Hey guys, I'm a newer Land Rover owner and I must say I'm loving it but just recently I've run into a couple of problems that I could use some help on. The other morning I was got in my Disco II and she had to crank a bit more than usual before starting, I chalked it up to the cold weather (around 6 degrees F) but after driving her for a few blocks I noticed that my temperature guage was all the way cold but the red overheating light was on. I immediately pulled over, killed the engine, and checked my coolant levels which were a little low but I added more as needed. After waiting a few minutes I hopped in to start her back up and she wouldn't start, she would crank fine just wouldn't start.. I let her sit for about an hour or so and tried her again, cranked for a while but finally started up. (temp guage still read cold but that red light was still on.) I was able to turn her around and get her home but while driving it felt like she would kind of putter out when first accelerating then pick up strong again... I'm not in the mood to get raped by a mechanic so I was hoping I could find some help on here, any would be greatly appreciated!

 

Did you have your coolant checked before it got cold to see if it would protect to low temps? Just wondering if something froze. Without a squealing belt that is likely not an issue.

My vote would be the coolant temp sensor. If the coolant temp sensor is bad, the ECM will be confused and will operate on default values. These include difficulty with cold starting, illuminated temperature light, and poor operation. It's likely that is what has happened.

 

I strongly suggest that you sort out what is wrong, and correct it, before there is ANY chance it is overheating, assuming it hasn't already done that, before it is too late, and you crack fragile aluminum walls behind cylinder liners (they are certainly susceptible to such damage, simply from overheating, so it isn't worth the risk, ever).

 

@04duxlr - I hadn't. Its been cold here for about a month and there were no previous issues with the coolant (other than an extremely slow leak.) And there was no squealing belts, when I first started it and drove that morning it almost felt like something was holding it back a bit and running a bit louder than usual.

 

Believe me, she's staying parked until I know what's going on. That's the reason I'm on here asking for some help in diagnosing the problem.

 

I don't know if it was actually overheating, like I said, the light stays on and the needle stays cold even after sitting over night.

 

Others threads I was reading mentioned the CKP sensor for some of the symptoms I'm experiencing but I don't have a lot of money right now so I'm really trying to figure out exactly what it could be before going and buying parts.

 

My guess would be a problem with the signal from the temperature sensor or air in your cooling system. Check the wire on the sensor located in the intake manifold at the front of the engine (between the the alternator and compressor).

https://landroverforums.com/forum/ge...d-light-51626/

2003 Discovery 139K

 

do you have or have access to an OBDII scanner. it will tell you your real temperature you can decide how to handle it after that..

 

Im guessing I had too much air in the system, I did a coolant flush and made sure I got all of the air out and she went back to normal. Ordered a new sensor online anyway incase it fails on me.
On another note, my front passenger almost caught fire from the heated seat! Noticed smoke coming from the side parts where your thighs touch, a black hole burned through and I put it out with the water I thankfully just bought lol. If anybody knows whats up with that I'd be glad to hear it.