alarm/ starting problem

sorry if this has already been covered. i just joined the forum. i have a 1995/6 N-reg 300tdi discovery manual.

ive been experiencing starting faults for a while now on and off and so ran a wire piggybacked on the starter solenoid back to the keyswitch start position. this allowed it to start again. then a few weeks later it would turn over but not fire so i ran a wire piggybacked to the stop solenoid through a switch and fuse to the battery. when the engine wouldnt start somedays i simply turned the switch on to allow power to the solenoid. this worked fine for months, although i admit its a bodge job.

today i got out of the disco, turned off engine and took keys with me but didnt lock it. when i returned about 5-10 mins later it wouldnt turn over. i tried locking and unlocking the car with the two button keyfob but it wouldnt lock. so i thought the keyfob battery was knackered. i replaced the battery but still the same. i shorted the starter to get me going and got home and switched off. i tried the car again and it started again no problem. however it let me down again later in the day. when i try to start it i have a small red round light flashing at me and also a red light with a key in it flashing. the keyfob still wont lock or unlock the car and so like a fool i locked it with the key.

now whenever i unlock with the key and open a door the alarm sounds and i cant stop it or start the vehicle still. the keyfob still does nothing. ive tried pressing the lock button 4 times as mentioned in other threads and i have tried entering the 4 digit security code via the key in the drivers doorlock as instructed in the handbook but the alarm still sounds when i open the doors. now the neighbours are getting p***ed off!

anybody know how i can turn this alarm off so i can sort the problem? ive heard the starting problem is probably this spider thing but does that also control the alarm?

Came across that problem last year with a 96 D1 - my brothers 8 month old son got a few 'rude awakenings' due to the same kind of fault .
Do you have a second fob - in this case the second fob worked .
When the problem reoccurred and neither fob would work we opened up one fob and found a broken joint inside - gave it a dab of solder and its fine since .
There is a good article somewhere that I came across on the spider and I would say your problems sound like spider trouble. Land Rover actually supply a harness that you can use to replace the spider and solve the problem permanently .
Will see if I can find the spider article - the spider is behind the radio and is so called because it has 8 wires coming into it .All thats wrong with it usually is a broken solder joint but they are the bane of Disco owners .

Have a look here :
The Definitive Alarm Spider Post - LR4x4 - The Land Rover Forum

thanks for your help. i will look at the spider and get one of bypass thingys that plugs in instead. unfortunately i dont have the other keyfob. any ideas on stopping the alarm so that i can get in to change/repair the spider? the keyfob wont work and ive tried entering the 4 digit security code in the drivers doorlock following the instructions in the handbook but still no joy. when i open the door the alarm still sounds. will it go off once and stop on its own if i leave the doors open, so i can work on it? or will it keep going off intermittantly?

propercornish said:

thanks for your help. i will look at the spider and get one of bypass thingys that plugs in instead. unfortunately i dont have the other keyfob. any ideas on stopping the alarm so that i can get in to change/repair the spider? the keyfob wont work and ive tried entering the 4 digit security code in the drivers doorlock following the instructions in the handbook but still no joy. when i open the door the alarm still sounds. will it go off once and stop on its own if i leave the doors open, so i can work on it? or will it keep going off intermittantly?

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I suspect that once you have bypassed the spider you be able to reset the alarm so that all will come back to normal -normally

I think , but only think , that the alarm stops after a certain length of time and resets itself .
Depends on where you are and if it's practical to let it sound for a while because it is very loud .
You could give these guys a call depending on where you are in relation to them and maybe they could help you :
www.remotekey.co.uk/cars/land-rover/discovery1

just thought i would let you all know in case you suffer the same problem.

i unlocked the disco today with the key as the keyfob is still not working. opened the door and the alarm went off. as it was blowing a gale and pouring with rain i didnt want to work outside so i hot wired it and drove a mile down the road to my inlaws place to use there garage.

when i opened the door to get out at my inlaws the alarm went off again so i shut the door and walked away. it stops after 30secs. i came out again to drive it in the garage and it went off again but hasnt since, although i havent locked it since. must only go of 3 times and resets itself.

anyway i then booked it into my local landrover garage to have it looked at. the only fault they found was that somehow the keyfob had lost its memory or something and they plugged a laptop into the disco and reprogrammed it. the reason why i couldnt enter the EKA code successfully through the drivers doorlock was down to the lock being worn.

as i didnt trust the original keyfob and never had the spare when i bought the vehicle i decided to buy a new one and have that programmed the same time and keep the old one as a spare.

the new keyfob was £35 + vat and they didnt even charge me for programming the old and new keyfobs! very nice people.

so now my landrover is starting and locking as it should again (touch wood!)and didnt cost no where near what i was expecting.

propercornish said:

just thought i would let you all know in case you suffer the same problem.

i unlocked the disco today with the key as the keyfob is still not working. opened the door and the alarm went off. as it was blowing a gale and pouring with rain i didnt want to work outside so i hot wired it and drove a mile down the road to my inlaws place to use there garage.

when i opened the door to get out at my inlaws the alarm went off again so i shut the door and walked away. it stops after 30secs. i came out again to drive it in the garage and it went off again but hasnt since, although i havent locked it since. must only go of 3 times and resets itself.

anyway i then booked it into my local landrover garage to have it looked at. the only fault they found was that somehow the keyfob had lost its memory or something and they plugged a laptop into the disco and reprogrammed it. the reason why i couldnt enter the EKA code successfully through the drivers doorlock was down to the lock being worn.

as i didnt trust the original keyfob and never had the spare when i bought the vehicle i decided to buy a new one and have that programmed the same time and keep the old one as a spare.

the new keyfob was £35 + vat and they didnt even charge me for programming the old and new keyfobs! very nice people.

so now my landrover is starting and locking as it should again (touch wood!)and didnt cost no where near what i was expecting.

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That's great news - well done. Now, onto De-EGR, change suspension, straight through exhaust, new wheels & tyres, inj pump tune-up.......

Oh sorry, that's my list of jobs isn't it !!

ive already uprated the springs and shocks, alloys with bf goodrich tyres and de-cat exhaust system. does doing away with the egr make much difference?

Ello propercornish, sorry to hijack the fred, just wanted ter welcome yer to LZ as another muncher of pasties - din't know much bout yer disco problem i;m afraid so this'll have to double as yer welcome fred!

Where bouts in this fine land are ya??

im from fraddon, u?

propercornish said:

ive already uprated the springs and shocks, alloys with bf goodrich tyres and de-cat exhaust system. does doing away with the egr make much difference?

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My vehicle is a '98 auto and when I 1st did the de-EGR thing I wasn't sure, but now I am.

Obviously the difference isn't huge but I find that she'll climb hills better and once I'm doing over 52mph (torque converter lock-up) she goes like a train.

I don't normally recommend running these big heavy buggers at speed, but I was impressed how quickly she got up to 80mph on an 'A' road and how stable and secure she was at that speed. It was a private road of course

I'm interested to hear what you think of the BF Goodrich tyres as they are one of the ones I thinking of getting?

Also, what difference if any did you notice when you de-catted the car??

i noticed a small difference when i done away with the cat but i didnt do it for perfomance really, just too tight to buy a new cat!!! sounds different to as its not so restrictive. still passed mot emissions test ok.

as for the bf goodrich tyres i cant fault them. i think mine are the 235/75/16 or something like that and they are all terrain which is a good compromise as they dont give hardly any road noise and yet are very good off road. i dont go trials or green laning or anything like that. i go to vintage tractor rallies/shows and the disco hasnt got stuck yet pulling my 14ft trailer with 2 ton tractor on through some pretty messy fields.

propercornish said:

im from fraddon, u?

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Lostwithiel. Do you work for MG?

hi mate i,ve got a stating problem with my disco,not as bad as yours
by the sound of it.
if it,s the same type of alarm as i had on my classic range rover
you should have a funny key on your key ring ?
under the bonnet is the siren which should have
a key hole and you can turn it off, till you sort out the problem.
hope this helps regards dereklcg.