A humorous subject line for an increasingly frustrating problem. The main symptom is that, I get into the truck, and I have *no* power...well, maybe the clock works, maybe it doesn't...sometimes. I have a new battery, but the problem preceded the battery replacement and has only gotten worse since. Screwing with the alarm fob, locking and unlocking the doors and allowing the alarm to set (red light flashes very fast for a bit, then settles down and flashes at a lower rate indicating alarm is engaged, turn signal indicator flashes when doors are unlocked and alarm is off) seems to be the solution to getting it to then be able to start...sometimes.

I've read a number of posts here about the Disco alarm system, and it would seem to me to be a frequent source of malfunction and subsequent starting nightmares. I am unable to identify any visible wiring issues that might be contributing to this situation. The vehicle itself has less than 60.000 miles on it...I literally got it from the estate of an old man who barely drove it. Can anyone suggest anything that can help me, here? If I dick around with it enough, I seem to be able to get it going, but my wife drives it frequently, and she's not prone to putting up with this sort of poltergeist manifestation. Is there a solution short of taking it my local Land Rover dealership and taking along a 55 gallon drum of backside grease?

 

If red light is still flashing, seems like alarm is not being turned off. The door lock has a switch that electrically turns alarm on/off. It switches a ground to the blue with green wire at connector C2101 behind the kick panel on driver side. So you could have a bad switch on the lock, or a broken wire in the cable that goes from door to frame. The electrical guide in the RAVE set of manuals would be a great place to start. I tore out some pages on the alarm and attached them, you can download the whole thing at other links below.

 

Alright here we go this may be out there already but from what I have read/found no one has a straight answer. Please read completely before you start and disconnect your batter if you want to I didn't and it still worked.

These are the steps that I took to remove the immobilizer on my 98 disco after reading the wiring diagrams found on this site . ( This only works if you have the non spider immobilizer.) late 96-99 models. If this does not work then you probably have some thing else wrong and the immobilizer is not your issue according to the wiring diagrams I have read. This worked for me and may or may not for you.

1. Look for the green box under the glove box at passenger foot well. It is between the ECM and passenger kick plate that is your security box. If you do not know what it looks like there are many pics of it on this site but for those who don't want to check it is green rectangle with a slopped top on onside.

2. There are two plugs on this box a big one and a small one. The big plug is black and that is for your inputs for the windows locks etc. The small plug is your out puts and the one you will be dealing with (small one) it should be green or white depending on where you are and from the pics I have seen.

3. On the small plug there are two wires that are black with red/orange stripe.( Solid black and red/orange stripe.) Cut these two wires on the loom side only and twist them together. Leave enough wire in case you have to put them back together again. ( This is an immobilizer fix and not an alarm fix.)

4. If you have done this right put your key in and your disco should crank up.

5. If you have the bonging alert noise inside the cab and you ring around the key switch is red the plug for that is above the key switch to get access to the plug you need to remove the plastic form the steering column you will see it as soon as you remove the plastic.( small white one)

I did this last night and my 98 disco that would not crank with out having the key in the on position and taking a screw driver and going across the starter coil will now crank and run by using the key only.

This is a temp. fix to get you going if the immobilizer decides to shut you down for no reason. I'm going to leave mine this way but you can do as you wish.

I do not have a key fob so I can not tell you if the remote door unlock still works. They should still work because all you have done is taken the immobilizer out of the loop.

I also have an spider by pass plug for those TDi's and 95 and back models if any one needs one

I will post pics later if needed.

95 Disco 175,000 miles
98 Disco 150,000 miles
97 Disco 171,000 miles

I would still rather have a Land Rover and B.L problems than own a Ford .