1995 Range Rover HSE - Some issues to overcome

Baloney999 said:

Seeing as my High to Low problem has been solved I just went out to check whether I could hear a 'clunk' when putting it in transfer neutral and it now won't go into transfer neutral! But, with the ignition switched off I can push it backwards and forwards in any selector position except park - does that mean I can be towed on all four wheels I thought. But then I remembered that I have removed the front propshaft because of my dodgy VCU so I suppose I can be towed anyhow. I think I'd better bow out from this discussion until my girl has all her bits n bobs back in place.

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No it cannot be towed unless you select transfer box neutral As you have discovered the gearbox is still connected as you cannot move it in park. You will wreck the gearbox if you try You can move it in gears due to either no clutches opereated due to no oil pressure or torque converter slip.

Valiante said:

Thanks for confirming what I already suspected - so it is indeed like all other Dell's I've dismantled.

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Valient, I don't suppose you can supply a keyboard for the Inspiron 2600? All the legends have worn of several keys on mine, drives my French wife nuts when we are away

Datatek said:

Valient, I don't suppose you can supply a keyboard for the Inspiron 2600? All the legends have worn of several keys on mine, drives my French wife nuts when we are away

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You'll find one on Ebay for around €15 if Valiant doesn't have one

No spares for that model, my friend. As drscoundrel said, eBay's your best bet.

Valiante said:

No spares for that model, my friend. As drscoundrel said, eBay's your best bet.

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I've tried Ebay several times and again yesterday, French, Spanish, Danish, Russian et al but never a UK keyboard for an Inspiron 2600. C'est la vie. Dell want more than the machine is worth.

Nothing wrong with this one, old buddy.. the 2650 and 2600 are interchangeable. The part number you should be looking for (for UK layout) is 6G514.

UK keyboard 6G514 for DELL INSPIRON 2650 laptop

£9.99 Buy It Now (+£3.99 P&P) - used but in good nick (all the letters are clearly visible and it's tested as working).

Valiante said:

Nothing wrong with this one, old buddy.. the 2650 and 2600 are interchangeable. The part number you should be looking for (for UK layout) is 6G514.

UK keyboard 6G514 for DELL INSPIRON 2650 laptop

£9.99 Buy It Now (+£3.99 P&P) - used but in good nick (all the letters are clearly visible and it's tested as working).

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Thanks for that, I had not seen that one nor did I have the part number. I've contacted them to see if they will post to France

If not, I'll buy it and post it to you.

Valiante said:

If not, I'll buy it and post it to you.

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That's very kind, thank you, I'll let you know.

I'd be happy to help.

Back on topic.. despite getting her down to a 0.03A reading, my batt's still losing voltage at an alarming rate. After a full charge or a long drive, she reads 12.64V. Same time next day, 11.94V. Leave her sitting for another day and she won't start. I'm beginning to doubt the (new) battery. Could it have got fooked with all this charging & discharging? Is there a way I can self-test, or would I need to take it to a shop for them to apply their rocket-scientist's knowledge?

Valiante said:

I'd be happy to help.

Back on topic.. despite getting her down to a 0.03A reading, my batt's still losing voltage at an alarming rate. After a full charge or a long drive, she reads 12.64V. Same time next day, 11.94V. Leave her sitting for another day and she won't start. I'm beginning to doubt the (new) battery. Could it have got fooked with all this charging & discharging? Is there a way I can self-test, or would I need to take it to a shop for them to apply their rocket-scientist's knowledge?

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A fully charged battery should read 12.8 volts after it has been off charge long enough for it to settle.
If you have the EKA code etc, disconnect it from the car, charge it for 24 hours, let it settloe, check the voltage, it should be 12.8 volts, check it again a few hours later it should still be around 12.5 volts.
If either is low the battery is probably shot, at least it should be under guarantee.
The keyboard is coming direct, thanks again for the offer of help, going to order memory to upgrade at the same time.

Datatek said:

A fully charged battery should read 12.8 volts after it has been off charge long enough for it to settle.

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How long should it take to settle, roughly? An hour?

Datatek said:

If you have the EKA code etc, disconnect it from the car, charge it for 24 hours, let it settloe, check the voltage, it should be 12.8 volts, check it again a few hours later it should still be around 12.5 volts.

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I've charged it overnight a couple of times and haven't needed the EKA code yet (though I do have the card with it on) - I always make sure the car's unlocked with the remote before disconnecting, then lock it all up manually, I don't know whether that's what prevents me needing it.

Is it ok to charge it for 24 hours? I'm sure I read somewhere it's possible to overcharge a car battery.

Datatek said:

If either is low the battery is probably shot, at least it should be under guarantee.

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Sadly the guarantee isn't in my possession - the previous owner doesn't seem to have put it in with all the paperwork. Plus if he did, the shop he bought it from will be 90 mins drive away. Ugh.

Half an hour should be long enough for it to settle.
Charge time depends on the charger, but assuming a 90AH battery and a typical home charger 24 hours should be OK, it could be more or less than 24 hours of course. You can certainly overcharge a battery and even boil it dry, so unless it's sealed, check the acid level.

:doh::doh:it is a ****er,just fixed my 95 p38 by takin blue wire off rf receiver in boot and wrapping all of receiver in code 4 lead,just leave top clear so it receives fob message.becam unit had insomnia all good now fob works near rear of vehicle only.
TRY a vax to get water off carpet then watch where it gets wet first(i'll bet heater o rings as posted by senior member earlier.They in footwell area.
BECAM drove me fruity,like the footballer BECKHAM!.....GIRLyTWAT.Same draw backs too-Expensive/Unreliable/Crap in wet/easily confused/Once damaged sits on bench for duration/always centre of attention and screws into a sexy ladies underside!

slitty said:

:doh::doh:it is a ****er,just fixed my 95 p38 by takin blue wire off rf receiver in boot and wrapping all of receiver in code 4 lead,just leave top clear so it receives fob message.becam unit had insomnia all good now fob works near rear of vehicle only.

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Thanks - I already disconnected the aerial from the RF receiver, but it's still active so to speak. The range is significantly reduced, I need to be near the rear quarter to use the remote.

slitty said:

TRY a vax to get water off carpet then watch where it gets wet first(i'll bet heater o rings as posted by senior member earlier.They in footwell area.

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Thanks for the advice, but I don't have any water on my carpets - they're completely dry. I reported some concerns with regards to condensation when I first bought the car, but that disappeared after a couple of days and hasn't come back. The interior's as dry as a bone.

slitty said:

BECAM drove me fruity,like the footballer BECKHAM!.....GIRLyTWAT.Same draw backs too-Expensive/Unreliable/Crap in wet/easily confused/Once damaged sits on bench for duration/always centre of attention and screws into a sexy ladies underside!

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Ok...

Datatek said:

Half an hour should be long enough for it to settle. Charge time depends on the charger, but assuming a 90AH battery and a typical home charger 24 hours should be OK, it could be more or less than 24 hours of course. You can certainly overcharge a battery and even boil it dry, so unless it's sealed, check the acid level.

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It is indeed a 90AH battery, but unfortunately it's sealed so I can't check the levels. So I decided "what the hell" and stuck it on charge for 24 hours, per your advice.

When I first took it off charge, after leaving it 30 mins to settle, the initial reading was 12.92V. After 4 hours it had only dropped to 12.82V - still well above the 12.5V. So I left it off the car all night and checked it again this morning, reading 12.72V. Just checked it again at 2pm and it's still reading 12.69V.

Safe to say the battery's fine? I even made a little graph!!



But I'm kinda back to the drawing board now... I wonder if it still could be the RF receiver, getting interference even with its much reduced range? Perhaps I should disconnect it completely and just use the key for the time being...

Battery looks good. completely disconnecting the RF receiver may cause other problems, but worth a try.

Why not take the fully charged battery to a good car spares shop and get them to load test it.
They stick a known load on the battery and measure the voltage drop.
It may just be a faulty battery even though your tests suggest otherwise.
Might save you some time in the long run and it would confirm 100% if the battery is ok or not.

Don1 said:

Why not take the fully charged battery to a good car spares shop and get them to load test it.
They stick a known load on the battery and measure the voltage drop.
It may just be a faulty battery even though your tests suggest otherwise.
Might save you some time in the long run and it would confirm 100% if the battery is ok or not.

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Probably the best advice I've been given so far (no offense Datatek). This just answered all my questions. Took it down the local shop, load tested horribly (the guy showed me, the voltage just disappeared under load), he stuck an equivalent battery on the load tester to show me the difference, and I bought said battery. Problems solved!

Thanks Don.

Valiante said:

Probably the best advice I've been given so far (no offense Datatek). This just answered all my questions. Took it down the local shop, load tested horribly (the guy showed me, the voltage just disappeared under load), he stuck an equivalent battery on the load tester to show me the difference, and I bought said battery. Problems solved!

Thanks Don.

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No offence taken, a load test is always the best test but not many people can do that at home

Not sure how you are measuring the 9.5mA current drain. When the becm is asleep the the battery drain on a 95MY is about 30 to 35mA. If its a newer becm then its better ~20 to 25 mA. 9.5mA is too low. These figures are when you measure the drain at the battery. If you have a good battery, that is fully charged and it goes flat after a couple of hours, you have a big battery discharge level (and its more than a becm not going to sleep). Make sure no one has incorrectly wired in any accessories incorrectly eg phones etc, to a wire that is a permanent batt ve+.
While you are doing your checks, see if the becm is going to sleep, if its not, then typically your battery will flatten over a weekend (a none sleeping becm will add about 500mA to the battery drain).
Ref moisture, there are 2 rubber drain outlets for the A/C under the car below the heater unit. These get blocked easily and can cause the misting problems.