No speedo

Hi my freelander 1.8i year 2000. Has the hill decent lights on constantly and the speedo doesn’t work. It drives fine and remaining dash is ok . Thanks to brakers changed gear stick switch and gear box speed sensor . No change that’s an hour of my life I won’t get back.
Any ideas welcome?

Negan said:

Thanks to brakers changed gear stick switch and gear box speed sensor .

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The gear stick switch doesn't cause the dash lights to come on, although it would be helpful to know exactly which lights are on.

I don't know how you managed to change a gearbox speed sensor, because there isn't one on the ABS equipped FL1.

The speedo signal is supplied by the ABS ECU, which also gives a clue as to why some dash lights are on.
To find out the exact fault, you'll need to have a diagnostic done.

You should read the diagnostic codes - it will tell you why the speedo is not working and the HDC warning light is lit.

Do the ABS and TC warning lights light up when you turn the ignition on then go out?

I'm pretty sure the speed is determined by the ABS sensors - so it would indicate that they are faulty - but the ABS and TC lights would also be lit I believe.

Hi will arrange diagnostic. But in mean time. Turn her on and we have left to right . Traction control,SRS, green hil desent, orange hill desent , plus the usual bat/oil hand brake. Leave on a few seconds and green Hd and red SRS go out.

Looks like someone's removed the bulb for the ABS light - presumably to get it through a MOT.

It would be lit with the TC and HDC lights warning/error lights.

Pretty sure you have problems on multiple ABS sensors as the speedo will still work when 1 (or 2?) fail. Maybe the cabling to them (eg connector on ABS ECU) but someone's had ABS problems with this car before you've got it and frigged it rather than fixing it.

In short (four letter word of your choice). Will get it on a diagnostic and proceed with caution. Thanks for the advice and watch this space.

Hi a lemon is what springs to mind.
Just had a diagnosis. No fault codes at all. Machanic sugested changing the gear box sensor . To one with something that the multi pug can connect with.

Negan said:

Machanic sugested changing the gear box sensor . To one with something that the multi pug can connect with.

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There isn't a gearbox speed sensor on the Freelander. Speed signals come from the ABS sensors via the ABS ECU.
You have dash lights because the ABS ECU is registering a fault. You need to find someone with a diagnostic unit that communicates with the early FL1 ABS ECU, so you can identify what the problem is.
You could actually check the resistance of all ABS sensors with a multimeter. All sensors should have a resistance of about 1K ohm, any that don't are probably faulty.

The Freelander is about as simple a vehicle as you'll find now, with modern vehicles being many times more complicated to fault find on.

The mechanic you mention. Is he a proper mechanic or a friend with an ODB2 dongle? He was probably querying the engine ECU.

As Nodge says, you need Freelander specific kit to talk to the ABS module.

Its conceivable that there is a networking issue in the car - eg the dash, engine ECU and diagnostic port can't talk to the ABS ECU properly. However this is very very unlikely for many reasons - not least of which is that your mechanic said there were no fault codes - if there was an issue the diagnostic kit would have said that it can't communicate with the ABS ECU. Secondly the lights on the dash do what they are supposed to do when you turn the ignition on - specifically the green HDC activation light came on and then went off (obviously with the exception of the ABS light that has been castrated).

The ABS/TC/HDC error lights are termed the '3 Amigos' on Land Rovers. I've had them come to town twice during the ownership of my Freelander. Each time I've gone down to my local Landie independent garage, covered their palm with some folding, they plug in their diagnostic kit and tell me what the error codes are.