Three bongs *six* 'amigos' - any ideas?

OK, here is a mystery.



Originally I thought this was a derivative of the classic THREE amigos problem, but actually it was a SIX amigos problem - see photo of instrument binnacle, above.

I've just driven 700 miles in the last three days with these lights coming on, after three bongs, anywhere from instantly to several minutes after starting off. Since they are all related to SLABS functionality, I was fearing the worst. But they didn't stop the car being driven and the handling seemed the same so apart from wear and tear on the bulbs I ignored them.

But now they have mysteriously disappeared and this is what happened:

Made it back to Norfolk and dropped one passenger off first. My wife had the key and she tried to lock the car, but didn't notice that a door was open. Car responded by beeping the horn and not locking the doors. With the open door closed my wife was able to lock up properly.

When we came out from dropping our passenger off, the car wouldn't start. Engine turned over merrily but nada mas. With a sinking feeling I got out of the car, telling the other passengers to sit still, then locked the car. I unlocked once more, climbed in and tried the engine. Fired up straightaway. During the 10 min drive home the six amigos did not re-appear. I could not believe it.

After we'd been home awhile I took the car out again to see if the six amigos would make a re-appearance, but they did not.

So what the hell has been going on and was the business with the doors and re-locking involved in re-setting something that has cured the problem?

Any ideas? Anyone had this problem before? Would appreciate your feedback/comments/suggestions. On another forum it's been suggested that it could be water ingress from the windscreen, although this problem occurred during dry weather. I have noticed a little water dripping down the side of the transmission tunnel into the driver's footwell, but I am guessing that is caused by a blocked aircon drain as there's not very much of it.

Am definitely getting a Nanocom now so I can dive in to ECUs and see what's been logged.

Thanks guys.

I bought my D2 new I have been living with this for the past 6+ years! The main dealer I used to use changed everything and ran up a bill in the thousands of pounds and they still come on 'when they feel like it'. Sometimes three or four times a day but more usually only once in months. I just cannot work out a common condition that makes it happen. They always go away when I stop and restart the engine. It is worth noting that the main dealer, now very much downgraded by Landrover, did not attempt to use diagnostic equipment!

I now use a wonderful local, very small, workshop who immediately used diagnostics and came up with the cause being an earth fault. The clock now registering now in excess of 200,000 miles and an earth fault being a bit like a needle in a hat stack, I have decided to just live with it as I am not prepared to shell out more £££'s on a motor which is otherwise in wonderful condition and now over 12 years old. I do intend replacing it in the future although the thought of having him 'pensioned off' is just too upsetting! I always have genuine parts for replacements in him and I love him to bits!!!!!

Well, that is most interesting - thanks for the input, even if it's a tad depressing! Previous owner loved his Disco to death and spent a fortune on preventative maintenance and I have the bills to prove it. He even did the workaround to cure the classic 'three amigos' even though he'd never experienced them on his vehicle.

Someone else has suggested water ingress from the windscreen getting into the SLABS ECU, which is on the bulkhead behind the glove compartment. Previous owner did have the screen changed a couple of years ago. I checked under the floor mat in the front passenger footwell and it is indeed wet, but that could be caused by blocked aircon drains, so it needs further investigation.

Did any of the people who looked into your problem ever investigate water ingress?

Yes. The slabs ecu was changed to the uprated one as was the full fuse box in the engine compartment. I am not mechanically-able hence my need to have my car fully maintained for me. I have a HUGE list of paper evidence to prove what was changed and by the size of it, I think just about everything was changed!!!!!
The one place I have been told I could find the offending earth wire is behind the slabs ecu but, as I said, I just live with it as I am not prepared to give another blank cheque and it really does not affect the car's running at all. Except for this one problem, my car is fully operational and very well maintained.

derwendolly said:

Yes. The slabs ecu was changed to the uprated one as was the full fuse box in the engine compartment. I am not mechanically-able hence my need to have my car fully maintained for me. I have a HUGE list of paper evidence to prove what was changed and by the size of it, I think just about everything was changed!!!!!
The one place I have been told I could find the offending earth wire is behind the slabs ecu but, as I said, I just live with it as I am not prepared to give another blank cheque and it really does not affect the car's running at all. Except for this one problem, my car is fully operational and very well maintained.

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Wow - it's amazing how much you have had to spend not to be able to arrive at a cure. I suppose this is why people like Honest John refer to LR's 'shockingly bad build quality' on the Disco 2 and yet those of us who own them still love them regardless of this and what they have and continue to cost us. Are we idiots or is there just something about owning and running a Disco?

I think my only concern about what you say about the problem not affecting the way the car runs, is that I would like to know whether, having flagged up these six spurious alerts, the various systems still actually work or whether the SLABS ECU has disabled them pending a reset. If there is indeed an earth behind the ECU, I am surprised that no-one ever thought it worth dismounting the ECU to take a look and check it - if you had it replaced, it can't be impossible to get to, after all.

If you are driving around and hoping in vain that your ABS will kick in when it's required, for instance, or you hit a big puddle on the motorway and pray that the traction control is still working, despite the warning light, that would be a cause for concern for me.

If nothing else, I don't want wet carpets because ultimately that will lead to the car rotting away from the inside out, so I'm going to begin the investigation. I'm a competent DIY-er and I've got quite a few mechanical tools, but like you I prefer to bring in experts when it comes to potentially complex vehicular problems.

At the moment, my six amigos have gone away, but I'm not optimistic that they won't come back.

All the best.

Just been to JSF 4x4 in Norwich to hitch the car up to their Autologic box of tricks.

Came straight back with a SLABS ECU earth fault. Quick check of the earthing points in the engine bay was negative (if you'll pardon the pun) so back on Wednesday to have a gander behind the glove compartment - and apparently there are even earths under the carpet!

JSF said SLABS ECUs themselves rarely fail - BCUs less reliable.

That is interesting, exactly the same result as I was given. I will be very interested to hear how you get on in the next stage.

derwendolly said:

That is interesting, exactly the same result as I was given. I will be very interested to hear how you get on in the next stage.

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You can see further developments on the D2 Boys Club forum here:

The D2 Boys Club. - Login

If it's not raining tomorrow I will try the fault-finding suggested.

derwendolly said:

That is interesting, exactly the same result as I was given. I will be very interested to hear how you get on in the next stage.

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Well, in the end JSF took a look at it and it's just as well, because I would never have found the fault, which was a corroded connector at the SLABS ECU. That's been re-made so touch wood that will be the last I see of the six amigos.

I was pleased that JSF were able to fix what was a quite fiddly problem but less pleased that they hadn't taken better care of my Disco. When I got it back I found the glove compartment lid wouldn't close (it did before) and the foam-backed trim under the nearside dash was hanging down. This last was particularly annoying as I had recently spent some time fabricating some fasteners to hold it up and in place. Someone at JSF had just ripped my home-made trim fastener off - it was a nut brazed to a penny washer. Found the washer on the floor of the car. Later noticed a flanged nut also on the floor - the kind you would expect to find clamping earth wires onto a bolt fixed to the chassis, in fact - oo-er.

Letter of complaint has gone off to JSF's MD - we will see what he says in reply, if anything. It's a pity, as finding a reliable, knowledgeable and affordable LR specialist isn't easy. Someone told me Peter Scott at Wymondham is supposed to be better than JSF, so when I saw a Disco in a pub car park with a Peter Scott-branded spare wheel cover I asked the owner his opinion of them. "A bunch of jokers" was his reply. Not very encouraging.