Theres a few members your area with diagnostics...have a look on LZIR map for the red electric cirlce icon ;) ask nicely though lol.

Blockage in the exhaust ..cat maybe? ...would stop it from starting.

osram night breaker plus on mine ..they do the job :)

Get yourself on the LZIR map ;) - you never know when you might be needed :)

Air in the cooling system? has it been bled properly?

When you reconnect the battery the tailgate glass should drop completely ...did it do this? Theres been a few people with your issue ...and the answer has been to swap the regulator because the limit switch inside the motor was playing up ...could you swap the motor with your old motor...

Anyway ...OP the risk with the 1.8 is that you don't know how its been treated before you buy it... good luck with whichever Freelander your daughter gets :)

Mine hasn't failed in 2.5 years that I've owned it ...when is this going to happen then?...I could have replaced lots of head gaskets on the extra v6 fuel costs over 2.5 years anyway ...1.8's aint all bad if you look after em!

I luv my 1.8 me :) The 1.8 demands extra attention and would help teach your daughter the tricks of looking after a car properly - keeping an eye on the water daily and oil weekly, mods to update the cooling system are available for early ones ...makes them interesting and you feel good about...

;)

First step is to take off the dash cowling and see if the bulb is missing if it is see what happens when you put one in

Mine was like this when I first bought it....turned out the bulb for the yellow HDC had been removed out of the dash. I put one in and bingo it stayed on constantly until I had it reset.

Just bought a 52mm throttle body for it ;)

Have you tried just unlocking the drivers door with the key - does it do the same thing then?

Just incase you didn't know, you can buy them complete on e bay...like this one Land Rover Freelander 1.8 thermostat Upgrade Head Gasket Saver | eBay :)

Its your HDC (hill decent control) ...it takes you down a steep hill by braking for itself, all you do is steer ..it should only come on when you turn it on ;) All is explained in the manual if you have one :)

I just bought a second hand remote stat and pipes from a newer Freelander ...found it on e bay for just over £30 ..alls well :)

I would be looking on e bay for a part worn general grabber with the same tread wear as the one that your replacing :)

See you around ...good luck with the Disco :)

Loose battery connection?