Hey guys, thanks in advance.

So I just bought my first Disco a month ago (long time Jeep owner before that). Loving the beast but had a slight hiccup the other day. Car was cranking but wouldn't start. After fourth go it did start. Went next time I tried it. But then didn't after that. Got it going again and when I was driving it went into limp mode and the S and M lights came on. From what I can see together these issues suggest a battery problem, I checked and it is at 12.3v. Would this be the most likely cause?

Cheers,

Matt

 

Welcome to the forum!

I suspect the low battery voltage isn't helping things. I'd try charging up the battery you have in there first to see if it'll come back to life. If you're still seeing low voltages after that, then perhaps the battery or the alternator is the culprit. You'll be able to test each but i'd first rule out the low battery voltage before going up the chain.

 

Awesome, thanks for your response.

Yeah, having read a few threads on here about the issues, getting a new battery definitely seems like low hanging fruit in terms of solutions. I could see that 12.3v seemed on the low side but nothing drastic, which maps pretty well onto the moderate symptoms I am having.

Cheers!

 

A fresh battery charge/new battery and cleaning of the terminals does wonders. The stock LR terminals do not fit battery posts well and it invites all sorts of problems like corrosion and poor connections which limit current flow for cranking. For a while I got by with a small copper spacer I put in between the terminal and post but eventually I cut off the stock terminals and put a set of mil-spec connectors on, there isn't a lot of extra able to cut off but I had a group 65 battery installed which is wider than the stock one so the wires didn't have to reach as far. I'd put the mil-spec battery terminals in the top 5 mods to make ASAP.

 

Thanks for your reply - seems to be one thing I am learning about the Disco is that unlike my old Jeep nothing is "standard"! Terminals on my current battery seem ok, but I will give them a closer inspection!!

 

Jeep’s way of doing things and Land Rover’s way are dramatically different. The Jeep is more mechanical (assuming YJ, TJ, XJ, or ZJ) while the D2 platform is early days in making everything electronic. I still have a heavily modified JKUR, but the community here absolutely blows away anything Jeep or Toyota or otherwise that I’ve seen. You’ll love it if you want productive discussion instead of pointless ego driven debate. Also, of the 1,000,000 issues the Disco has, every single one has been covered ad nauseam across Al Gore’s invention. Between that, this forum, and free and easy service manuals, you’ll be set.

I’m sure you’ve found it already, but get a copy of the Rave service manual (google it and you’ll find where to d/l) as well as the electrical library and a few other things. If you “get it” (and it sounds like you do) Disco ownership is more addictive than any drug you could find. Some other must have/do’s:
- front driveshaft (if you get any front end vibration, sort it out before it grenades in the most spectacular of fashions
- get an external temp gauge for coolant (I’m sure you’ve read about head gaskets almost being a maintenance item)
- get some form of D2 specific code reader (for the amigos or a number of other things), and this goes mild (~$120 for an iCarsoft) to wild ($500+ for a Nanocom, which does EVERYTHING)

EVERY Disco has the exact same set of issues. When you have to deal with them depends on a lot of factors, but you WILL have some experience with a good number of them at some point or another. This isn’t a bad thing as help is very close and in most cases cheap and easy to sort out.

So then, your issues. Although it does sound very voltage related, you might want to think about the crank position sensor as a possibility. Also, for the M+S flashing, some folks have been able to to address by removing the XYZ switch and cleaning up terminals and the like as a means of addressing.

Best of luck and have fun!

 

Hahaha awesome reply, thanks so much! Yeah my old XJ was virtually all mechanical, I am new to the world of electronics and somewhat daunted but glad there is such an awesome community here to guide me!

A mate has a compatible code reader, and I have DLed the RAVE already so I am taking my first steps into learning about the Disco and its particular quirks.

If the new battery doesn't sort it, I will move on to the crank sensor/XYZ switch,

Thanks again!

 

Did the battery light come on when in limp mode? New battery and clean connectors will do a world of a difference but if it started the alternator if functioning properly should have been able to keep the car running regardless of battery health.

 

Thanks for your response, I don't remember seeing battery light, but I was kinda distracted by all the other warnings (the three amigos were already on!). Just got the new battery, so will see if that sorts it - otherwise will look at the alternator, XYZ and crank sensor. Cheers, Matt

 

Update: I got a new battery, cleaned terminals etc. Car started fine, then went into limp mode about 10km in. Got home, decided to try multimeter to test alternator. Car won't start again, this time the S and M lights are flashing.

The lights beside the shifter are moving as I go from park through R etc. Also the electrics are all working. The multimeter shows that 12.8v at battery, and on harnesses, and when I go from terminals to alternator I get the same reading (though obviously cannot check to see if the volts go up when the car is running).

Any ideas what is going on?

Thanks!