Xreg(2000) Freelander sudden death

Hello first post and a car noob.

Today i drove my freelander like normal. and drove to the school to pick up my kids. everything seemed fine, listened to the radio like normal. got out the car locked it up and went to get the kids.

about 20 mins later. i returned to the car with the kids. got in strapped up turned on the car and twisted to start it up. and chug chug, click, click, click.

then the cd player chucked out my cd from the player. trying not to panic i tried again chug chug, click, click, click.

so phoned around and got some one to bring up a portable jump starter. tried that, the same thing happened.

went home to get tow strap, jump leads, and give the portable jumper a charge. went back to my car the portable jumper never worked. so we tried the jump leads. that didn't work. tryed the car again and the car stopped the chug chug. and just clicks.

so we had to tow the car. so i went to put the hazards on and they made a funny noise and wouldn't work. so we towed home with no breaks, power sterring etc. and made it home in one piece.

now i taken the battery out and started charging it myself. but if that dont work im stuck. the thing is. im disabled and cant walk the kids to school. and ready to pick up my new freelander in a few weeks. and my car was supposed to go in part exchange.

Im worried im gonna be stuck without a car to trade in. so was hoping someone could give me a few pointers.

thanks

I'm wondering if the battery has dropped a cell, given the suddeness of the situation. Put a volt meter across the battery terminals. If you've got the charger on then take it off and wait 15 minutes first. It should be between 12 and 13 volts. If its down to 10v then it has probably lost a cell and its a new battery job.

If all is well with the battery voltage then charge it over night then put it back on the car. If it starts then put the volt meter across the terminals with the engine idling. The voltage should be 13.8V at least. If it is still around the 12V mark then the alternator is faulty and will require replacement.

Good luck.

Bah i dont have a meter reader. ill have to see if a friend has one in the morning. but thanks anyways. is an alternator an expensive repair. as it would not be worth it if it would cost more than im getting in for trade.

The alternator is likely to be in the 100-150 quid bracket, then its got to be fitted, if you're not doing it yourself.

As for trading in, it depends on how much 'you' value your car. Its not about its value so much these days, its more about how much you have already spent on it and getting the value out of that. You're never going to make money on these cars so you may as well enjoy it instead. Thats what we do.

Where abouts (roughly) are you mopreme ? maybe someone could pop over and check your battery. It does sound like Darmain is on the money with the battery; all the things that are going on with it sound like a failed battery.

Yes check battery first. . . . .but even with a u/s battery should jump start with a good running motor, if battery is prooved to be good ,check engine earth , power links [high current fuses] are all ok. . . .then its starter motor solinoid then starter motor. . . . . .best oh luck

Optimus Prime said:

Where abouts (roughly) are you mopreme ? maybe someone could pop over and check your battery. It does sound like Darmain is on the money with the battery; all the things that are going on with it sound like a failed battery.

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Im in the suffolk. i hope it is just the battery, but i will make sure ill report my findings in the morning.

If a cell has gone short then applying a 12 volt jump from one of them boost starters will draw so much charge current into the remaining cells that the boost starter won't last long. Doubt it would have enough to crank the lump over.

If the battery has got a cell down then the question is why. It might just be one of those things, but there again it might be that the battery is being over charged and the heat generated in the battery has buckled the lead plates. To check this isn't going to happen to the new battery it would be a good idea to check the battery voltage with the engine idling, then check again with the engine reved up to the 3000 RPM mark. If the voltage exceeds 15V then the alternator regulation is shot. Then is back to the new alternator again, which must be done otherwise the new battery won't last long.

Sadly, I'm the wrong side of the country to directly assist in this case.

Hello just un update. still not been able to test the battery. but i gave it a full charge over night and in the morning the car started up first time. and has been working perfectly ever since.

i plan to take it to the garage end of this week to get the battery tested. ill come back here and let you know the results.

Mopreme187 said:

Hello first post and a car noob.

and ready to pick up my new freelander in a few weeks. and my car was supposed to go in part exchange.

Im worried im gonna be stuck without a car to trade in. so was hoping someone could give me a few pointers.

thanks

Click to expand...

No offence but........................ do u think you made the right decision exchangin it for another

Mopreme187 said:

i plan to take it to the garage end of this week to get the battery tested. ill come back here and let you know the results.

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dunt tek it too the same garage you're trading it in at !

mintcherrie said:

No offence but........................ do u think you made the right decision exchangin it for another

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Yes - you need to bear in mind that LR's are the only cars with batteries and alternators that fail. CARS GO WRONG chaps! If you can afford to by a brand new one, do it, they go wrong less and get fixed for free. If you cant afford to run a LR buy one of those nice Mondeo's. Sorry, just a tongue in cheek rant.

Quite right DD3, any car can suffer battery failure. Maybe the rear window heater relay welded. Maybe an alternator brush is stuck. It happens.

Considering the depreciation of a new car I doubt you could say a repair is 'free'.