I am a long time Land Rover owner and have always worked on my own cars, but I am not necessarily the electrical engineer that I need to become to work on this car. But I am undaunted and ready to learn.

I have a new to me 2010 LR4 V8 and I have been having problems with multiple misfire codes on driver’s side bank and a slow coolant leak that I haven’t been able to track down yet. I have been chasing down these codes with a generic BlueDriver bluetooth code reader, but I think I have a larger electrical issue that might be causing contributing to these problems.

It has happened two times to me and when I related the experience to my wife she says it has happened to her as well.

THE PROBLEM:
I was waiting in the truck, not running, for my daughter to come out of basketball. When I went to start the truck, nothing. No dash lights, no navigation screen, no cute little picture of the LR4 on the dash, just complete quiet and darkness. I noticed the brake pedal was really firm gave a hard push on the pedal, pressed the start button again, it made a clunk hesitated and fired up, but with “restricted performance”. Shut truck off. Waited a second. Started as normal with no restricted performance but was stumbling at low rpm. But to my surprise the CEL light is now off, all the codes are gone except for the permanent ones and the clock and date are reset to 2009, as if I had disconnected the battery and discharged the electricity by touching the positive and negative cables together.

Any thoughts?

Bad battery?
Loose ground?
Lucas Prince of Darkness?
The malingering ghosts of Fix On Race Day?

I am retreating for now to the relative calm and clatter of the 300TDI in my Range Rover, awaiting orders from the internet.

P.S I know this is chevy v. Ford territory but suggestions on a better code reader? Also, is there one that will work on both this Land Rover and a BMW X5?

Thanks in advance.

 

The IID tool is the best for these vehicles. It works on various LR, but not other manufacturers. I do think you'd benefit from getting the codes properly read.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. The IID was one of the ones I was considering but I had read that it is more geared towards European diesel models.

1) Is this true?

2) Is the IID keyed to the vehicle through the VIN? 2a) Can you buy more than one license if this is the case?
2b) What is the cost per license?

3) We also have a Disco II that my 15 year old daughter and I are reviving for her first car. Would the IID work for this car as well?

Would love to avoid buying $1500 worth of code readers if it’s avoidable.

I was considering the iCarsoft or a Foxwell. Any thoughts on these? Can they dive deep enough into the modules or are they just a slightly better version the BlueDriver reader I have now?

But more importantly, does anyone have thoughts on why the electrical system would drop out completely, as if the battery wasn’t connected any longer and then reconnect as if it was?

 

1. No. The IID tool covers the fleet of vehicles regardless of market or fuel type/engine, etc.
2. Yes. However, even though the tool is locked (they call it 'bind') to a specific vehicle, you can use the tool to perform basic functions on any other vehicle, eg read and clear faults, etc.
2a. You can get a pro license which allows more vehicles, but in my experience if you own a couple of LR vehicle that the IID tool can be used on I'd suggest dropping Pat at GAP an email and asking if there's a workaround or deal. He's exceptionally helpful.
3. The list of supported vehicles is on their website.

To your problem, have you checked the battery charge, alternator output, cables aren't loose etc?

 

Thanks for the added info I’ll contact Pat at Gap and see what they can offer me.

I have checked all the usual “shade tree” mechanic stuff. Alternator output seems good, battery strong, cables connected. I am moving on to grounds but I am not sure which ones are more likely to be the culprit in this case.

Also, I wonder if there are likely spots where the harness might be “shorted” out to the frame.

What about a “fusible link” on these trucks?