Freelander 1 Td4 electrical problem, no start ,no obd power.

Hi all ,
I have a freelander td4 2003 that has been sitting in my ex's driveway for the last few days , hooray.
I was driving there early this week and i noticed the clock was not showing the time.
I thought it was a fuse needed changing so when i got there i started to check the fuses and found the fog lamp fuse blown but all others ok .
Then i noticed that there was no power to the rear door and i could not open it to let the dog out. Started checking the doors and found that central locking , door windows and radio also had no power to them.
got out my icarsoft code reader to check for codes but there was no power coming from the obd to power up the code reader .
At this point i started to get a bit worried and turned the key in the ignition and all lights came on as usual. turned the key more to start the engine and there was a 1 or 2 second delay before the starter motor started to crank and it cranked away but the engine would not start.
called out the AA and the AA guy checked all fuses with a multimeter and cleaned battery connectors and earth from battery to chassis with a wire brush but no joy . He was of the opinion that it could be the ecu or the body control unit and politely went on his way.
I have spent deveral hours checking and rechecking fuses and relays visually and checking all wiring looms i can see with a lamp and a small mirror with no obvious signs of chafed or heat damged wires .
My nearest auto electrician is an hours drive away and he is not free till next week so i thought i would post my problem here in the hopes that someone might be able to suggest a course of action or a possible culprit before i get a recovery truck to lug the car up the road next week.
Thanks for reading this long post

Dave

Check fusible links for corrosion/voltage drop. The CCU is involved with the windows but the clock should be powered up regardless of these, suggesting a more fundamental problem.

Thanks, you mean the ones in the engine compartment fuse box ?

ponythegringo said:

Thanks, you mean the ones in the engine compartment fuse box ?

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Yes. Also worth checking around for bad earths. Using a test light or multimeter, you can check for a voltage between the wire to the point and battery negative when the various circuits, eg windows, are activated.

Usually Pin 16 on OBD I I is always hot. If that's not got power, as well as other systems/circuits then there seem to be be fundamental power loss from somewhere. Checking fuses etc has shown, so far that the circuits themselves have integrity although these haven't been load tested as such for voltage drop. It maybe that one of your main engine to body/gearbox to body earth's has failed or your battery earth lead maybe? Certainly this I easier to check than any ECU BCU and hopefully a much cheaper fix. Hope it I so and good luck. Keep us informed of any outcome.

thanks for the replies guys , I have checked the main battery earth and cleaned it. will try to find and check others today.

This might sound silly but did the AA guy check the battery to see if it was flat?

It is powering the lights and starter motor so no there is in fact juice in d battery.
Checked all earth connections and fuselinks , no obvious issue so i am thinking maybe a bad body control unit?

Why would there be a delay of 1 to 2 seconds from turning the key to the starter motor cranking?

Still a mystery

Could be one of several things, thinking simple stuff first...Is you battery at 'optimum' charge (usually 12.6 Volts, anything less would be a slightly lower than best charge, lower than 12.3 Volts = discharged)

Secondly, starters can 'stick'(the solenoid that is) and then initiate the starter. This may indicate that your solenoid is on the way out. If you have a delay normally, try tapping the starter with the aid of someone 'turning over' the ignition(as you tap the starter motor body) If the starter turns immediately as you tap it it may indicate this issue. Just beware that this is not a definitive test but maybe point to a possible cause. Check all conections at the starter also. They must be clean and securely connected AND free from obvious damage. There may be some internal corrosion not easily seen, so you would need to carry out a voltage drop test(from battery positive to starter)..there are many videos on youtube that show this procedure, specifically on starters. Internal corrosion creates heat (resistance) and any circuit that is so will eventually fail, sometimes in a manner that gradually creeps up.

ponythegringo said:

It is powering the lights and starter motor so no there is in fact juice in d battery.
Checked all earth connections and fuselinks , no obvious issue so i am thinking maybe a bad body control unit?

Why would there be a delay of 1 to 2 seconds from turning the key to the starter motor cranking?

Still a mystery

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The OBD could be a spread connection at the socket, which isn't unheard of.
The delayed start could be down to a sluggish contact in the ignition switch, again not unheard of. It could also be a sticking starter solenoid.

The CCU doesn't power the OBD or starter, which pretty much discounts that for the starting and OBD issues.

However all the windows and rear door are controlled by the CCU.

It does sound like a power problem on one of the main feeds. There have been issues with corrosion inside the under bonnet fues box. So that's where I'd be looking first.

ok have contacted 2 auto electricians in opposite directions. one said he will test the wiring and the other said definitely needs a new body control unit . I emailed him to ask if the obd and starter aren't powered by the body control unit and his reply was:
"well, if you know better then i can't help you.
sorry."

Thickhead.

No obvious corrosion in the under bonnet fusebox , i will take some photos to post up later.

just remembered , had to change fuel pump last month and had a rear indicator not working and had code about a short circuit . I was busy working on a building project so got mechanic to change pump and sort indicator . he replaced bulb holder and indicator was working again so forgot about it.
Wish i had written down the code now

ponythegringo said:

ok have contacted 2 auto electricians in opposite directions. one said he will test the wiring and the other said definitely needs a new body control unit . I emailed him to ask if the obd and starter aren't powered by the body control unit and his reply was:
"well, if you know better then i can't help you.
sorry."

Thickhead.

No obvious corrosion in the under bonnet fusebox , i will take some photos to post up later.

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"No obvious corrosion" - get yourself a test light. Often, a high resistance connection won't be obvious and a test light may go out when the circuit is loaded. Move the test light back towards the supply until it stays lit even when circuit energised. You have just crossed over the bad connection. A loaded circuit test is much more valuable than open circuit voltage measurements with a high impedance multimeter.

Technician A seems sensible and prepared to investigate the problem.
Technician B seems too eager to make a snap diagnosis and appears to have anger issues.

Go with A.

guineafowl21 said:

"No obvious corrosion" - get yourself a test light. Often, a high resistance connection won't be obvious and a test light may go out when the circuit is loaded. Move the test light back towards the supply until it stays lit even when circuit energised. You have just crossed over the bad connection. A loaded circuit test is much more valuable than open circuit voltage measurements with a high impedance multimeter.

Technician A seems sensible and prepared to investigate the problem.
Technician B seems too eager to make a snap diagnosis and appears to have anger issues.

Go with A.

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Agreed. Tech B knows nothing about the FL1s electrical system. The CCU isn't the same as a BCU. The CCU only handles a few selected circuits which require timed or some form of active control. The rest of the FL1s electrical system uses good old fashioned relays and switches.

The fuse box has been known to corrode internally. This is difficult to see from above. It's worth eliminating it for sure.

Nodge68 said:

The fuse box has been known to corrode internally. This is difficult to see from above. It's worth eliminating it for sure.

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Test light > DMM > code reader.

I had an intermittent no-crank problem with my Fordson Super Dexta. The test light showed power to the solenoid, and the connections "looked ok". When the key was turned, the light went out - problem was a bad connection to the solenoid. I just walked the probe back until the light stayed on under crank, and knew that the last connection crossed was the faulty one.

Found this i wrote down, must be the reading from the icarsoft when indicator stopped working " p1e 30 boost system performance , short circuit to v batt , positive controller deviation "

No word from auto electrician yet , fingers crossed

Someone with that fault code:

https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/05-freelander-td4-loosing-power-when-hot.251949/

Found that sorting the fuel rail pressure sensor cleared it. Not sure why. If there is a short in the FRP sensor wiring and it's pulling down the 5V/12V reference lines then that could play havoc with other sensors or CCU. Unlikely though.

Just got it back from the shop, tech says it is a faulty fuse board , wired up a temporary solution till i can source a new fuseboard. Is this safe?

ponythegringo said:

Just got it back from the shop, tech says it is a faulty fuse board , wired up a temporary solution till i can source a new fuseboard. Is this safe? View attachment 131365

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So it was a fuse problem box then. If it's a temporary fix only then it'll probably be ok. I'd like to see a fuse in that link wire though.

Nodge68 said:

The fuse box has been known to corrode internally. This is difficult to see from above. It's worth eliminating it for sure

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Good call, Nodge. I'll acknowledge it, even if the OP won't