So, I am wondering if anybody has any tips on tracking down controller errors on our wonderful computer controlled aircr... I mean car...

I have been seeing some weird communication errors for a while. HS_CAN typically, either showing comm failure or intermittent comm.
So, I dug out the meter, and got up under there and checked out the ODB connector. To body ground all the data lines show the correct resistance. My cousin (who is a mechanic) reminded me this morning that I did not check the +12v line in there, so full disclosure.
I need an alignment as I just replaced my control arms on the front. So, I hook up SDD and go in and I want to start with the ride height adjustment since I know it's not level all around. I end up getting tied up in a conversation with somebody and forgot what I was doing and went in to tight tolerance setup, and start that process while I'm talking.
So, I get to the point where it tells you to start the engine, but the engine won't start. I can hear the relay click over when I turn the key, but the starter never kicks in... Puzzling...
I disconnect everything, and still can't get it to start. Finally, I pull the key and just let it sit for about 5 minutes and try it again, and she fires right up.
I try the tight tolerance setup again, same thing, wont start. Doesn't seem to want to start at all when my mongoose is plugged in, I have another diag tool I'm going to hook up and see if I get the same thing.
So, I go in and pull codes through SDD. And low and behold NOTHING is communicating. It can pull the VIN, issue a full controller reset and that's about it. ALL the modules show as unknown status. The last time I had been in and hooked pulled that list, the HS_CAN controllers were not responding but the MS_CAN controllers were. Now, nothing seems to be responding at all.
For a long time I have had a problem with my "infotainment" system. Would just randomly power itself completely off for seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks or months at a time. The last time it came back on, the radio had very limited functionality (basically AM and FM only) the nav system was stuck at the logo, bluetooth was nowhere to be found, stayed that way for a month or so then went back off. So after a while of that, I got tired of it and began the process a few weeks ago of swapping out the stock radio. I pulled the AMP and replaced it, and have a head unit but haven't installed it yet. Just been driving the amp and speakers off my cell phone aux port. So about a week after taking the AMP out, the nav and head unit powered back up... Since then though, they have taking to just turning on and off randomly, can be driving down the road and the head unit and nav screen will go dark, and some random length of time later, they come back up. Now, I can hear a relay clicking on and off when this happens. It also tends to stay on after the car is off and has had plenty of time to go to sleep... I can come out at like 3 in the morning and see a faint white glow in the stupid thing.
I have a random suspension error that pops up after driving a while, never says anything, just SUSPENSION FAULT and put's the light on. Ride height still works and I can change positions, special programs are still accessible and seem to function as I would expect. The light comes on, but doesn't seem to affect anything.

So, here we are today, I need an alignment badly, and I need to adjust the ride height badly, but the computers don't seem to be responding at all so I can't get in to access any of that.
My cousin believes that its probably a bad controller somewhere (granted it's just an ASE Master mechanic, doesn't have much Euro car much less LR experience...)
Which I could believe, but the question then becomes, how on earth do you track that down? And how do you determine which controller is having the issue?

I would really love to be able to figure this out without having to go to the dealer... I have a real problem with the techs and specifically the service manager at the dealership here in town. Not to mention, I hate paying them their absurd hourly rate to poke around at the computers for god only knows how long.

Anybody have any suggestions, or ideas, or anything really?

Thanks!

 

I'm afraid I cannot help much. I can only submit that twice this year, while off-road, I've gotten suspension faults with similar symptoms. No real effect except an amber fault icon. When I read them with my IIDToool, one was a "communication error" and the other was an "exhaust valve" something or other. I attribute both to the conditions and after I cleared them they went away and never came back even after hundreds of miles.

I do think your issues may be CANBUS/comm related. Also your need for an alignment may be influencing your EAS and causing that fault.

 

From what I gather, you have an SSD rather than either a BlackBox or a GAP IID. I guess the reason I have a BlackBox Evolution is because my clone SSD Mongoose for some reason could no longer access my 3. I presumed the SSD people did something to their software that kept if from working on clone units.

If this is your situation, and you are trying to figure out the problems with perhaps a multimeter, it is going to be difficult.

If there is any good news, I have yet to have had any problems with pcb related stuff. My electrical type problems have been with wiring, connectors, or electromechanical bits such as relays etc, but nothing computer or printed circuit board related.

I pay a Land Rover type to do the wheel alignment. The good news is these days with there being so many Sports out there, that more than just a Land Rover dealer knows how to do a wheel alignment - tight tolerance and all. The problem is as usual however, if your tie rod ends, ball joints etc are shot, then that has to be fixed first. None of it is cheap - the 3 is no Wrangler.

Regarding the infotainment system, if you remove enough fuses, you can depower the system, not a bad idea until you get the suspension operating OK.

Depowering the infotainment system removes variables and that is how you get systems going - by isolating them and getting each going separately. That can be not so easy as many of the systems tie together.

Wheel alignment, steering wheel position sensor, antiskid/yaw sensors, speed and other stuff are all tied to the suspension system - it is just not the air compressor.

Finding the faults in a 3 is a slow tedious business; fixing them is usually simple.

 

I've had the LR3 freak out on me a few times plugging things into the OBDII port. Once the whole thing rebooted while driving on the highway (very scary). That was the last time I tried to monitor any signals while driving. I guess the network is just extremely sensitive.

I would follow bbyer's advice and pull the fuses for the navigation/radio. I've had to do that once when it just wouldn't turn on (at first it did, but with absolutely no sound). I would also try a hard reset to see if that corrects anything.

 

[QUOTE=djkronik57;582863]I've had the LR3 freak out on me a few times plugging things into the OBDII port. Once the whole thing rebooted while driving on the highway (very scary). That was the last time I tried to monitor any signals while driving. I guess the network is just extremely sensitive./QUOTE]

I guess it is good our 3's do not have electric steering.

Newer vehicles are going that way as it eliminates the hydraulic system. With the currently electric designs, I think there is still some mechanical connection between the steering wheel and the road, but steering by wire will not be too far distant.

Given the number of vehicles in rush hour traffic, what is the chance of at least one of them doing a reboot?

It is a brave new world and we 3 owners are already on the bleeding edge of it.

 

You guys are jumping to a few conclusions. First of all, I've only ever heard of Infinitis going digital in terms of steering. Also, I would like to know what you mean by "rebooting" with respect to the LR3....what physically happened?

 

The link below is to a three page car and Driver article on the merits of electric vs hydraulic steering on a BMW. Bye the way, the electric comes out pretty good.

Electric vs. Hydraulic Steering: A Comprehensive Comparison Test - Feature - Car and Driver

Electric steering is now on the new body GM 1500 pickups as well as the Ford F-150 pickups per the link below.

Ford Electronic Power Steering Failure

I make a distinction between the current electric steering which still has a mechanical interconnect and pure drive by wire which is not yet common - well maybe on Tesla's but that is not quite the answer yet.

Large airline type aircraft electronic Nav systems have been known to reboot in flight. In brief, all the screens go dark and there are no warning lights for that sort of failure, but the darkness is definitely noticed. It is not common but it does happen.

Fortunately the engine systems are not yet totally tied to the Nav systems, hence nothing has been brought down - well the Air France Rio flight was more of a stability system concern than a system darkness.

I presume a reboot of the air system computer on our 3 would either hopefully freeze it or more likely send it to the stops and then the speed limiter would set in - not the best.

It may be kind of like when you get the SUSPENSION FAULT message and then SPEED LIMITED TO 30 MPH.

 

So the reboot is similar to what the OP experienced. It literally shuts down EVERYTHING. I was on the highway the doors unlocked (I have auto locking turned on), and the engine shut off. I had to coast to the side of the road with my hazards on, stop, put the transmission in park and restart.

I also had an experience with my key immobilizer where something similar happened: absolutely nothing electric turned on, tried to start, no crank, no messages, nothing. Slowly it came back to life and all was fine. I say key immobilizer because that was the code that popped up.

It's like it just shuts down all networked modules and it takes a couple minutes for it to sort itself out.

 

That kind of silence is what one might call "exciting". Jee, just listening to the flasher clicker as the wind and tyre noise decreasing - really thrilling it must be.

This suggests passing a B train going uphill on a two lane highway is something one should first think about.

My 3, even at 3 tonnes, accelerates pretty good uphill when at speed, however a total shutdown is not really something one normally factors in. Fortunately, I have yet to experience that.

 

With the amount of software updates my truck required and knowing how computers have a tendency to corrupt files, I would recommend getting the dealer to do a software upgrade just to make sure everythings copesetic on that end... $.02