Electrial problem started onlast 12 hours please can someone help me ?

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Markcb73

New Member
Posts
31
Location
Coventry West Mildands
Well after owning my P38 for 3 weeks i have my first fault, i will try and describe this as clear as i can.

the battery on the car is pretty worn out, so on advice i was tld should get a new battery, so this morning the car would not start, AA came out tested battery ansd advised had died,i had already purchased new one so he agreed to swap over, and used a booster pack not to lose power,etc, i have gone from a type 644 AH95 SAE700 to a Varta 70AH SAE630 the AA man said that it was the correct spec to use, so fitted it fired up straight away,however since he has gone i now have the following problems !

1. the heater control is flashing, the speedo and rev counter have stopped working, when i indicate the lights on display on the binnacle flash in sync with indicator, the binnacle is very dim, and have no warning messages displaying anymore, when i open the door and the interior lights come on it stops flashing , the stereo does not remember its code have to input each time , the display for abs srs etc also very dim ? the car drives fine and suspension etc is ok, but cannot see all of the above and no speedo means nighmare, please please can anyone help , i lovethis car already so want to get it sorted. thanks so much in advance Mark :confused: also sorry he put a tester on it and said i have a possible driain of 2 amps ???
 
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Petrol or diesel? Sounds like a bad connection or the main cable has corroded inside the sleeve, or given the battery drain the fuse box may be at fault, check for signs/smells of burning. The other cause of battery drain is the RF receiver.
Finally you may have caused some corruption to the BECM, I'd diss th battery for 5 minutes and start again, have your EKA code ready in case you need it.
 
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Mine is a diesel and the AA put a 70AH battery in. Didn't last long. They did eventually replace with a 110AH at no extra charge.
Their on van book does say the 70AH is the correct one and they don't carry a suitable one on the vans.
Backing up Datatek, I think that the disconnect/reconnect procedure probably wasn't followed either.
Could you give a bit of detail about what happened when the AA man changed the battery, particularly whether the alarm went off?

G~
 
gencybay said:
Mine is a diesel and the AA put a 70AH battery in. Didn't last long. They did eventually replace with a 110AH at no extra charge.
Their on van book does say the 70AH is the correct one and they don't carry a suitable one on the vans.
Backing up Datatek, I think that the disconnect/reconnect procedure probably wasn't followed either.
Could you give a bit of detail about what happened when the AA man changed the battery, particularly whether the alarm went off?

G~
Click to expand...

+1

70Ah nowhere near big enough for a Diesel...
 
His profile says 4.6 petrol. Have a look at fuse 1. Sounds like something has been blown and the units are using an alternate earth path.
 
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Firstly thankyou for the answers, just got back to the site, i blew a fuse and got man flu:mad: regarding the alarm, its been deactivated about 3 years ago , by a range rover specialist, so that should not be doing anything i hope ? the car is still flashing pulsing etc, so will have a look at your sugestions, as the car drives fine and does everything it should etc, Wammers where you suggest its looking for another earth and check fuse 1, i hate to sound a complete p38 novice(which i am) where is this located in the seat under bonnet etc etc, as want to have a look before i send it over to a RR specialist to check out for me.

again thankyou for all your help

mark
 
Markcb73 said:
Well after owning my P38 for 3 weeks i have my first fault, i will try and describe this as clear as i can.

the battery on the car is pretty worn out, so on advice i was tld should get a new battery, so this morning the car would not start, AA came out tested battery ansd advised had died,i had already purchased new one so he agreed to swap over, and used a booster pack not to lose power,etc, i have gone from a type 644 AH95 SAE700 to a Varta 70AH SAE630 the AA man said that it was the correct spec to use, so fitted it fired up straight away,however since he has gone i now have the following problems !

1. the heater control is flashing, the speedo and rev counter have stopped working, when i indicate the lights on display on the binnacle flash in sync with indicator, the binnacle is very dim, and have no warning messages displaying anymore, when i open the door and the interior lights come on it stops flashing , the stereo does not remember its code have to input each time , the display for abs srs etc also very dim ? the car drives fine and suspension etc is ok, but cannot see all of the above and no speedo means nighmare, please please can anyone help , i lovethis car already so want to get it sorted. thanks so much in advance Mark :confused: also sorry he put a tester on it and said i have a possible driain of 2 amps ???
Click to expand...

oops,it says in the owners handbook,never to use a booster pack on these models.i did not know about this before i used one on my p38 diesel,i got the dash lights looking like blackpool lights and would not start.it turned out that the booster had buggered the BECM.had to send it to RICK THE PICK down in brighton for a rebuild.this cured the problem,but it did cost a few quid though.:mad::jaw::D
 
If you can't use a booster pack (which I also have done in the past!), does that mean you can't jump start it if you do have a flat battery? Should you also not jump start someone elses car to help them out if they have a flat battery?

Nik
 
NikTheGeek said:
If you can't use a booster pack (which I also have done in the past!), does that mean you can't jump start it if you do have a flat battery? Should you also not jump start someone elses car to help them out if they have a flat battery?

Nik
Click to expand...

Some booster packs have very poorly regulated output, I would not use one. You can jump start using another battery as long as you connect as described in the owners manual.
Personally I would not volunteer to jump start another car from my P38, no point looking for trouble:rolleyes:
 
Has the as man put the earth strap on the new battery tight try turning the connections on the battery to see if they are loose .
 
NikTheGeek said:
If you can't use a booster pack (which I also have done in the past!), does that mean you can't jump start it if you do have a flat battery? Should you also not jump start someone elses car to help them out if they have a flat battery?

Nik
Click to expand...
Nik and all battery's always connect positive first and remove last when removing or charging , this is because you cannot Short the battery with either jump lead or spanner against an earth

When jumping a ranger rover you should put battery to battery only so red/ positive from doña battery onto flat battery red/ positive first then black/ earth reversal is black first then red

Now years ago you would-always put the earth from the doña battery anywhere on flat battery's car earth ie frame or a metal part of engine,this was because it would use the charging system of the doña car the reason you never should put battery to battery is that if the doña battery was duff as well the volts between battery's could level out ie the flat battery could draw the the little power out of the weak doña battery and you could end up with two batterys without enough power at all. But with the delicate electrics in modern cars its a risk using the doña cars system in Case I guess it's causes a surge .

Small pre charged boosters are fine

The booster that should not be used are the type garages have big trolley type that can quick charge a battery, Which in itself is not good for the battery or your car hope this helps
 
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