P38 fob died, now replaced batteries won't start

Morning chaps, Newbie here,

Had my p38 2 weeks and the other day the fob died on me (no spare batteries, lesson learned), went back to Bromley last night where the car is stuck. Managed to synchronised the key fob works, put a battery starter on the battery to give it some extra juice, now showing two faults, gearbox & traction control. Having read various forums it looks like it's just the battery is too low. Had AA out and the spark plugs weren't firing so we both reckon it was the engine immobiliser.

If I buy another battery , disconnect the old one, leave it for a bit and then attach the new one, will it clear the faults codes? Nothing wrong with the car previously, so hope it's not the alternator.

I live in Sutton so driving over to Bromley each time to find it still won't work, is driving me nuts.

Any help and advise gratefully required, or a recommendation for a decent mobile landrover mechanic who I can call to meet me next time.

Steven, aca Stavros

Possible you are right and it's out of sync. You will need a Syncmate or such to correct that. Take your phone number off the forum or you will be getting spurious calls.

Thanks Wammers

Stavros1967 said:

Thanks Wammers

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Nothing like cold weather for highlighting duff batteries. Get the battery shunt tested and check the charging rate. If the battery is duff, fit the largest capacity battery you can get in the car.

wammers said:

Nothing like cold weather for highlighting duff batteries. Get the battery shunt tested and check the charging rate. If the battery is duff, fit the largest capacity battery you can get in the car.

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Alphaline 135AH 1000CCA is the biggest that will fit from www.batterymegastore.co.uk About £98 delivered. No affiliation, just a happy customer.

Datatek said:

Alphaline 135AH 1000CCA is the biggest that will fit from www.batterymegastore.co.uk About £98 delivered. No affiliation, just a happy customer.

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is that delivered uk or france? Or set price?

gfromleeds said:

is that delivered uk or france? Or set price?

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Last time I looked £98 delivered in the UK, France was €108 from the French oufit.

Thanks for all the advice, the forum's really do answer so many questions. I decided to bought the Blackbox Solutions BeCM Sync-mate for my model plus the EAS Kicker Lite last night, (in case the suspension drops ontp the bump stops) waiting on delivery. Just sort out a new battery and I reckon I'll get it started.

Once I get it working, if anyone needs help with theirs, local to Surrey/Sutton/Croydon Areas, happy to return the favour. Not sure about the 135AH 1000CCA battery it looks huge, like the Optima red top ones, but just too expensive. Will work out a reasonable compromise, then keep the old battery once charged as a back up.

Stavros1967 said:

Thanks for all the advice, the forum's really do answer so many questions. I decided to bought the Blackbox Solutions BeCM Sync-mate for my model plus the EAS Kicker Lite last night, (in case the suspension drops ontp the bump stops) waiting on delivery. Just sort out a new battery and I reckon I'll get it started.

Once I get it working, if anyone needs help with theirs, local to Surrey/Sutton/Croydon Areas, happy to return the favour. Not sure about the 135AH 1000CCA battery it looks huge, like the Optima red top ones, but just too expensive. Will work out a reasonable compromise, then keep the old battery once charged as a back up.

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If your old battery has a duff cell you can charge it all you want, it will still fail under load. I did say get it shunt tested. If the car drops to the bump stops it's unlikely a kicker will do much for you. You need the EASunlock software and cable but you do need a laptop to use it. Datatek will sell you a cable and include a disc with the software and other useful items on it for about £16.00.

Stavros1967 said:

Thanks for all the advice, the forum's really do answer so many questions. I decided to bought the Blackbox Solutions BeCM Sync-mate for my model plus the EAS Kicker Lite last night, (in case the suspension drops ontp the bump stops) waiting on delivery. Just sort out a new battery and I reckon I'll get it started.

Once I get it working, if anyone needs help with theirs, local to Surrey/Sutton/Croydon Areas, happy to return the favour. Not sure about the 135AH 1000CCA battery it looks huge, like the Optima red top ones, but just too expensive. Will work out a reasonable compromise, then keep the old battery once charged as a back up.

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The Alphaline fits fine.
For what you have spent on a Syncmate & Kicker, with a little more you could have got a Nanocom Evo to cover all the car's systems.

Download the iPhone app for Batterymegastore, email them that you have done it and they send you a 10% discount code. Result !

carnutter5 said:

Download the iPhone app for Batterymegastore, email them that you have done it and they send you a 10% discount code. Result !

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Do they do the same for Android?

I'm sure your all right, if I get it started , I'll let you know.

Great news! I received my Blackbox Solutions BeCM Sync-mate from Cyprus, bought a new battery and managed after a couple of goes to get the car started, had to connect the new battery to the old to get the power up) so took it for a long run and got the old battery charged up. The new battery I tried to fit does go into the tray but the negative terminal wire is too short to connect to the terminal. Any tips on extending the cable safely welcome. Car drove home but felt like 4 th gear wasn't engaging (automatic) plus the sports mode doesn't work. When I turn it off it comes up with gearbox fault, any tips on how to clear this as it was fine before the fob died.

Anyway car is home, where I can work on it until sorted

Your old battery is fecked...and driving a car is not the way to charge it up....you'll never get enough charge into it...

Your gearbox issue is down to low volts.

As for the new battery, send it back and get one which the terminals are in the right place, you should never have to stretch cables....

Got it all working! Gear box fault cleared itself after I restarted the engine. Large battery fitted in the tray but the terminals were at the front rather than the rear so cables couldn't
Reach, took battery back and got a refund, will by a reverses polarity battery which should fit

Thanks again for all the advice, new battery charger on its way to fully charge the existing battery.

Euro carparts are excellent for batteries. P38 battery (Ayusa) £70, & a battery for my Discovery 3 (Bosch) £75. In fact, Euro carparts are probably the cheapest for all generic parts, leads, plugs etc.

Rick-the-Pick said:

Euro carparts are excellent for batteries. P38 battery (Ayusa) £70, & a battery for my Discovery 3 (Bosch) £75. In fact, Euro carparts are probably the cheapest for all generic parts, leads, plugs etc.

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+1 to Yuasa for P38

+1 on the alphaline. I have the 105AH/750CCA one under the bonnet and a 115AH/1000CCA in the load space connected via split charge system.

Was going to fit the bigger one under the bonnet when I got it, but the 750CCA still does the job after 2 years, even when she's been sitting for a few weeks if I'm away for work.

Also not affiliated with battery megastore, but just a 2x happy customer.

Marty