1995 Range Rover HSE - Some issues to overcome

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Valiante

New Member
Posts
175
Location
Essex
Hello again,

As I mentioned in my introduction thread, my recently purchased 95 Range Rover has a small handful of issues I need to overcome, hopefully with your help and advice.

First off was a bunch of "Window Not Set" messages popping up, but after a brief search on here last night I was able to reset all the windows. The only one which persists now is the "Sunroof Not Set". Despite opening and closing, both tilt & slide, several times the error still pops up. ← This is now solved (see below).

Secondly, despite driving back from Faversham to Essex, giving it a good hour's run, sitting out there last night for 5 mins rolling the windows up and down, I then decided to start the engine. Click, click, click.... flat battery. The battery's brand new, so I can only assume that either (most unlikely) I flattened it by winding the windows up and down a few times, or (more likely) the alternator's knackered. The alternator did appear to be making a slight grinding noise (bearing?) when the engine was ticking over, so I planned to have this looked at anyway. But not being mechanically minded, is there an easy way to tell whether the alternator's putting a charge in the battery, say with a multimeter? ← Developments on this too (see below).

Finally, there seems to be an inordinate amount of condensation building up on ALL windows (front, rear and side) within just a few minutes of shutting down the engine and locking the car. This has happened on both occasions I've stopped and locked the car after driving. It clears quickly enough once the interior heater's on, but surely this is indicative of a problem? I should note at this point that there's a large crack in the front windscreen which is being replaced this week - could that be the cause, or should I be looking for something more sinister?

Sorry for the small wall-of-text. I'd really appreciate any help you experienced land rover owners may be able to offer.

Thanks in advance!

:D
 
Last edited:
Sorry for the double post, but some things have changed since posting and approval...

Managed to reset the sunroof, so I no longer get this error. Credit goes to this post on landroversonly.com - got it first time after reading that.

I had a good old google earlier and found the basic method of checking one's alternator... while running at 3k revs the multimeter was reading 14v - so that says to me it's not the alternator at fault. Took her for a spin for 15 mins, came back, turned her off, waited a few moments and started her again no problem. Waited 3-4 hours and she started again, albeit slightly laboured. Waited another few hours and she was dead... click, click click...

I'm thinking I have a slow drain somewhere so I'm going to try the in-line multimeter plus fuse pulling technique I read about in a few threads on here.

The final condensation issue remains a mystery, but I guess there's no point sweating about that until after the windscreen has been replaced.

So I guess if anyone has any insights, ideas or suggestions in the meantime they'll be most welcome, but I guess the ball's in my court for now! :D
 
Trouble with the condensation thing is, once the car gets damp inside it will keep on getting damp with use. Check all the carpets for excess dampness in case you have a specific leak. In the first instance I would hang on until we have a nice hot sunny day and leave the windows open for the day with any mats etc removed. At least then you will have a benchmark to start from.
 
Check all the carpets for excess dampness in case you have a specific leak. In the first instance I would hang on until we have a nice hot sunny day and leave the windows open for the day with any mats etc removed. At least then you will have a benchmark to start from.
Good tips, thanks! :)
 
Mine also suffers from this same problem. After much research I have found the cause, but not the solution -

In order to build the P38, the good men of LR at Solihull rose early, fortified themselves with a hearty breakfast and then trekked the 110 miles to the factory. There they braved minus temperatures, even in summer, but their hearts were strong, and their determination to build the best car in the world even stronger.

They worked barefoot, standing on bolts, clips, plugs and all manner of objects, (all of which should have actually been inside the car during the build process) but these men knew no pain. All they lived for was the toil and graft that went into making the best car in the world.

No, not for them the shoddy work practices of the Germans or Japanese - no my friend, these were real grafters. Not for them the strikes and stoppages that bedevilled the rest of the British motor industry - these heroes worked tirelessly for half an hour or more each day.

Many bled, to bring you your car, many suffered injuries resulting in numerous 'sickies', but this didn't stop the rest. So keen were they to produce the best that the line kept going, missing workers and parts and all - just to get you the car you wanted.

So next time you get in your car and there is condensation inside, think this, think graft, sweat and tears - what you have inside your car my friend, what we all have inside our P38's is sheer, unadulterated Solihull perspiration. Be proud.

(Or open the windows)
 
If it's a P38, the common causes of condensation are pollen filters blocked/ covers leaking, aircon drains blocked, "O" rings leaking. If the carpets are wet, fix it before your BECM is toast.
Battery drain could well be the diode pack in the alternator, you should have more than 14 volts @ 3000rpm if the battery is good and the alternator is funtioning correctly more like 14.5v The grinding noise also suggests that the alternator is U/S.
 
@Kieronf - That was epic! :D

@All - The saga continues. I have today completed my fuse box tests... the multimeter reads 9.5 mA with all fuses still in, the doors closed, ignition off and everything settled down.

I removed each and every fuse, from both fuse boxes, one by one. Each time the resulting reading was 9.5 mA.

So I'm lost. There is a drain of 9 mA or so, but I have no idea where from as I've isolated each circuit, have I not? No I haven't...

You see there were 5 "Maxi" fuses which I feared to remove, particularly as three of them (60A) are for the BECM. Will I break anything if I remove these fuses and reconnect the battery, via the multimeter?
 
Ok - if 9mA is acceptable (I'm sure I read somewhere on here that it should be more like 0.300 mA) why do you think the (brand new) battery might be going flat after a few hours?

The electrics all still work, but there's just not enough juice to crank the starter. Maybe I should stop trying to fix things I don't understand and take it to a mechanic instead..

/sigh
 
Ok - if 9mA is acceptable (I'm sure I read somewhere on here that it should be more like 0.300 mA) why do you think the (brand new) battery might be going flat after a few hours?

The electrics all still work, but there's just not enough juice to crank the starter. Maybe I should stop trying to fix things I don't understand and take it to a mechanic instead..

/sigh

9ma is a lot less than 300ma be happy:D I still reckon it's your alternator:eek: worth checking the battery cables especially the one to the starter, they have been known to corrode away inside the sleeve, also check the earth connections. What is the battery voltage engine off?
 
I would have thought that 9mA is suspiciously low!

I have recently had trouble with my Subaru Impreza where the satellite tracker system was faulty and drawing about 280mA all the time thus flattening my battery in a week if I didn't use the car. Without the tracker in circuit the rest of the gubbins on the car (can't think of much apart from the gauges which remain live all the time, the clock, and the immobiliser) drain 50mA which is apparently the norm for a Scooby.

I don't know what the standard figure should be for your car, but are you sure you have read the meter correctly? No offence intended!

Pete
 
I don't know what the standard figure should be for your car, but are you sure you have read the meter correctly? No offence intended!
None taken! I think I did.. it's a digital multimeter with a dial to control the "mode". Of the several modes, there's only one which displays "mA" on the screen and another which displays "A".

I had it in "mA" and connected the multimeter "in-line" between the positive terminal of the battery and the positive cable. The display read 9.5mA down to 9.1mA throughout the test, except when opening doors, etc it jumped to around 30mA.
 
So when you open the door you would have the interior light and any 'puddle' lights on.

The Interior light would be at least say 5 watts (Classics are 10 watts) so should be drawing at least 416mA (5 watts divided by 12 volts) just for that one bulb.

I think you need to check your meter settings - perhaps set up a circuit with just a spare bulb to the battery to check the scale.

Pete
 
I think you need to check your meter settings - perhaps set up a circuit with just a spare bulb to the battery to check the scale.
Tell me if I'm doing this wrong... this is how I have it set (see attached) and it tells me where to connect the leads when they're not plugged in. I always plug the black cable into COM and the red cable wherever else it tells me to (in this case, mA).

Even if I have the cables backwards, it just gives me the same figure with a minus (-) symbol in front of it.
 

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