Hello forum members,

Trying to figure out where I have a problem with my charging on my Land Rover Discovery 2, 2002, v8, 4.0l.

Lately i've been unable to start the vehicle without getting a jump. Once jumped it continues to run just fine. I tested the battery at Auto Zone and it tests to be in good shape. Recently I had the entire engine compartment torn apart to replace random pieces and when I closed it back up I had forgotten to re-attach the ground cable to the engine block (this was found and remedied about 2 weeks ago). I have driven it since finding this issue, and was able to stop and start on more than a dozen occasions, without needing a jump. However, now I can't get it to start. Cables are not corroded, and all connections were cleaned with a battery cleaning tool and diet coke (no corrosion prior to the diet coke, just doing it for extra precaution).

My thoughts:

Alternator has gone out and is not providing enough of a charge to the battery to keep it charged up enough for a start.
My ground cable is in the wrong spot again and is somehow inhibiting the charge of the battery.
Not connecting the ground to the engine while driving has somehow electrically shot something in the engine compartment (probably the alternator) and that is going to need to be replaced. (maybe something else? ideas?)

Can anybody please help me out and show me where the Negative to the engine battery cable is supposed to be mounted? This way I know 100% I have it in the right place.

Also, if you have any ideas what could be wrong, don't hesitate to hop in.

Thanks!

 

AutoZone can tell you if your Alternator is bad or not. Free and takes less than 5 mins. When mine was having similar issues, my alternator was bad. It charged at the right power, but they said it stopped charging way to soon after it started. I bought a Brand New Bosch unit off Amazon for $200 with Lifetime warranty. I'm all about Lifetime warranties. I won't buy a part unless it is, and will pay twice as much for it. Although $200 was a very good price in my opinion. Of course always check connections and tightness of them first because that's FREE! Especially those factory battery terminals! They get old and strectched out but only tighten down so far, so eventually they are unable to make a good tight connection. Are you having to constantly reset your Dash Clock? If so it's probably your battery terminal connections. the clock will stay accurate even on a very low charge as long as it stays connected to that charge. If it ever breaks or loses that connection for even a split second it will go back to 12:00 and start over making our time wrong.

 

While this may sound like a stupid question, can Autozone test my alternator diodes without the alternator being attached to the land rover? Can I just detach it and bring it in for a test?

 

Yes. I know my local Napa, Advance, Autozone can bench test an alternator or starter.


But here is an idea......call the store and ask them.

 

Double check that ground. I had a similar issue and relocated the ground to the accessory bracket. I can now keep an eye on it and it's much easier to adjust if need be.