I originally posted this in the general tech help forum but maybe I'll get a better response here. Howdy, new to the forums here. We just bought a '99 Discovery 2 about a month ago and had our first problems crop up the other day. It started with not being able to turn the ignition all the way off to remove the key, it would just turn far enough to shut off the electrical system. I assumed that it was just because the key I was using is a new one. I drove it home after work and was able to get the key out a few times but the problem was still there intermittently. Then I noticed that the indicator light on the shifter often didn't turn in when the stick was pushed all the way forward but if I jiggled it around until it came on the key would come out normally. Good, the fellow we bought it from sent another shifter unit with it that he hadn't had time to swap in yet, I'll just do that and the problem will go away, right? I parked on a flat spot and came back later to do the swap. When I tried to start her up suddenly it was acting like it had a low battery, cranking slowly and lights dimming, wouldn't start. After a few tries it wouldn't even click when I tried to start and the radio wouldn't come on. The dome light still comes on but is really dim. Thinking that this was a new problem I 'shifted gears' to looking for electrical issues. The battery is brand new. I tried jumping it off of another running vehicle with no change, then I left the charger on the battery all night with still no change in the morning. Pulled the battery and took it in to work and it read 12.62 V so it seems to be functioning, I even swapped in another battery from one of our other rigs with no change.

So I guess the question is this: is there a fuse or connection that could have went out when I was messing with the ignition trying to get the key to turn? It doesn't seem to act like a blown fuse since she did try to turn over a few times before it went completely dead. Could all this be caused by the shifter issues? The electrical system and fuses all look pristine, almost too pristine, maybe it's had some issues before, too late to wonder about that now though. The problems all did crop up the same day.

Thanks for any advice or pointers you all may have, looking forward to getting to know the group here once I get our Disco back up and running before the mice move in and wreck havoc.

Nate.

 

You probably either have dirty battery terminals or a bad ground from the battery down.
Clean those battery terminals and connectors with a wire brush. They can and have caused havoc.
As far as the shifter lights Not sure what you mean. I don’t even look down on mine. Could be a lose connection etc.

 

I've had plenty of rigs get corroded terminals, not this one (yet). I'll check the ground connection.

Those 2 wires coming off the positive terminal were just left loose to rattle around by the previous owner. They have since been removed.

 

I'm still learning about electrical issues but a multimeter between positive terminal and frame showing 12.4V indicates that the ground is good, right?
By "shifter lights" I'm referring to the LED's that indicate what gear position you have selected.

Thanks for the input.

Nate.

 

Your test indicates that ground is present, not that the ground is good. The charging system carries a lot of current, that lot of current is required to make all the electronic equipment on your truck work properly. A weak or compromised ground will cause issues but will not show up on your multimeter. You will need to do a visual inspection and cleaning of the battery connections, alternator connections, starter connections, and where the main ground connects to the block and firewall. If any one of those is loose or corroded you will have issues.

Your other issue about the park light may be related to a misalignment of the XYZ switch at the base of the gear shift.

I can't remember the exact issue but there is a known issue where the parking brake handle gets warm and causes the break light to come on, this symptom is also related to a bad ground. Check for that too both physically and google.

 

Thanks Dave. I thought having 12.4V off the frame meant that the ground was good. As soon as I started looking at the negative cable I saw this:

That has to have been loose the entire time we've had him, it doesn't even reach the bolt. Once I made the connection with some wire and he started right up.

That's the kind of fix I like, I'll get that connection made better tomorrow and take him out to stretch his legs a little.

Thanks again for the help.

Nate.