No. All cars since about 1996 have been obd2 and use a scan tool to retrieve the codes for the check engine light. (Some have an alternate way of displaying the codes, like old early obd2 Honda you can jumper a connector and flash the idiot light and newer Chrysler products you can do some voodoo with the key and it will display the codes on the odometer)


But no, it's not Land Rover trying to bone you. It's Uncle Sam.

 

I recently took my battery out for some maintenance and when I re installed it I had a dashboard of lights. It just takes a couple miles and turning the truck on and off to reset everything.

 

Part of the plan is to have a reliable vehical. Never been stranded with any of my Fords, Jeeps etc. Never had a battery die while driving, when batteries were low I always had warning. Just expected more from a landrover.

Get off the soapbox high horse with this poor planning crapola.

 

The link below has a number of files related to the alternator and regulator.

They may prove of interest as the system LR uses is now being introduced into both Jeep products and Ford pickups plus other of their vehicles.

Ford used Land Rover products as test mules for various of their new design systems. I guess they feel they have the kinks worked out now so that it can go mainstream.

I gather they have not yet worked out how to get the battery to charge greater than to about a 80% state of charge, but as a rule that is good enough for engine starting. The feeling is the ecological advantages of the system outweigh the reliability disadvantages.

DISCO3.CO.UK Photo Gallery - LR3 miscellaneous

Historically, owning and operation of a Land Rover is not quite the same as normal vehicle ownership and hence is not for all. That is probably why the UN now uses either Toyota or Nissan worldwide - the unique capabilities of LR products are not valued over the admittedly less reliability.

In summary, with a Land Rover you will get there if it does not break down. With a Toyota, you may not get to your destination but at least you should beable to turn around and return to where you came from. That is usually good enough for government work.

 

Something might be amiss in the electronics.

For around a week after the new battery installed everything was normal, no lights on etc.

Last night while driving a new light poped on and it was a Red Battery shaped graphic. If I was above say 3k rpms the light would go off for five minutes. Then it would pop back on.

When I checked the charging (last week) at idle it showed 13.5 volts. Which meant the battery was being charged.

So it does have a battery light, one that did not go on before it stranded me with a dead battery.

My nearest LR dealer is 100 miles away. I wonder if I could take it to a local foreign car shop or is this something I have to go to dealer for?

 

Unfortunately the alternator may not necessarily charging the battery very much.

There is the possibility that you have a problem with the regulator within your alternator and you are now running at a default voltage of 13.5 which is probably not enough to charge the battery.

If you were to see 14.2 volt or even something near 15 volts, then I would say that your battery is getting a charge.

As to who to go to, I am not even confident that the dealers understand the way the 3 charges or does not charge.

Even when all is working well, the battery rarely is charged to above 80% state of charge. Right now, I would say the alternator is putting out enough to run the vehicle so to speak but not to charge the battery.

The first thing to do is put your battery on a charger. When I was having alternator difficulty, I put the vehicle on a charger every night until I finally came to the conclusion that the new alternator that had been installed was also defective.

New Ford products are starting to have the same system as the 3; Ford put in on our 3's to see how or if they worked, and now they have some confidence in the system. As such, if there is someone available who has experience with new Ford electrical systems, that may be the answer.

Also if there is an alternator shop in town, you might try that and reference some of the data off my links in my previous posts above and as below. Some of the techs are starting to understand the quirks of PWM regulators.

Alternator Internal “Smart Regulator” design philosophy

The alternator, rather than having a “normal” internal regulator that looks at just the battery or the electrical buss and then decides what to do is instead what is called by LR a “smart regulator and takes instructions from the Engine Control Module (ECM) .

It is almost like we are back to the external regulator designs of old, except that the ECM may decide instead of telling the alternator to make more power, to instead, load shed, and hence shut down the heated windscreen, seats or whatever else it decides to.

The "regulator" inside the alternator, (Transpo part # IN6349), is therefore really is not a regulator in the old sense of the term but instead an instruction receiver from the ECU that translates Pulse Width Modulated (PWM) signals into a form that the alternator understands – digital like pulse signals from the ECM into current that the windings react to as one would normally expect.

On the jpg, the pin on the far left is called #1 in the diagrams and is Battery Voltage Sensing, (BVS, or AS); the middle pin, #2 ALT CON, receives a Pulse Width Modulated, (PWM) signal from the Engine Control Module, (ECM), and the right pin, #3, ALT MON, sends a PWM signal back to the ECM.

#1 is what used to be called the A, S, or Batt and now BATT SENSE, however in this case, #1 also provides excitation current to the rotor at startup.Transpo calls the pin up as AS, Alternator Sensing.

The #2 pin PWM signal overrides the #1 battery voltage signal once available.

#2 in Ford speak is called Generator Command/Control or GEN CON and on Land Rover wiring diagrams, ALT CON; Transpo uses RC, Regulator Control.

#3 in Ford speak is often called Generator Monitoring or GEN MON and
on Land Rover wiring diagrams, ALT MON; Transpo uses LI, Load Indicator.

Land Rover calls this a Smart Regulator because it has to follow instructions from the ECU rather than dumbly reacting to the battery or electrical buss voltage.

The alternator is to be tested as a Ford PCM/RC type regulator / alternator.


Below from Karam in Saskatoonhttp://www.alternatorstarter.com/index.php


http://catalogue.alternatorstarter.com/PARTDETAIL/290-5287

This is a Denso Alternator for the 2006-On Land Rover LR3 and Land Rover Sport With the 4.2L or 4.4L Engines, (not the 4.0V6).

We are still investigating whether this unit came originally with an A-Circuit Regulator and then later went to a B-Circuit type (See info from Transpo below).

According to NW Regulator, the LI Terminal is an "FR" Type, the RC Terminal is a "SIG" Type, and the BVS Terminal is an "A" Type.

According to Transpo This Unit May Have an A-Circuit Regulator; however the Transpo Regulator IN6349 (TBA as of 2-2010) is the B-Circuit Version.

Electrically, both versions (A/B-Circuit) test exactly as the typical Ford PCM/RC types.

The units should be Interchangeable as complete assemblies but, from a service standpoint, there would be a difference in SRE Frames and Plastic Covers.

NAPA article on Ford PCM Alternators

http://www.napaechlin.com/Ford-PCM+Controlled+Charging+System/Content.aspx

 

@RAJOD: WTF are you talking about? Am I on a high horse? I was merely suggesting that it would be a good idea to have a fresh battery if you are going to be remote.

Oh, and it looks like there is indeed a BATT light, so maybe it's you who should step off the soapbox.

Not trying to start a pissing match, you may've just caught me in a bad mood.

 

I noted in your first post that you said you were 3 years into your Interstate battery. I am now about five years into mine and it is still fine; I do have a dual battery system but that does not extend battery life, well it might, but I figure your battery is probably still OK but suffering from a sick regulator within the alternator.

The reality is that if I am right, as long as you can charge up the battery every night, you can probably drive daily for the next few months as long as it is not night driving where the headlights are needed.

In my case, we have Daytime Running Light laws here so my xenon projector headlights are on all the time so maybe you can drive all night as well.

The problem arises if you shut the engine down and there is not enough power in the battery to restart the engine. This is why I say you have to charge the battery daily.

Most shops can successfully test batteries and if you have a local Interstate dealer, with their special tester device , they can read the chip inside the Interstate battery which helps to give you a pretty valid test and tells them exactly how old the battery is as well - the real reason for the chip and chip reader tester.

Land Rovers can be hard on the nerves and the wallet - they are the worlds most capable 4x4 but not yet the worlds most reliable 4x4.

If it makes you feel any better, Land Rovers are getting more reliable and Toyotas, less so - there must be some justice there as Toyota is late in the game introducing computers and technology; hence they are now getting their education.

Bye the way, the Land Rover alternator is made by Denso - go figure.

 

No worries, I'm just pissed off at my LR3.

Yes I found out it does have a non working non reliable battery indicator light. It finally came on after I replaced the battery. It did not come on when I was driving. It was just all the internal lights going nuts blinking on and off, losing the GPS display etc. Then I shut off motor and it was totally dead, not even enough juice to light the bulbs, radio etc. I just don't like the zero warning of anything wrong.

Its probably a flaky alternator or something. I do have a jump battery that I carry in the car, but that will do me no good at night. The lights will go out and even if the motor is running I'm a hazard on the road.

Don't get me wrong I am not bashing landrovers, I do like it for many other reasons. Just I've not had any cars in 20 years have this happen and they were lessor vehicles.

 

If I do need a new alternator should I get stock? Or is there a better aftermarket one?