Hello to all,
I should have joined this forum when I owned my first Disco(1997 SE7 80k mi-125k mi). Though Im glad Ive joined now. Very recently I picked up a 2004 Disco II w/17k miles Visually flawless in and out. Owned by a older woman, serviced at the dealership. She drove it for a year and then it sat under a car cover; started ocassionally by her elderly father. I test drove the car and then purchased it and drove it 200 miles home. Drove for a 3 days no problems.4th day onwardthe infamous flashing "M+S". I read the posts and I checked the battery it checked out so I charged it anyway(disconnected from the car of course) and then cleaned the terminals and applied battery gel to the terminals before reconnecting. Problem still exists. Heres how it goes down 1.) Start the truck: ok 2.) Put in reverse: "M+S" 3.) Turn off the truck take out key and restart: ok for the trip. It will do this every time I drive the vehicle However the above mentioned procedure alleviates the issue. So more likely the ground or gear lever switch????? Also how soon do I need to replace my U joints with greasables??? Anything else precautionery to perform while the miles are still so low??? I really want this truck to last as many miles as my older truck did with minimal maintanance.
Thanks Everyone and Glad To BeA Member
Chip

P.S. This is my wifes truck will never see any dirt. At least until its mine after about 75k mi.

 

Go to your local auto parts store and have a free load test run on the battery/alternator combination, then get back to us.
You nedd voltage between 13.6 and 14.4 volts.

 

Have the alternator tested and then look into the XYZ switch.
Seriously, there is a switch called the "XYZ" switch.
It has something to do with the gear selector.

 

I will take it to the parts store tommorow and report back tommorow.

 

low mileage does sometimes come with a penalty. too low means not driven and that can be more costly to repair in some cases.

on the ferrari forums i constantly hear people with ultra low mile cars having issues while my nearly 70k mile car has never had a hiccup a day i have owned it.

 

All right everyone got the results of the battery and alternator tests.

Battery: Voltage=12.5v, measured=560cca, rated=600cca, temp=53F
Alternator: No Load=14.14V@7.6A, Loaded=14.05V@4.0A , Ripple=35mv

So are these results acceptable? What next my grounds or xyz switch? It has been malfunctioning less frequently about every other time I start the vehicle and the same procedure alleviates the issue.

Thanks for helping me troubleshoot; this time around I'm planning on doing most of the small maintenance myself.

 

Sounds like you need a new battery.
I am assuming that it is the original battery?

 

It is the orginal however I think its whithin spec and it shows no other sign of degredation. If this becomes the forum consensus that that is what I shall do.

 

batteries are only meant to last 5 years tops! and thats with it running everday. since this truck sat for such a long period of time, its most likely the battery. its a cheap enough fix to start with before you rack your brain trying to solve this....GO GET A NEW BATTERY!!

 

Well the "M&S" lights coming on mean low battery voltage.
Your truck is 4 years old with the original battery.
Youhave a 600CCA battery testing at 560CCA.
The average life of a car battery is 4-5 years.