Hello Everyone.
I need some assistance on my wife's 2000 Disco II. Here is the chain of events that has lead me into total head scratching!
Started with the clock light when out... Okay, I'll order a new lamp... Then the forward dome light when out... Okay, I'll order another bulb for that... Then the wife complained that the light around the ignition key was out.. Then the cigarette lighter was not working as well.
All this has happen over the last couple of weeks
Went to change out the dome light, pulled off the lense cover and as I touched the bulb it came on. Then it went off. Okay must be a loose connection. Then I was trying to figure exactly how the clock assy was suppose to pop out.
The next morning, wife takes off to work and calls to say the radio is not working and the readout on the a/c is not displaying degrees... Just numbers. And also the security transmitter is not working.
This morning checked all the fuses with test light, inside the cab and under the hood. Checked with the key off and then with the motor running, all lights and wipers... Everything was working as it should or appears to be. Now the cigarette lighter is working.
Could this be in the BCM?
So here is the short version
1. All the dome lights out - no power present in the front one
2. Radio not working
3. Security transmitter not talking to the vehicle (inserting key into the lock and the system does arm)
4. Light around the ignition not working
5. Display on the a/c panel shows numbers instead of degree's (but it working other than that
All fuses inside and under the hood appear to have power when system is energized
All running lights, wipers, horn seat, sliding moon roofs, fog light(forward and rear) Everything appears to be working
Please anyone that might have a idea... I am going on a job out of state, I really do not want to leave her vehicle with this problem(s)
Thanks for any assistance that you can offer

 

Take vehicle to auto parts store for a free in-truck check of alternator and battery. Alternator regulator could be out. Usually this fails "open" and battery is not charged. But if it fails "shorted" instead of a max charging voltage of say 14.2 volts at idle, it will be higher. That burns out bulbs, and modules.

Can check at home if you have a volt meter. Measure across battery with truck off. Let's say you get 12.6. Turn on headlights, see that voltage does not drop more than a volt (greater loss indicates a "dead cell" in battery, which will need a new battery). Crank truck. Voltage should increase (showing that alternator can carry the load) and get to 13.8 to 14.2, after head lights turned off. Again, higer volts are a big issue.

Now what to do if you need a new alternator. DO NOT BUY ONE FROM PARTS STORE, they are reman units with cheap China made elecronic parts that fail in just a few months, over and over. Either buy from an on line source (new) or take to your local indy alternator and starter shop where they can rebuild it for under $100.

BTW - touching a bulb and making it come on will be short lived. you just caused the two pieces of filament to spot weld back together, now that they are shorter than original, the current in them will be greater, and they will burn out again, soon. Change both left and right bulbs.

 

"Alternator regulator could be out".... Sorry, but I do not see this being the problem... Everything else is working as it should. And with a load applied to electrical system (all lights, all accessories and a/c on max setting) Starter turning over motor without any noticeable drop in performance.
How the regulator "alone" would prevent the radio from powering up and the key flob transmitor from working... And why the numbers in the a/c display are now different.

lol... I might be thick headed, but I do not see the connection that you offer... Please do not take this the wrong way... I just starting scratching my head harder

 

I am not suggesting that it is "out" in the normal failure mode of no volts out, no-charga-da-battery. I am suggesting the possibility of high volts out, like over 15, and yes, relay based things will run, but some electronic items can blow fuses, blow internal components, and burn out bulbs.

The common fuse and fuse link points would not seem to be an issue, because usually several items are carried by each. But an electrical glitch could have caused your display to switch from F to C temp readings, etc. I am suggesting that radio may have been damaged by higher than normal voltage.

Other things that can make for wierd voltage problems include loose or corroded ground strap from (-) battery post to frame of truck, and ground "jumper" from block to frame, usually near starter. If alternator does not have same ground reference, voltage can go high.

When you look at the wiring diagrms in the RAVE (Rovers Are Very Expensive) [free download link below] - the items you are having problems with don't share a lot of common fuses.

If BCM was dead truck would not crank, it drives the cranking relay.

 

Okay update on the electrical problem...
Checked the cranking, running and at rest voltage with volt meter... Remember that I was saying the disply on the a/c display, the number changed.. Well got the display to stop reading "C" and now reads "F"... Until to fire up the motor, changes back to "C"!!
I have checked and rechecked all fuses and relay's and there is now power to the radio at all (this one has the cd changer under the seat as well.
For the fun of it, I hooked my scan tool that would not read the computer system... So I checked the scan tool on my 99 disco... read it with no problem.

Now what would cause the scan tool program not to read the computer, no power to the radio, keep chaging the display on the a/c display back to "C" from "F"... and the vehicle not to receive a signal from the key flob... the light around the ingintion key not to work... and the dome lights??????
H E L P!

 

Scanner plug gets battery power from Fuse link #3 in the underhood box, and F 20 in the under dash box. So that's a start. Lots of other things get power from link 3 and fuse 20.

Ignition switch lamps get power from fuse 20 as well.

Radio gets power from fuse 20 as well.

Fuse, even if it looks good, should be swapped out. Socket could be suspect. Be careful poking in there, because it is hot thru fuse link 3 all the time. You can remove battery lead for safety.

And your own copy of the RAVE is waiting for download.

 

Thanks for the information.. Finally got a chance to track down the problem... And it was a fuse under the dash

Thank you for that information

 

I am reminded of when my best bud George bought a new honkin' Dodge 200 Power Wagon, with dual tanks. We were rolling in suburban traffic when tank 1 ran dry, he flipped switch, but tank 2 would not come on line because solenoid valve had no power. We looked pretty stupid pushing that hunk o truck off the road, while Jeeps rolled by and yelled discouraging words at us. The glass fuse looked perfect, but the end cap came off in your hand. Took a tin foil gum wrapper, twisted around the bad fuse, and shoved it back in; back in business. Lessons learned: run on tank that requires energized valve first. Carry spare fuses. Carry cheap meter.