Newbie - problems with immobiliser

Good Afternoon all!

I am new here and I have just bought a Freelander 2001. It's not much, but it's mine and I love it and will enjoy as much time in it as I can. I unfortunately need a little bit of help. I am not a mechanic, but I would really appreciate some guidance.

When I bought it, it had a rear light out. So I removed the casing, took the bulb to Wilko Motosave and said "can I have one of these please". Exactly same bulb, fitted, rear/brake light is now working. I then noticed when driving that my speedo rear light was flashing whilst driving, a friend driving behind me said my brake lights were constantly flickering. I could only assume that they were both flickering because of the same issue. In any case, it was in the local garage for the handbrake tightening and rear washer fixing and the mechanic said it was flickering because the bulb I had put in was dodgy and not earthed correctly. He put a new bulb in and since then, no flickering. So at this point, I was under the impression that there was no longer an issue with any of the electrics in the car. HOWEVER, On my short trips around town, I pulled up in the supermarket, shopped, went back to the freelander, unlocked it with the fob, tried to start the engine and nothing. After investigating the forum, the symptoms were that the immobiliser hadn't full switched off. The light had gone off on the dashboard, but the immobiliser hadn't, which wasn't allowing any fuel through when I tried to start the engine.

So far, I have:

- Separated the key fobs and only have my car keys on the key ring to avoid any interference from a second fob or key.
- Locked and unlocked the car key with the actual key and not using the fob to see if that works.
- Waited 10 mins and trying again with no luck.
- Opened all doors (not just the drivers side) with the fob and trying to start the engine with no luck.
- On the 3rd time of this happening, waiting 10 mins and trying again and the car started.
- On another night when it happened, I waited until the morning after and the car started straight away.

There seems to be no definite cause as to why this is happening and any successful start has been random. This just makes me wonder if there is an issue somewhere with the electrics. I am currently at work, but I will be taking the freelander to Halfords for a free battery check. If I can get in the car, unlock it with a fob or key, turn my lights on, interior light comes on etc, why would only the immobiliser not disengage? Is it taking power from the battery that isn't quite enough to disable it, yet can power the lights just fine? This happened after a 40 mile trip, I drove home from work, pulled up on the drive, turned the engine off, opened the drive gates, walked back to the car and it would not start. I would have thought a 40 mile drive would have charged the battery enough, if it did need it? Unless of course there is a fault with the battery. Knowing my luck, I doubt that there will be and I will be back at square 1 again. Once last thing, upon looking at the battery, the connections are covered in some form of grease. Why I do not know. I do not know if there will be a valid reason for this owing to my lack of mechanical knowledge, but can anyone shed any light on this? Could the amount of grease cause the issue? I presumed that no battery required this?

I apologise if I have posted in the wrong place, I would really appreciate a bit of advice for a disheartened newbie land rover owner.

Cheers,
John

You are probably wondering why your post has had nearly 50 views but no replies?
Well there is a certain way of doing things on this site - Say Hello in the "Introduce yourself" section first and then re-post in the dedicated Freelander section.
Bare with any petrol/matches and doors falling off comments from the "big boys" (they mean well
Does sound like your battery is struggling a bit and this time of year will always find the weak points, but I am sure someone on here will have had your problem and will help.

A light coating of grease or vaseline on battery connections will give protection from corrosion. I have always cleaned and smeared my terminals with vaseline before replacing the protective rubber covers.
Welcome.........

Dougden said:

You are probably wondering why your post has had nearly 50 views but no replies?
Well there is a certain way of doing things on this site - Say Hello in the "Introduce yourself" section first and then re-post in the dedicated Freelander section.
Bare with any petrol/matches and doors falling off comments from the "big boys" (they mean well
Does sound like your battery is struggling a bit and this time of year will always find the weak points, but I am sure someone on here will have had your problem and will help.

A light coating of grease or vaseline on battery connections will give protection from corrosion. I have always cleaned and smeared my terminals with vaseline before replacing the protective rubber covers.
Welcome.........

Click to expand...

Hi Dougden,
Thanks for the reply. I apologise for the long winded first post, I put it down to the frustration at the moment, and it was a plea for help almost. Thanks for your feedback though and your comments have been taken on board )

Regards,
John

sounds more like a dodgy fly lead connection on the starter motor to me. Give the spade connector on the starter motor a wiggle and see if that makes it start. Ignition switches like to fail on freelanders too so may be worth checking out.