to the left rear sensor. Expect equal readings from all 4 sensors, typically 900 ohm to 1100 ohm.

Beyond this there are better minds advising you. My gut feeling would be to check the wiring condition and local sensor connections at the two wheels that were worked on by your friendly rock-apes.

MM
 
Is your battery fully charged, and I mean FULLY charged?. A lot of problems with the 3 amigos have been because of low battery.
This happened to me one time. Charged battery fully and have never seen 3 amigos again.
Maybe I am sending you off on the wrong direction but please give it a try. I always start with the simplest/cheapest possible answer.
Other than that I cannot offer any other suggestion.
 
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