Disco 3 (LR3) Electric Handbrake Fault

Hi I am Simon, I have recently bought a discovery 3 from a friend. The vehicle had had the emergency handbrake release pulled and so the hand brake wasn't working. The previous owner decided to remove the actuator but then got a bit stuck and offered the vehicle to me. I have checked the actuator and it seemed to work perfectly, so have refitted it, rebuilt the rear brakes and adjusted them. Job done, or so I thought. When I pull the ecb switch the actuator runs pulling the cable but just as it gets tight, rewinds it's self. It repeats this cycle 4 or 5 times then stops. Dash says parking brake fault. Am I doing something wrong? Has anyone come across this before? Thanks in advance. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Cheshirelandy said:

Hi I am Simon, I have recently bought a discovery 3 from a friend. The vehicle had had the emergency handbrake release pulled and so the hand brake wasn't working. The previous owner decided to remove the actuator but then got a bit stuck and offered the vehicle to me. I have checked the actuator and it seemed to work perfectly, so have refitted it, rebuilt the rear brakes and adjusted them. Job done, or so I thought. When I pull the ecb switch the actuator runs pulling the cable but just as it gets tight, rewinds it's self. It repeats this cycle 4 or 5 times then stops. Dash says parking brake fault. Am I doing something wrong? Has anyone come across this before? Thanks in advance. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

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Hi and welcome

May i ask how many turns did u adjust the brake shoes by plse , maybe it’s too tight so module can’t apply the shoes, there’s a sensor inside the module that senses how much the cables are being pulled

Before refitting the EPB module did u relatch it plse as the EPB wire had been pulled

Hope that helps

Ps , also here’s a very good brake guide

https://www.disco3.co.uk/gallery/albums/userpics/11748/Bodsys_Brake_Bible_V1_6a_CompressPics.pdf

gstuart said:

Hi and welcome

May i ask how many turns did u adjust the brake shoes by plse , sounds like it’s too tight so can’t latch

Before refitting the EPB module did u relatch it plse as the EPB wire had been pulled

Cheers

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Hi, thanks for replying. I tightened the shoes until the drum would turn with 60nm of torque. Then backed them off 8 clicks. And yes did reconnect cable!

Have a look on ebay, guy on there repairs them for 150 quid, thinking contact him and he may give you some pointers.

Yes that is a good idea. They might have come across it before!

Cheshirelandy said:

Hi, thanks for replying. I tightened the shoes until the drum would turn with 60nm of torque. Then backed them off 8 clicks. And yes did reconnect cable!

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Thks, plus 1 what lynall mentioned ref getting the module repaired

As a side note has diagnostics been put on the disco , seeing you’ve just got it and also done a hard reset

U disconnect the battery leads and then touch only the lead together for 30 x seconds

Plse let us know how things go

Cheshirelandy said:

Yes that is a good idea. They might have come across it before!

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Just me being tight!

No had no diagnostics on it yet. I'm going to take it to a mate of mine who has a garage and all the electronic kit. See what that throws up. I suspect that the actuator is faulty but was hoping someone had a magic wand that could make it work. Resigning myself to taking it all to bits again!
Thanks for the help though. I've had Landys all my life but mostly ones where you can pretty much dismantle them with two spanners and a screwdriver!

Cheshirelandy said:

No had no diagnostics on it yet. I'm going to take it to a mate of mine who has a garage and all the electronic kit. See what that throws up. I suspect that the actuator is faulty but was hoping someone had a magic wand that could make it work. Resigning myself to taking it all to bits again!
Thanks for the help though. I've had Landys all my life but mostly ones where you can pretty much dismantle them with two spanners and a screwdriver!

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Hi

Handy u have a mate who has diagnostic

Alas those days are gone with these modern landies , having a reader with these vehicles is a must and pay for themselves very quickly

With the EPB sometimes the cogs fail, u can just buy them on there own but won’t know unless u open it up to check , there’s also plenty of videos on utube how to rebuild them

Plse let us know what codes come up with ur mate

I have had it all to pieces and it seemed all fine. No idea why it wont work. I have had the lid off whilst in position and it scrolls in pulling the cables but then as it gets tight it reverses and slacks them off again. Does that 4 or 5 cycles then stops and says parking brake fault! Really irritating!

Cheshirelandy said:

I have had it all to pieces and it seemed all fine. No idea why it wont work. I have had the lid off whilst in position and it scrolls in pulling the cables but then as it gets tight it reverses and slacks them off again. Does that 4 or 5 cycles then stops and says parking brake fault! Really irritating!

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May i ask what year is ur D3 please and is it s Manual or auto, thks

Just doing some further digging for u to see if u can find any further info out , wondering if the pressure switch is faulty and not sensing it to lock ???

But will see what I can find out for u

I dont know if you know but one side handbrake cable has a load cell built into it? not sure where or even if its in the module? the diag tool should see it and it reads in NMs and Im just assuming here maybe it can see to much load and is backing off the epb actuator to save itself?

lynall said:

I dont know if you know but one side handbrake cable has a load cell built into it? not sure where or even if its in the module? the diag tool should see it and it reads in NMs and Im just assuming here maybe it can see to much load and is backing off the epb actuator to save itself?

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Hi

I was wondering about that sensor , indeed it’s inside , plus wondering if the bedding in process is required , plus if the cables are too tight and the sensor is picking that up and as u say backing off again

Wonder if it’s worth back the shoes off another turn to allow more travel for the cable

Also found this ref the bedding in process

How to adjust the parking brake shoes
• Raise and support the vehicle.
• Remove the wheels and tires.
• Using a suitable diagnostic tool, drive the parking brake to the mounting position.
• Align the access hole with the indicators located on the back plate
• Locate the parking brake shoe adjuster.
• Remove the access plug.
• Use a flat blade screwdriver as a lever to displace the parking brake shoes.
NOTE: The movement of the parking brake shoe will be small and may not be felt when levering.
• Failure to displace the parking brake shoes, will result in incorrect clearance when carrying out the
adjustment step.
• Now, using the screwdriver rotate the brake shoe adjuster to extend it until the brake disc is locked
hand tight. However, do not apply excessive force on the brake shoe adjuster. Failure to follow this
instruction may result in damage to the parking brake system.
• The following steps sets the running clearance for the parking brake shoes.
• Using a suitable marker, mark the position of the brake shoe adjuster.
• The parking brake adjuster must then be rotated back EXACTLY one full revolution (10 clicks), until
the mark is again visible.
• The wedge adjuster must be correctly seated to make sure the parking brake cable is correctly
adjusted.
• Loosen the wedge adjuster Allen screw half a turn.
• Tap the brake disc lightly with a soft faced mallet, around the parking brake shoe location within the
brake disc.
• Tighten the wedge adjuster Allen screw to 6 Nm (5 lb.ft).
• Install the access plug.
• Repeat the above procedures for the other side.
• Take the vehicle out of the mounting position by operating the parking brake twice or via the
diagnostic tool.
• It is now vital to carry out the parking brake shoe bedding-in procedure.


The Bedding in procedure
• You need to bed in the EPB shoes either when you have changed the EPB, shoes or you have changed the rear discs.
• With the Engine running, press the brake pedal fully on and off 3 times. On the third press, hold the brake pedal down.
• With the brake pedal still in the down position, pull the EPB switch upwards 4 times and then downwards 3 times. This must be completed within 10 seconds.
• Your dash display will then show ‘Park Brake Bedding Cycle Active’ or something similar. If it hasn’t, then release the brake pedal and try again.
• You need to ensure that you are on a clear piece of road or land as this procedure needs to be completed 10 times.
• Drive at least 19mph and maximum of 29mph and then apply the EPB switch until you stop. You then need to wait for 60 seconds or drive for 1 mile (to allow the brakes to cool down before repeating the process. If you stop the engine or you drive over 30 MPH, the bedding in process will be cancelled. At the end of the 10th time, the bedding in mode will automatically finish.

@lynall , pic of the pressure sensor

Plus I always wondered by pulling the emergency release cable of what it done at the module, can see now from a pic the cable to pulled out of the securing clip

Hi new to site . I have a 56 discovery 3 with exact same problem . Did you fix yours and how? I have stripped out module and replaced warn gears and replaced with new discs pads on rear and adjusted but getting the flashing parking light and hdc fault . Gears move four times then quiet. ??? Battery fully charged.

Mikediscovery said:

Hi new to site . I have a 56 discovery 3 with exact same problem . Did you fix yours and how? I have stripped out module and replaced warn gears and replaced with new discs pads on rear and adjusted but getting the flashing parking light and hdc fault . Gears move four times then quiet. ??? Battery fully charged.

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Have you read the codes?

Just ordered a code reader so let you know when it comes .

Mikediscovery said:

Just ordered a code reader so let you know when it comes .

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There are so many potential fial points, not just on the D3 but any car with electronic park brake.
Which code reader did you order?

Have a look on youtube Iirc there are some vids on there showing where LR did a recall wiring mod for the EPB up over the air suspension cmpressor, it fails and you get all sorts of issues.