HELP - Crossed battery terminals now shorting/non start

MikeFl4 said:

Yes, you would hope so that I could get away with the duties but from experience it’s very random and if you refuse to pay when they ask (even if duties don’t apply) you will just never get your package and it will be lost forever (I have personally always paid but this is what friends have told me)

I might give the company you recommend a ring to see what they would quote for a repair to this type of ECU, I’m in two minds about spending more money on this green P38 now as maybe my time would be better spent swapping the parts over to my other working P38!

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You could play with fire and swap all the ECU's and the fuse box from your working P38 to your electrically damaged one which is probably what I would do, but them electronics is my business.

Datatek said:

You could play with fire and swap all the ECU's and the fuse box from your working P38 to your electrically damaged one which is probably what I would do, but them electronics is my business.

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Haha, I did consider that! But quickly came to my senses as the last thing I want is two 2 tonne piles of metal sitting in the yard!

If I had a little bit more space I’d be tempted to give it a go, but the chance of bricking 2 range rovers and not being able to move them is not a great thought…

MikeFl4 said:

Haha, I did consider that! But quickly came to my senses as the last thing I want is two 2 tonne piles of metal sitting in the yard!

If I had a little bit more space I’d be tempted to give it a go, but the chance of bricking 2 range rovers and not being able to move them is not a great thought…

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As long as the wiring has not melted, it should be no problem as long as ALL ECU's and the instrument panel are changed in one go and assuming the cars are of similar age. But no for the faint hearted or someone without electronics knowledge.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Wonder if vehicle has had powerbox fitted in past? Is sort of way it kills the FIP, also happens with extreme age- what sort of mileage we talking about?
The click could be QS
If it is then FIP is toast

Datatek said:

As long as the wiring has not melted, it should be no problem as long as ALL ECU's and the instrument panel are changed in one go and assuming the cars are of similar age. But no for the faint hearted or someone without electronics knowledge.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

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Well, by all ecus - would that be:

BECM
ECM
Instrument cluster

After that as far as I know nothing else is coded to the car? Abs ecu, suspension etc?

There is pretty easy access to all the above items so if it was just unplug and replug I’d almost give it a go…

RangeRoller dt said:

Wonder if vehicle has had powerbox fitted in past? Is sort of way it kills the FIP, also happens with extreme age- what sort of mileage we talking about?
The click could be QS
If it is then FIP is toast

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I would say no to the power box/chip as this vehicle seems super original, only seems to have some kind of Bluetooth phone kit installed. It’s got 155k miles on it.
What do you mean by QS?

Quantity Servo inside the pump. Sort of solenoid.
155k is low mileage for QS problem if no powerbox. Mine clicks when it plays up is what made me think of it.

RangeRoller dt said:

Quantity Servo inside the pump. Sort of solenoid.
155k is low mileage for QS problem if no powerbox. Mine clicks when it plays up is what made me think of it.

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Thank you for the info, I don’t know much about diesel injection pumps so nice to learn about another element in them.

I might have a look into the ecu swap and just take a chance with it (and if I was going to get remote central locking to work on my other P38 I might have to end up swapping ecus anyway)

If you have a working P38 then I would make that the runner unless its condition is much worse.

Grrrrrr said:

If you have a working P38 then I would make that the runner unless its condition is much worse.

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Lol, I mean it depends on your opinion on condition I guess.

The green P38 is 2001 - 155k miles

Bad:
Engine needs timing chain
Suspension needs overhaul
Brakes need overhaul
General bits, exhaust, bushings etc
All components underneath need wire brush and paint.

Good:
Body work is spotless, paintwork is super good and would look great with a quick polish, almost no dents or scratches, almost no rust body wise
Has all systems in place - EAS system is all still in place and kinda working - remote central locking - air conditioning still in place
Interior is clean, with a leather re-dye it would be 9/10.

The white P38 is 1999 (my first P38) 230k miles:

Bad:
EAS system replaced with coils - granted it all works and won’t break but crashes over bumps (I have never been in one with EAS but I assume it’s hardly this harsh )
Air conditioning system ripped out at some point so missing all the bits and the pipes have been open to elements for years
Remote central locking not working (probably disabled)
Bodywork is O-K for the age but compared the green P38 it’s rough - dents, scratches, loads of dodgey paintwork.
High mileage so interior is tired (although I have improved it a lot, it could do with new seats, plastic trims, steering wheel etc)

Good:
I can drive it right now!
All new brakes and pressure sphere, works great.
Engine always starts, decent power but also decent blow by (high mileage, probably also stretched timing chain but those symptoms have dropped back since I did a big service)
Gearbox is good, very slightly slower shift into 2nd but I’m being picky
Very minimal rust over all, body is “rustier” than the green but the green has more surface rust on chassis components from sitting.

What I am kind of getting at here is, I kind have to pick a favorite and sacrifice one to the other. I would like to basically have one P38, with all original systems (EAS, A/C, Remote locking etc) working, bodywork and engine can be worked away at over time, it’s mainly about the features.

MikeFl4 said:

Well, by all ecus - would that be:

BECM
ECM
Instrument cluster

After that as far as I know nothing else is coded to the car? Abs ecu, suspension etc?

There is pretty easy access to all the above items so if it was just unplug and replug I’d almost give it a go…

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You need to swap ALL ECU's if you try it as they are all likely to be damaged and could cause damage to the replacements, so that would include the EAS, ABS and SRS, Transfer box and Auto box ECU's plus the EAS relay under the passenger seat.

MikeFl4 said:

Lol, I mean it depends on your opinion on condition I guess.

The green P38 is 2001 - 155k miles

Bad:
Engine needs timing chain
Suspension needs overhaul
Brakes need overhaul
General bits, exhaust, bushings etc
All components underneath need wire brush and paint.

Good:
Body work is spotless, paintwork is super good and would look great with a quick polish, almost no dents or scratches, almost no rust body wise
Has all systems in place - EAS system is all still in place and kinda working - remote central locking - air conditioning still in place
Interior is clean, with a leather re-dye it would be 9/10.

The white P38 is 1999 (my first P38) 230k miles:

Bad:
EAS system replaced with coils - granted it all works and won’t break but crashes over bumps (I have never been in one with EAS but I assume it’s hardly this harsh )
Air conditioning system ripped out at some point so missing all the bits and the pipes have been open to elements for years
Remote central locking not working (probably disabled)
Bodywork is O-K for the age but compared the green P38 it’s rough - dents, scratches, loads of dodgey paintwork.
High mileage so interior is tired (although I have improved it a lot, it could do with new seats, plastic trims, steering wheel etc)

Good:
I can drive it right now!
All new brakes and pressure sphere, works great.
Engine always starts, decent power but also decent blow by (high mileage, probably also stretched timing chain but those symptoms have dropped back since I did a big service)
Gearbox is good, very slightly slower shift into 2nd but I’m being picky
Very minimal rust over all, body is “rustier” than the green but the green has more surface rust on chassis components from sitting.

What I am kind of getting at here is, I kind have to pick a favorite and sacrifice one to the other. I would like to basically have one P38, with all original systems (EAS, A/C, Remote locking etc) working, bodywork and engine can be worked away at over time, it’s mainly about the features.

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I'm with Data: swap over the ECUs. At least BECM and engine ECU. Not that hard.

I'd check continuity on main wires in the engine bay first in case something has melted and shorted.

Grrrrrr said:

I'm with Data: swap over the ECUs. At least BECM and engine ECU. Not that hard.

I'd check continuity on main wires in the engine bay first in case something has melted and shorted.

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Just doing the BECM and engine ECU's is asking for trouble as they are interconnected with other ECU's which may be damaged.

Datatek said:

Just doing the BECM and engine ECU's is asking for trouble as they are interconnected with other ECU's which may be damaged.

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There's an awful lot that might be damaged. Fusebox for 1.

Just to ask a general question here.

If I wanted to install central locking back into my white P38, would I have to transfer BECM etc from the green one? (If we pretend the green P38 was is working condition for a minute)

MikeFl4 said:

Just to ask a general question here.

If I wanted to install central locking back into my white P38, would I have to transfer BECM etc from the green one? (If we pretend the green P38 was is working condition for a minute)

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For central locking to work the key must match the BECM. Assuming the key you have is correct for that BECM then to get the central locking working all you need is a working loom, outstation and lock actuator, RF receiver and then sync the key. Usually it is the lock actuator that fails after receiving spurious signals from the RF receiver unless you have a gen 3 receiver fitted.

MikeFl4 said:

Just to ask a general question here.

If I wanted to install central locking back into my white P38, would I have to transfer BECM etc from the green one? (If we pretend the green P38 was is working condition for a minute)

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BECM and matching FOB is needed for central locking

Grrrrrr said:

There's an awful lot that might be damaged. Fusebox for 1.

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See post #41