300 TDI Check Engine Light

Hi Guys

After years of wanting a Disco and after months of saving I have finally managed to buy myself a 98 Discovery 300 TDI ES Auto.

I picked it up last night and and I was really chuffed. The route home was comprised of fast A roads and motorway and every thing was great. However I got about 5 miles from home travelling at 40 MPH (Aprox 2000 - 2500 RPM and the revs dropped to 1000 RPM the Check Engine light came on for a few seconds and then the revs went up again and the Check Engine light went off.

I thought it was a bit odd but carried on home.

It then started happening every few minutes and by the time I got home it was happening every few seconds.

I'm not a mechanic by any stretch of the imagination but it was like it was dropping out of gear and then engaging the gear again.

Can anyone please shed some light on what a possible cause might be.

Any Help will be greatly appreciated.

Many Thanks

Gutted of Gloucestershire

Private or trade sale?

If trade take it back ...

If private I'd probably speak to the seller and see what they say, with a view to getting my money back. Failing that I'd get it into a Landy specialist and have them read any fault codes, assuming at '98 that it's a ECU controlled engine ... and take it from there.

Might be worth checking oil levels all over, how clean airfilter is and other general stuff to get a clear idea of how well it's been looked after.

Gotta be asked, did you have a 'proper' test drive in it first?

It was a private seller....
As for proper drive..... I let it warm whilst making sure all the bells and whistles worked, then drove it for about 3 to 4 miles I suppose and all appeared fine. The trip home was about 40 miles and had no apparent issues until I was nearly home. The car is clean with history.

OK, if it's just the check engine light then I'd look up a local Landy specialist and see what they say. Have you checked oil levels, filters etc and how do they look?