P38A Immobilized car, please help..

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Hi guys, I'm new on the forum.. Been driving the p38 2.5 TD for a while.. Encountered many problems but this is sticking around..

I was hoping for a little help / insight.

The problem is this :
I parked the car at work. The previous days the key had gone out of function, so I used the key to disable central lock and to start the car. But the other day this didn't work either..

So I changed the batterys in the remote control, the led light burns now, but it doesn't help.

I have the known message: please enter code or press key..

Checked the whole process I found online. Been struggling for a week now. Got the eka code from land Rover.. But without luck.
The lock looks and workes fine, used some wd 40 in addition.

The fuse box is giving me doubts since the central lock relay was smelling burnt?

When I stand outside the car now, press the button to unlock, the red led light in the car stops blinking in about 6 sec, and then starts again.

The same happens when I open the door, or close it..

New 110ah battery installed..

Anybody has a suggestion perhaps? It's unfortunately not easy to get it to the land Rover workshop since I don't have a strong car to pull the trailer..

Would very much appreciate help in this matter...!
 
Hi guys, I'm new on the forum.. Been driving the p38 2.5 TD for a while.. Encountered many problems but this is sticking around..

I was hoping for a little help / insight.

The problem is this :
I parked the car at work. The previous days the key had gone out of function, so I used the key to disable central lock and to start the car. But the other day this didn't work either..

So I changed the batterys in the remote control, the led light burns now, but it doesn't help.

I have the known message: please enter code or press key..

Checked the whole process I found online. Been struggling for a week now. Got the eka code from land Rover.. But without luck.
The lock looks and workes fine, used some wd 40 in addition.

The fuse box is giving me doubts since the central lock relay was smelling burnt?

When I stand outside the car now, press the button to unlock, the red led light in the car stops blinking in about 6 sec, and then starts again.

The same happens when I open the door, or close it..

New 110ah battery installed..

Anybody has a suggestion perhaps? It's unfortunately not easy to get it to the land Rover workshop since I don't have a strong car to pull the trailer..

Would very much appreciate help in this matter...!

It's a 1996 model by the way..
The remote control was working before, tried to resync but that didn't help either.
Someone wrote to open the passenger door first, then press unlock? The passenger door has been problematic up till now..
I will try this when I come home..
 
Hi guys, I'm new on the forum.. Been driving the p38 2.5 TD for a while.. Encountered many problems but this is sticking around..

I was hoping for a little help / insight.

The problem is this :
I parked the car at work. The previous days the key had gone out of function, so I used the key to disable central lock and to start the car. But the other day this didn't work either..

So I changed the batterys in the remote control, the led light burns now, but it doesn't help.

I have the known message: please enter code or press key..

Checked the whole process I found online. Been struggling for a week now. Got the eka code from land Rover.. But without luck.
The lock looks and workes fine, used some wd 40 in addition.

The fuse box is giving me doubts since the central lock relay was smelling burnt?

When I stand outside the car now, press the button to unlock, the red led light in the car stops blinking in about 6 sec, and then starts again.

The same happens when I open the door, or close it..

New 110ah battery installed..

Anybody has a suggestion perhaps? It's unfortunately not easy to get it to the land Rover workshop since I don't have a strong car to pull the trailer..

Would very much appreciate help in this matter...!

Cant help with the tech stuff but your equivalent of the AA or similar could surely recover it to a workshop? If you're not a member ask a friend who is.
 
If you lock car with fob and it loses sync for any reason, when opening car with key you will always get "Engine immobilised" message. EKA code needs to be put in and accepted BEFORE keys can be resynced.
 
If you lock car with fob and it loses sync for any reason, when opening car with key you will always get "Engine immobilised" message. EKA code needs to be put in and accepted BEFORE keys can be resynced.
Very interesting.. I don't remember if I locked the car with the key or key fob to be honest. I think with the key since the key fob never worked on locking the doors, it just took of the immobilizer.
But it could be possible that the doors micro switches aren't working as they should..
 
Very interesting.. I don't remember if I locked the car with the key or key fob to be honest. I think with the key since the key fob never worked on locking the doors, it just took of the immobilizer.
But it could be possible that the doors micro switches aren't working as they should..

Best thing is to get someone with a Nanocom to disable immobiliser and EKA code, you can then use the key until you sort out the locks.
 
Ok, i Was thinking to ask this, is it only the nanocom which can be used for this?
My local workshop had 6 different diagnostic machines, but they all had range rover from around 2002 and up, very frustrating..
I will check out if someone has the specific nanocom diagnosis machine.
 
It could definitely be one of the microswitches in the door latch not working properly that is causing the problems. There are 3 of them in the drivers door, and 2 of these are used in the entry of the EKA - the key switch and the CDL switch.

If either of these has failed, then entering the EKA is pretty much impossible via the door. You can enter the EKA and 'disarm' the BECM via the diagnostics port with Nanocom or similar if the BECM software version is 36 or above (readable by diagnostics, or it's printed on the sticker on top of the BECM fusebox)

I have attached to this post my door latch tests document that I wrote up for when I was testing door latches in the vehicle - it gives a list of tests (don't worry too much about the motor tests as they won't affect the EKA) and expected results.

I hope this helps,
Marty
 

Attachments

  • P38 Door Latch Tests.pdf
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Hi Marty,

Thanks a lot for your response.
I'm wondering if the micro switches can be fixed or should they simple be replaced?
Thanks in advance..

The microswitches aren't repairable as they are sealed units. They are replaceable though, yes.
I refurbish door latches as/when I get time, and replace the switches with IP rated versions, which the first version of the P38 latches didn't have. Later versions have IP rated switches, but they do still fail over time.
Depending on which version of the front door latch you have will depend on how easy/difficult swapping the microswitches is. The later ones are a right pain as they are all moulded together, and the pins on the moulding don't line up with the mounting holes on the replacement switches, which means that extra holes have to be put in the latch casing and the new switches have to be pinned in place to make sure they line up properly (I use M2.5 threaded rod)

I hope this helps,
Marty
 
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