Hey guys, have run into a bit of an odd problem with my radio.

A couple of days ago, I believe some water (and yes it was just water) spilled down on the top of the dash. Next time I start the car (didn't realize water had spilled yet) the radio has lost it's mind. It's the 6cd changer with the underseat amp on MOST... Anyway, start the car up, radio comes on with nothing at all... No FM, no AM, no AUX, but the changer works. Bluetooth works as well so the amp is getting signal and driving, but no data seems to be coming in to the radio. You can scan the radio band and it will not lock on to anything. No RDS, no nothing. Then a day later, I went and got in the car at lunch and it was working perfectly again. Later that day, gone again and has not come back.

Every once in a while you will get a loud high pitch squeal on the radio bands, aux gives an intermittent static, popping, scratching sound.

Now, before all of this, I always had background noise on the aux input, a fairly low clicking noise, all the time, it was less when something was playing (but still there) but very noticeable with nothing going, plugged in or not.

Alas, now I have got nothing. I pulled the head unit this morning and sprayed it down with contact cleaner to no avail.

Also, the auto headlights have stopped working as well.

Anybody have any ideas? On the trucks with MOST, where does the AUX input run to? Doesn't seem to go directly to the head unit. Looking through some of the docs it appears that there is a radio tuner unit, is that just for XM, or does it do all the radio processing? If so, is that where the AUX goes? And if so, where the hell is the damn thing? Cant find anything to save my life.

Anything you guys can think of would be helpful.

Thanks!

 

If your system has not fixed itself in the last day or so, try as below the hard reset procedure. The procedure does not damage anything and on occasion has got the radio going again.

If that does not work then please post back.

Also, get a voltmeter out and check the battery voltage - low power shuts the entertainment system down. If your alternator is on the way out, the lack of a radio could be an indication. Parked, you should have 12.5 volts or at least 11.9 at the battery if it is not the best, and when the engine is idling, 13.5 to 13.9 VDC.

With a Land Rover, when a problem does appear, often the real problem is in a seemingly unrelated system.


Hard Reset Instructions

In brief, to start the hard reset process, open the hood but close all doors and let your 3 go to sleep - no radio display etc and no key in the ignition. This will take a couple of minutes and do not open any doors until the reset is completed. (I find that it is often a good idea to have the drivers door window rolled down and the key in my pocket whenever fooling about the vehicle.) Also when I play with a car battery, I remove any rings I have from my fingers, also my watch.

Disconnect the ground battery terminal from the main starting battery.
Disconnect the positive battery terminal from the main starting battery.

The reason for this order is if a wrench or loose battery cable endsgrounds to the body, no arcing or other bad things happen.

(I assume that you only have one battery in your 3. If not, disconnect the others as well and leave them disconnected until after all is done.)

Connect the negative cable to the positive cable. (NOT the battery.) You will need a short length, (a foot or so), of lightgauge, (14 to 18 gauge AWG, insulated stranded copper), wire to span between the battery cable ends as there is not enough slack in the positive andnegative battery cables for the ends to touch each other.

Hold all together for about a minute or more, (at least two minutes), as you are discharging memory modules within the engine computer and elsewhere. Then it is suggested you then just let all sit disconnected for say ten minutes, (minimum five minutes), prior to commencing to put the battery cable ends back on the battery posts per the following order.

Reattach positive terminal to the main starting battery positive post.

Reattach negative terminal to the main starting battery negative post.

Start engine and hopefully none or at least fewer warning lights.
Reset time on the radio - note that the station presets are still there as not everything is erased. Nothing much else needs resetting either.

You can also now connect up the other batteries if you have a multiple battery setup.

This is a link to a thread in disco3 re the hard reset procedure. http://bit.ly/14WXXR1

http://www.disco3.co.uk/forum/topic19547.html

This is a link to a thread on Disco3Club re the hard reset procedure.

http://www.disco3club.co.uk/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=67&t=3374

 

Actually came across the reset process on another post while I was googling this... Tried it a couple of days ago to no avail.

I have not checked battery voltage yet, but it's a fairly new battery, less than 6 months old. I will dig out the meter and take a look.

 

A good battery can kind of mask the problem.

I assume you have the HID headlights. Like fluorescent lights, they work off a ballast, hence also need a good voltage to function.

Regardless of battery voltage, (to a limit), tungsten filament lamps always illuminate but dim down when the electrical system is weak. The HIDs are more like digital stuff - either illuminate or do not.

The PWM regulator located within the alternator can fail in such a manner that some amps continue to be generated at a default voltage of about 13.5 volts max and that fools most conventional alternator test procedures. That is why with these PWM alternators, different test procedures and test tools must be used.

In most cases, if seems by the time the red dash alternator light comes on, your 3 will have stopped dead and then every other light on the dash will also be on if there is still enough battery power to illuminate them.

The link below has a number of files within related to the alternator and regulator design. The Ford/Transpo 4 page pdf I found particularly useful.

DISCO3.CO.UK Photo Gallery - LR3 miscellaneous

 

Gotcha, I will get them to check the alt as well. Going in to the dealer ASAP for an alignment and a air suspension failure... Last week(before the radio) got the suspension light and now I am riding on the stops, so got to go get that checked out...

 

Do you have maybe a 25 amp battery charger?

If so, put it on your battery for a while, leave it connected and try the air system again.

Their may not be enough power to operate the air compressor, hence on the stops as no air.

I am wondering if I am starting to see a pattern.

 

Alright... Riddle me this Batman...


So I went and dug out my charger, only a 6 AMP... Plus it's about to storm here, so I figured I would do something better, get AdvancedAuto to check the battery, seeing as how they would be replacing it if it's bad.

Piled in the car and ran down there, no radio. They check it out tell me battery looks good. Get back in the car, stop for gas, and magically the radio is working again. Aux, AM, FM the whole nine yards. Suspension warning still on and still not raising but the radio seems to be back, at least for the time being.

Will see what we get in the AM on the radio front.

As for the suspension, I will give a bit of background on that as I think it's a real problem not really electrical.

I started getting the warning very intermittently a while ago, would pop on for a few minutes then go off. Then the past week or so, it's gotten to where it stays on solid and comes on as soon as the car starts.

Suppose it could be the fact that the alignment is soooooo F'ed up that it is kicking it on?
Did not realize that you had to have the computer to do an alignment on an LR so I had been having PepBoys do it since I got tires from them. And of course they happily took my money not giving the slightest indication they had no idea how to do an alignment. Ate up the two front tires in 15k miles because of it.

Anyway, we shall see.

 

I assume that you have the 4 x 4 display on your Nav.

As such, call it up and watch it for the next few days.

If one of the wheel sensors is acting up or the cables to one of the corner is defective, often it will show on the display as either a real bouncy wheel or a "dead" wheel - that is no movement at all.

The reality is that when a system is working OK, on pavement it is virtually impossible to see any significant wheel movement on the display.

As such, to first prove that the display can show movement, one wheel at a time, mount a curb or something about 6 inches high and then back off. One should see movement at each of the appropriate wheel as one goes up and down.

The test will also prove out the wiring so to speak and that each sensor is sending some sort of signal.

Fixing is usually easy, finding what to fix, near impossible.

Also, be suspicious of the alternator and use your 6 amp charger to at least get the battery up to near full charge. Problems that come and go are the worst kind.

 

It's funny, I have actually been watching it the past couple of days.

I have not tried pulling up on a curb to see what the display does, but during normal driving they all appear to be showing the same level, however it's showing it as lower down that it should be... IE the middle line is down below the hash marks at the half way point.

I will try the curb trick in the morning and see what I can see.

Will throw the charger on it for a while and see what happens.

Thanks for all the input. Will check back in the morning and let you know how it looks.

 

Well, I had to go borrow an extension cord to hook up the charger, so I went ahead and tried out the curb thing.

Seems to be responding. Don't see a whole lot of movement but some, front and back.

I have attached two pics, one is of the 4x4 info with the car running, and the other is just turning the radio on and letting it load, I am guessing that it doesn't show the correct info in that case?

On the second pic, the one that is from the display with the car off and key out, but turning the radio on and letting it power up the nav display. The top for marks are blinking red...

Radio still working, suspension warning still coming up as soon as you crank it up. Got it on the charger now, so will let that go this evening and see what we get in the morning.