hdc light stays on amber

hi, i just got a freelander 1.8
the HDC light stays on after starting and does not go out.
ive looked at the switch on the gear stick and the wires look ok .
ive just changed the chrankshaft pulley could this be anything to do with it . because it was not on before i did it , also when driving it loses power then picks up power again . thanks

Is the light green or amber, and is it on steady or flashing ?
Also in which gears ?
(Flashing amber means your brakes are overheating)

its a solid amber light which stays on in all gears , the freelander was parked up for 2 months not used could it be something 2 do with the brakes . thanks for reply

ianda12 said:

Is the light green or amber, and is it on steady or flashing ?
Also in which gears ?
(Flashing amber means your brakes are overheating)

Click to expand...

its a solid amber light , it stays on in all gears , the freelander was parked up for a few months could it be something to do with the breaks

Check you haven't disturbed or disconnected any sensors around the wheels/brakes.

thanks for the reply ill have a look today and let you no

I’ve had the HDC yellow light always on fault. Fixed it today. Turned out to be the throttle position sensor, mounted at the end of the accelerator pedal.

This sensor confirms the position of the accelerator pedal when HDC is switched on. If you press the accelerator, this switch tells the system which switches off the HDC, until you release the pedal.

If the following is true on your car then you may have the same fault:

Brake lights work – (if not, could be brake switch or ignition switch)
Traction control works. Try wheel spinning it on a loose surface.
ABS works. Brake sharply on a loose surface to test.
No other warning lights.

Cost of throttle position sensor for my 2001 v6 is £6.72 part no LXKB100150L.

To replace it pull out the old switch. Remove cable by pushing in the lever in the middle. Slide new switch in to plastic housing.

Had the same problem, found out it was a fuse blown, see if your brake lights are working.

degs said:

Had the same problem, found out it was a fuse blown, see if your brake lights are working.

Click to expand...

Forgot to add the fuse option for hdc yellow lighting up. That also happened to me 6 moths ago when it failed first time.

thanks for the info , went out to day and looked at the switch on the accelerator pedal . moved it around and bingo light went out. cheers hippo goodman

Nice one Hippo,and also to Wozred, so many people just don't bother posting the cure so you never find out what it was.

Hippo said:

I’ve had the HDC yellow light always on fault. Fixed it today. Turned out to be the throttle position sensor, mounted at the end of the accelerator pedal.

This sensor confirms the position of the accelerator pedal when HDC is switched on. If you press the accelerator, this switch tells the system which switches off the HDC, until you release the pedal.

If the following is true on your car then you may have the same fault:

Brake lights work – (if not, could be brake switch or ignition switch)
Traction control works. Try wheel spinning it on a loose surface.
ABS works. Brake sharply on a loose surface to test.
No other warning lights.

Cost of throttle position sensor for my 2001 v6 is £6.72 part no LXKB100150L.

To replace it pull out the old switch. Remove cable by pushing in the lever in the middle. Slide new switch in to plastic housing.

Click to expand...

Just been investigating mine today (K1.8 1998) and found that the hdc warning bulb had been removed - I put one in and bingo it stays on constantly.
I had a look for the sensor on the accelerator but there is nothing there elecrically ...do I try changing the TPS on the throttle body?
My symptoms are exactly as described above - all working.
I have power at the gearlever wires
Green HDC light only works on the bulb check.
Thanks very much
Brack

Brack said:

Just been investigating mine today (K1.8 1998) and found that the hdc warning bulb had been removed - I put one in and bingo it stays on constantly.
I had a look for the sensor on the accelerator but there is nothing there elecrically ...do I try changing the TPS on the throttle body?
My symptoms are exactly as described above - all working.
I have power at the gearlever wires
Green HDC light only works on the bulb check.
Thanks very much
Brack

Click to expand...

Is this resurrection the beginning of the forecast zombie apocalypse !?!?!

Nah... a top quality thread that summs up my problem

Brack said:

Just been investigating mine today (K1.8 1998) and found that the hdc warning bulb had been removed - I put one in and bingo it stays on constantly.
I had a look for the sensor on the accelerator but there is nothing there elecrically ...do I try changing the TPS on the throttle body?
My symptoms are exactly as described above - all working.
I have power at the gearlever wires
Green HDC light only works on the bulb check.
Thank s very much
Brack

Click to expand...

Iirc there are 2 or 3 reasons for the constant amber HDC light.
1 would be the Throttle position sensor at the pedal, however that was only fitted from around 2000 onwards so your car won't have it. Iirc the throttle position on pre 2000 models is taken from the TPS so make sure there is some slack in the throttle cable.
2 can be a fuse.
3 gear position implausible. Which basically means that a gearbox switch is sticking on. There are 2 gearbox switchs one telling the HDC the box is in 1st the other is the normal reverse switch, this does the HDC and reverse lights. So you can check to see if the reverse lights are on constantly. The only way to test the other switch is to disconnect it and see if the amber light goes out.

Thanks Nodge, ah that explains it ...brilliant information, I'll report back with whatever I find

Edited .... Went to get the codes checked and no codes were found - the guy at the garage did a reset of the codes ...even though there wasn't any and result - the yellow hdc light went out and has stayed out - it just wanted resetting