New (dead) range rover

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M

MCF

New Member
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28
Hello all:)

Bought my first ever 4x4 day before yesterday:D. It's a 1997 range rover 4.6 HSE petrol auto.

Got it cheep with a few problems that the seller told me about, but thought it would be a good way to learn about cars in at the deep end - I have no knowledge about mechanics, but you gotta learn somewhere!

Anyway...

Drove the car home with no probelms.

Got up yesterday and went for a drive - no problems.

Yesterday evening going to pop out, jumped into the car, turned the ignition key, all the relevent dash lights come on, the radio comes on but nothing from the engine. Won't turn over, no clicking noises, nadda.

I've had a look at the fuses in the engine bay and under the drivers seat and all appear good. Ive tried the EKA, but to no avail.

I've searched the forums and it seems a few people have had the same problem so I'm hoping it's not BeCM problem:eek:

Any user friendly (idiot guide) tips on what to try before phoning a Land Rover garage $$$:(

Thank you and looking forward to talking about the other problems with the car at a later stage!

Mark
 
hammy2909 said:
Dead battery maybe?
Click to expand...

Not if all the lights came on normally, but maybe nearly dead. Do the lights go out when the key is turned to start? If so Hammy is right the battery is flat. this could be due to the BECM staying awake due to the RF receiver for the remote locking FOB picking up stray signals from WiFi and the like.

Turn your headlights on and see if they are bright.

:welcome2: to the mad house
 
MCF said:
Hello all:)

Bought my first ever 4x4 day before yesterday:D. It's a 1997 range rover 4.6 HSE petrol auto.

Got it cheep with a few problems that the seller told me about, but thought it would be a good way to learn about cars in at the deep end - I have no knowledge about mechanics, but you gotta learn somewhere!

Anyway...

Drove the car home with no probelms.

Got up yesterday and went for a drive - no problems.

Yesterday evening going to pop out, jumped into the car, turned the ignition key, all the relevent dash lights come on, the radio comes on but nothing from the engine. Won't turn over, no clicking noises, nadda.

I've had a look at the fuses in the engine bay and under the drivers seat and all appear good. Ive tried the EKA, but to no avail.

I've searched the forums and it seems a few people have had the same problem so I'm hoping it's not BeCM problem:eek:

Any user friendly (idiot guide) tips on what to try before phoning a Land Rover garage $$$:(

Thank you and looking forward to talking about the other problems with the car at a later stage!

Mark
Click to expand...

If you know nothing about mechanics, you should have started with a Fiesta. Taking on a p38 is like a rock climber taking on Everest as his first climb. But good luck.
 
OK... Just tried the lights and they come on fine and look bright enough...

However if I flash the high beam (not actually me flashing, that would be wrong, but the lights) then the radio goes off and comesback on again when the headlights are dropped...

Guess that means a flat ish battery.

Could that happen in the space of 4 hours? If the BeCM was awake from any RF I thought it would take a couple of days to drain...

Either way I'll try and jump the car (need to get some leads first) and see if that works...

Thanks guys...
 
Oh and all the dash lights stay on fine - just saw that question Datatek - they stay on when the key is in posistion II or III and don't dim when the headlight are on.

Also there is no warning messages displayed at any time....
 
Could be something as simple as a bad connection to the starter motor, or check the battery terminals are tight and free of corrosion, but don't hold out too much hope! Otherwise loss of communication from the BECM to engine ECU? Others know more about this than I do. Lots of possibilities.
 
try putting the gear box in n or p!!!

you will need to check the two wires on top of engine, a single wire and a multi plug, front right as you look at it!

there is something telling the ecu that all is not set for starting!

it could be the immobilizer but without diagnostics it not easy to tell!

check the silly and simple stuff first!

test battery for output with lights on and with lights off!

do the dash lights dim when trying to crank?
 
Panic over... you guys were right it was just a dead battery.

Bought a charger yesterday. Thought that if it draining would need to charge it more than once rather than to keep jumping it.

Once juiced up started first time.

All the nerves about BeCM busted, starter motor gone and all that were unfounded....

Out now to buy a volt meter, that would have helped in the first instance!!

Another question - is there an easy way of finding out if there is a RF that is keeping the BeCM awake and draining the battery?

Look forward to asking a lot more questions cheers for your advice and patients...

Roll on Everest....:D
 
Either change the RF receiver in your Rangie, or unplug it and see if the source of the drain disappears....its behind the trim at the rear, where the parcel shelf goes, drivers side.Easy to get at and change or unplug - key fob will still work if unplugged, you just have to be close to the car. I changed mine and its solved the battery drain totally.
 
rangiegal said:
Either change the RF receiver in your Rangie, or unplug it and see if the source of the drain disappears....its behind the trim at the rear, where the parcel shelf goes, drivers side.Easy to get at and change or unplug - key fob will still work if unplugged, you just have to be close to the car. I changed mine and its solved the battery drain totally.
Click to expand...

Just unplug the aerial cable not the whole RF receiver or your Key Fob will not work.
 
Use your newly aquired multimeter to measure the draw on the battery. You will have to do a search for the figures cause I cant remember off the top of my head, but you should see a large decrease in the current drawn when it goes to sleep. I think it takes about 10 mins (again check this).
 
MCF said:
Hello all:)

Bought my first ever 4x4 day before yesterday:D. It's a 1997 range rover 4.6 HSE petrol auto.

Got it cheep with a few problems that the seller told me about, but thought it would be a good way to learn about cars in at the deep end - I have no knowledge about mechanics, but you gotta learn somewhere!

Anyway...

Drove the car home with no probelms.

Got up yesterday and went for a drive - no problems.

Yesterday evening going to pop out, jumped into the car, turned the ignition key, all the relevent dash lights come on, the radio comes on but nothing from the engine. Won't turn over, no clicking noises, nadda.

I've had a look at the fuses in the engine bay and under the drivers seat and all appear good. Ive tried the EKA, but to no avail.

I've searched the forums and it seems a few people have had the same problem so I'm hoping it's not BeCM problem:eek:

Any user friendly (idiot guide) tips on what to try before phoning a Land Rover garage $$$:(

Thank you and looking forward to talking about the other problems with the car at a later stage!

Mark
Click to expand...
Hello mark, dont worry too much, and if every thing you looked at seems ok , one question can you still turn the alarm off via the remote?? your car has lost the link between the ecu and the becm, it can be uncomom but dose happen , as it did mine i spent 3 days doing research into the same problem , all you need is to get your car to a dealer , or rep rr specialist as it needs to be plugged in to a test book and the code re lurnt , it cost me 69 quid inc vat , and took 3 minuites to sort , the car never even came off the truck, but you may want to ask it who ever you take your car too if their come to you as it cost me 100 quid for a low loder to take it to the garage , as the kit they use is portable , you never know they might just do that for you , well im pretty sure thats the issue with your rr but please let me know how you get on mark , rob
 
You are able to test very quick if the reciver is awake and draining the battery. Go out to your range in the dark and look through the window of the car if the p is lit up very dim on the auto box then your rf is awake and draining your battery. I had this prob with mine disconected the ariel and no more problems. But be aware the light is very dim and hard to tell if its lit or not.
 
Sorted...

It was just a dead battery... Phew...

Learnt that just because the electrics work, dont mean the battery is...

Now to sort the RF problem... Not sure about getting the upgrade rf unit so will try and unplug the rf reciever and see how I get on with that...

Roll on everest....:D
 
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