Hi everyone,

I am in desperate need of servicing my LR3 as I was planning on leaving tomorrow. I currently own a 2005 LR3 v8 SE 4.4 99,000 miles Sorry for the long post, but it should keep most questions at bay since i'm giving as much information as possible.

Today, I went about my normal checklist with the vehicle before I drive anywhere more than 250 miles.First, I washed and detailed the car. I then cleaned the throttle bottle with the same cleaner I've always used.

Next I was VERY careful and cleaned the MAF sensor (with MAF cleaner). Since I had already disassembled everything, I thought I might as well throw in a new air filter and cabin air filter as I had extras in the garage. After putting everything back together, I decided I would go ahead and do a reset by holding down the gas pedal until it clicks, wait with it in ignition II etc etc. I drove around for about 10-15 min and noticed a HUGE difference in the driving and smoothness.

I then decided I would continue to work on some things. It seems that I have some sort of small suspension leak. (I believe its the valve block and plan on fixing it shortly). I've disconnected the battery once, but that just lowered the entire front end slightly. So I removed the fuse and thought I would come back in the morning to see how things went.

**Now here is my problem**
After all this, I got back into the car to turn it on and just see what suspension faults would arise. To my surprise, I received multiple warnings on my dash. There is the giant F off to the side and my car won't even turn over to start. I am able to put it into any gear i'd like, except they all seem to be like neutral and can use the parking break at anytime (engaging and disengaging it).

I am having no suspension faults or lowering whatsoever. (I placed the fuse back). So the following are what have appeared.

Warning Lights:
-BRAKE: Amber Color
-PARK BRAKE: Amber Color
-PARK BREAK: Red (actually working, stays on unless I disengage)
-DSC: AMBER (clicking the button has no effect) and continually stays on

MESSAGE CENTER:
-PARK BREAK FAULT
-HDC FAULT SYSTEM NOT AVAILABLE
-ENGINE SYSTEM FAULT
-TRANSMISSION FAULT (Not all gears available or something)
and more about the parking break not available.

Solutions I've tried.
-Checking taillights: all illuminate and are very very bright
-Unplugged and replugged the brake light switch. (didn't see a point, but thought it was worth a try)
-Checked fuses: I checked every fuse under the hood and inside the passenger compartment and not one was even bad.
-Disconnected the battery, connected the two ends for 15 min to try a hard reset and then put it all back together. (turned on with all lights still illuminated)
-Checked for loose or disconnected wires as much as possible before I lost too much daylight

I'm at a complete loss as it looks as if this might be an electrical problem. I have no idea where to begin or what to even look for. Does anyone have any clue as what the culprit could be? She is squeaky clean (fresh oil change, just completely changed out the entire cooling system and the transmission module alongside the tranny pan/filter as it was leaking a bit)

I apologize for the long post, but would greatly appreciate any help at all! You can also see some pictures to get a better idea of what I'm dealing with.

Thanks in advance!

Also, these are my first time seeing any of these lights on my dash as I have owned her for the past couple of years and babied her like no other.

 

Does it crank and not start, or will it not even crank?

 

unplugging and replugging the brake light switch won't help you. The arcing is inside of it, go pick one up and throw it it. Should be less than 25 bucks or so If I recall.

Sounds like a possible brake light switch problem to me, at least that is where I would start.

Now, it sounds like something got disturbed, or is not connected correctly. I would carefully review the connections that may have been disturbed;

0. Confirm a fully charged battery.
1. MAF Wiring
2. Battery, Fuse Box, Negative ground cable, ECU's near it.
3. In the cabin near the Cabin Air filter that may have been disturbed / be loose
4. Replace Brake light switch if you have not ever done it.

Finally, where was the air leak, and what may have been disturbed doing that work?

 

Jafir- It won't even turn over to crank.

As I checked this morning, I was received all the same lights and results. Now as for the suspension, I guess I got somewhat lucky. It looks like the front drivers side dropped a little over just one inch (if my measurements are all correct)

I forgot to mention that we hooked up the battery to my other truck and let it run for awhile with no luck. I will be taking it somewhere today to actually get it tested.

As for the MAF wiring, how would I go about checking that? I simply unplugged/plugged in again. Just look for issues in the wires?

I'll remove the battery today and get in behind there to check the ECU, wires, and all around the fuses. Is there anything I should be looking for?

I'm going to go back and do everything I did yesterday in hopes that maybe some faulty wiring might be visible now that its daylight. I'll keep you guys posted on what works.

Tjhanks again

 

If it will not turn over to crank, after checking everything you might have disturbed, trace back the wiring to the starter. Maybe that's gone bad if the battery is fully charged. It would be an awful strange coincidence though. I think bbyer may have had starter issues before, and may be able to comment on that.

 

I've had starter issues too. It was the contacts in the starter. A single click, and nothing. If you'd keep cycling the key back and forth, eventually it would start just fine.

 

I believe there was a post on this board previously with similar symptoms and Roverguy7 pointed to a possible CANBUS failure. Something about checking the connectors and wiring located behind the battery. Might want to do a search and see if you can that.

 

Ahha. Post was on another board. This isn't exactly the same, but pretty similar I think.
Multiple Fault Messages/dashboard lights, won't start.... - Land Rover Forums : Land Rover and Range Rover Forum

 

You're right, that looks like it.

 

So I tested the battery today (it was at 78%) So that seems to running well.
I also just picked up a new brake light switch and installed that with no luck

I've traced back all I worked and found nothing wrong with any wires.
The only option I can think of is exactly what cmb6s said. So i'm referencing that post and going to try and see if that is the culprit.

Thanks again for really thinking outside of the box! (I did just pressure wash my car that same day).

I'll post what the outcome is as i'll start working on it now.