immobiliser problem or something else?

Hi
I have a 2002 freelander 2 litre diesel manual.
I have the following problem..
when cold, unlock it with the fob, red flashing light goes out on the dash, open the drivers door, red light starts flashing again along with beeping. car still starts fine. and beeping and flashing stop.

when hot, unlock with fob, flash goes out, open drivers door, red light flashing again with beeps. but engine will turn over but not fire, sometimes, a very brief split second splutter, and that's it.

i have tried various times of going back to it and trying again, the minimum is 45 mins. and will then start straight away.

i have been told that when you unlock it and open the door, the flashing red light and beeping should not happen, other when the fob battery is going flat, is that right?

even after a long run of 2 hours, which 45 mins wouldn't be enough time for engine to cool that much, still starts straight away.

just very frustrating and annoying problem

tick73 said:

...i have been told that when you unlock it and open the door, the flashing red light and beeping should not happen, other when the fob battery is going flat, is that right? ...

Click to expand...

The flashing LED/bleeping will only happen if the fob battery is flat. Not sure what the non starting problem is.

Welcome to the forum.

i was under the impression that if the beeping happens after you open the door, it also means the immobiliser has not been deactivated and that it cuts power to the fuel pump?

tick73 said:

i was under the impression that if the beeping happens after you open the door, it also means the immobiliser has not been deactivated and that it cuts power to the fuel pump?

Click to expand...

If unlocking with the fob which has a flat battery and you open the drivers door, it will bleep/flash the alarm led for 10 seconds.

I knocked my immobiliser out of sync with the engine computer which stopped it starting. I didn't get any warnings like flat fob battery bleep/flash when this was done. My hawkeye was the only source of info and this gave the immobiliser status.

For specific immobiliser info you can read about it in the rave disk, which is available in the How To section at the top of the main Freelander section.

There is no audible or visual indication as to the condition of the immobliser, and it has no connection with the key fob.
Fit a new battery in the fob to cure the beeping and flashing.
You imply that the fuel pump is not heard running when it wont start when warm, these are the symptoms my fuel pump started showing before it failed completely

not sure if I can here it are not, where is the location of it on this model.
im assuming its near the tank? and why would it be perfect starting when cold?
this is my 1st diesel in a long time and im used to mechanical type pumps back then not electric ones?
just hope it isn't that!

Hot start problem is likely the injectors and the beep is just an indication that the fob battery is low I reckon

Hot start problem could be camshaft sensor

I would advise getting some initial diagnostics done including fault code read, injector leak off test and fuel pressure reading

Where are you located?

Fuel pump position changed to rear wheel arch part way through 2002, before that in the engine bay, you should be able to hear it if it's working. Like I said, mine wouldn't run if it was warm, let it cool a bit then it was ok, till it failed all together. Some people have had to give their pump a tap to get it working, so it's a common enough symtom.

hi
update
I changed the battery in the fob, immobilser now working fine, no bleeping or flashing as I open drivers door....
but the failure to start when hot is still there, and will start after waiting 45 mins, 1st turn of the key. even from a long run.

I have attached a pic of what im pretty sure is the fuel pump ( black one on the left??? )
I have read in different posts that this pump as it starts to wear out, it works when cold, but not when hot...... but can hear and feel it working when you put the ignition on without the engine running, so I guess when hot and things have expanded inside the pump, it cant get enough pressure to push the fuel throu during a hot start up?????
and it doesn't seem that hard of a job to do.....just got to find out prices....but want your opinion before I get one...

tick73 said:

hi

update

I changed the battery in the fob, immobilser now working fine, no bleeping or flashing as I open drivers door....

but the failure to start when hot is still there, and will start after waiting 45 mins, 1st turn of the key. even from a long run.



I have attached a pic of what im pretty sure is the fuel pump ( black one on the left??? )

I have read in different posts that this pump as it starts to wear out, it works when cold, but not when hot...... but can hear and feel it working when you put the ignition on without the engine running, so I guess when hot and things have expanded inside the pump, it cant get enough pressure to push the fuel throu during a hot start up?????

and it doesn't seem that hard of a job to do.....just got to find out prices....but want your opinion before I get one...

Click to expand...

Does it sound the same hot an cold? If so unlikely to be the issue. There is also another pump in the tank which you can listen to to make sure it appears to work.

thought the pump in the tank was moved from there to the engine bay, as in the pic mid 2002? will check to see if it sounds the same tomorrow.

tick73 said:

thought the pump in the tank was moved from there to the engine bay, as in the pic mid 2002? will check to see if it sounds the same tomorrow.

Click to expand...

Don't think so, there should be a pump in the tank (lift pump), a pump under the wheel arch in later cars or in the engine bay (low pressure pump) and a mechanical pump on the engine (high pressure pump). [/b] EDIT - I'm told that the later td4 only has 2 pumps, the one under the wheel arch and the high pressure one on the engine. [/b]

The one on the engine is the least likely. Listen to both of the electric pumps and report back. If the one under the bonnet/ wheel arch sounds funny give it a tap with a hammer and see if the sound changes.

That said I would still put money on injectors

Let us know

hi
is the pump that sits in the wheel arch the same as the one located in the engine bay, looks the same, just want to make sure.and will it fit?
going by my chassis number, I have a pump in the tank, so will be ordering both, but cant seem to find one that goes under the bonnet ( see previous pic above) , so want to make sure that the 2 pumps ( wheel arch and under bonnet ) are the same , just different location, or are there 3 pumps to worry about?? going to replace intank pump and under bonnet.

update.....
I have now changed the 2 pumps, one in the fuel tank and the one in the engine bay.
the hot start problem is still there! very frustrated :censored:
both was easy and fairly quick to do, but still wont start when hot, after 45 mins it will.
still starts perfect when cold thou!
does the ecu need to be reset or something with a reader? as I haven't got one of those, or is it the case of changing parts and that's it?
any ideas of other causes? someone mentioned the injectors and camshaft sensor, but surely with those the starting problem would be all the time not just when hot?

any ideas chaps?

Camshaft sensor is known to cause got start issues - when it's hot the electrics internal to the sensor breakdown and when it cools down it starts working again

If in doubt when it won't start when warm take off the cam sensor and put it in the freezer and then try again when it's cooled down

right, got a new camshaft sensor, fitted it. tried to start the car,,,, nothing, would turn over but not fire up... I put the old sensor back in, yep it started. but still wont start when hot...
does that mean that the 'new' sensor is faulty? as if it was something else wrong, it would of still started when cold...

Tried again with the new sensor, still didn't work, so put the old original sensor back in, went for a drive to fully warm it up. Turned it off, left for 5 mins, started up!!! Went for another longer drive, just in case it wasn't hot enough, and it still worked. Bit weird!
Reckon it may of been a loose connection? Did notice that the bolt holding it wasn't that tight...
But the new sensor is a non working unit....