Disco 3 (LR3) Hazards of Death, HDC, Transmission, Special Programs, Parking Brake

Hi folks. I have just privately bought an '05 4.4L V8 Disco 3 here in Canadaland, and it's giving me grief already. Typical!

It was shipped to Nova Scotia from Ottawa on a transporter, and seemingly drove fine before and during transportation.

Yesterday, which is the first time I've seen the vehicle first hand (I know!) a ton of faults came up and all manner of lights, including permanent hazards, even with the key out of the ignition. I got it started once and briefly drove it, with hazards flashing and faults still showing.

I turned it off, and tried to turn back on, but couldn't start it. For some reason, and it could be a coincidence, the hazard lights turned off when I pressed the HDC button. They did not come back on when I pressed it again.

The error messages present themselves in the following order:

Transmission fault - limited gears available
Transmission fault - traction reduced
HDC fault - system not available
Engine system fault
System fault special program not available

I seem to recall seeing Suspension lowered at some point today as well.

The following lights are on:

Amber parking brake
Red parking brake (flashes)
Battery
Oil
Airbag
Yellow exclamation inside circular arrow (what is this?)
Red vehicle with up/down and left/right arrows (what is this?)

The coolant gauge also goes to maximum hot and the red light is on.

Today I put it on trickle charge for a couple of hours as the battery voltage was only 11.8V and was able to start it. The following faults were still showing:

Transmission fault
CEL
Big F in the gear indicator

I went for a brief drive and the dash lit up like a christmas tree, including hazards, when I tried to go fast enough to change gear. Reverse and first were fine. It seemed limited to 2k RPM.

I turned it off, and tried to restart, but to no avail. Thinking it could be starter contacts, I tried the ol' off/on quickly, but to no avail. I can hear a click in the glovebox, which I assume is the relay? It does not crank. Bashing the instrument cluster does not help, which can apparently be a source of issues like this.

Blindly hoping the battery just needs charging as it hasn't had much use in the last few weeks and wanting to get out of the snow, I'm leaving the car on trickle charge overnight to see if that cures the issue. I doubt it, but trying to be optimistic. The battery was new in January is LR OE.

The vehicle has some iffy history, including water ingress that required a new CJB (coded by LR) and cowl. It also had a new brake pedal switch and OE brake light bulbs, which can apparently cause my symptoms. I will verify if the brake lights still work.

I'm going to:

Hard reset (connect battery +ve and -ve wires) to discharge the computers
Check fuse F30, which I think powers the TCM?
Check main earth wires - advice on where these are will be helpful!
Check CEL codes, although I'll likely need LR to read some for me. Getting it there will be a problem though.
Check the wires in the passenger sill, which I believe contains some red wire splices that corrode?
Check wires in drivers footwell - I read there are some ground wires that splice there?
Check thermostat sensor wiring
Inspect the TCM and connectors (behind the battery)
Inspect connector blocks and wires in rear arches, which is where some of the CANBUS wires go.
Check CJB connectors
Bypass the starter relay

I also found two TCMs in the rear of the car, so am asking some serious questions of the seller!

Any advice on what to check will be much appreciated. I have looked on some of the US and Canadian forums, but am looking for inspiration from fellow Brits who are of course far more intelligent.

Other threads indicate that the high temp gauge is a sign of a CANBUS problem between the IP and PCM. I'm assuming IP = Instrument Panel?

They eat batteries, 11.8 volts is proper shagged, very rarely does a simple charge up save the day, even leaving the ignition on for to long or the interior lights will kill the battery pdq, 20/30 mins and thats it.
Even a slightly weak battery will cause mayhem, false codes and other issues etc

On the UK spec cars the battery is an 019, not sure on battery model numbers overseas?
Yuasa is good, Exide not so good.

Check under car and the ride height sensors and their looms in case the transporter guy damaged them with his straps.

Iirc the splice wires are under the lower door opening plastic trim roughly in line with the front of the seat base, buried under all the wires under there.

I would suggest two things, both are must does, 1 join the D3 forum, and 2 buy a Gap IID tool, I believe they are based in Canada

lynall said:

They eat batteries, 11.8 volts is proper shagged, very rarely does a simple charge up save the day, even leaving the ignition on for to long or the interior lights will kill the battery pdq, 20/30 mins and thats it.
Even a slightly weak battery will cause mayhem, false codes and other issues etc

On the UK spec cars the battery is an 019, not sure on battery model numbers overseas?
Yuasa is good, Exide not so good.

Check under car and the ride height sensors and their looms in case the transporter guy damaged them with his straps.

Iirc the splice wires are under the lower door opening plastic trim roughly in line with the front of the seat base, buried under all the wires under there.

I would suggest two things, both are must does, 1 join the D3 forum, and 2 buy a Gap IID tool, I believe they are based in Canada

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Thank you - I heard good things about Gap too, and will be investing in one. Is there a part model of IID tool that is generally recommended?

Sting Ray said:

Thank you - I heard good things about Gap too, and will be investing in one. Is there a part model of IID tool that is generally recommended?

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I think there are only two versions, one vin locked to your car, and two the pro version which works on all models, but costs 5 times as much.
There used to be a non bluetooth model, and it was cheaper, but it used the cars dashboard to see what was going on, and if you have a dashboard fault!
You can still read and clear codes on disco 3/4/range rovers cars with a vin locked iid tool, and if you sell it, the transfer fee to the new owners vin is something like 50 gbp.

You then download the Gap app and use your smartphone/pad etc

If you have someone else who needs to use it often, you can get their vin added to yours for around the 50gbp mark.

Mine has a sticker on it that says, IID Tool BT, diagnostic tool for land rover/range rover.

Not a cheap tool, but it is very good, and on the D3 forum there is a wealth of info and support on its use.

Sting Ray said:

Thank you - I heard good things about Gap too, and will be investing in one. Is there a part model of IID tool that is generally recommended?

Click to expand...

I use a Foxwell unit (good for multiple vehicles). With all those faults I would obviously first check the battery!

Don't have a D3, but from personal experience I have learned to respect the fact that a 12V battery is a lot more important than I originally thought! Learned the hard way with one of my cars - replaced a few expensive items a few years ago, including a new electronic park brake, only to subsequently find the battery was the problem all along! With the D2 I also found the importance of installing a quality battery (CCA important for cold morning starts) and making sure the terminal clamps and the earth were secure!!! In the old days, the battery was really only there to start the car - now there are so many demands placed on it. My old, cheap as chips, trickle charge battery charger is no good once the battery has "gone flat" - needed a more sophisticated charger for modern batteries. Got a Foxwell diagnostic scanner (multi vehicle model), new CTEK battery charger and a cheap multimeter - have used all to good effect now (still learning!). Joining this forum was one of the best decisions though, and learning to check the obvious first and not to jump to conclusions!

Thanks folks. Is the D3 forum disco3.co.uk? I'll order an IID tool today.

Should I get another battery? I'm hoping (hoping) that an overnight charge will replace what was lost. As for the type, they are called H7 over here, with 850 CCA.

I've got a D4 and my advice would be to replace the battery as a FIRST move! As has been stated, they are very fussy things.

Hazard lights flashing continuously means the vehicle may have implemented its crash mode strategy.
I had this very issue, when the battery in my FL2 failed while cranking the engine over. If the battery voltage drops below 7 Volts, the crash mode strategy is implemented, unlocking the doors, putting the interior lights on and flashing the hazard lights. It can also inhibit the starter, until the ignition has been cycled a few times.

Check the CJB for any crash codes being present.

Sting Ray said:

Thanks folks. Is the D3 forum disco3.co.uk? I'll order an IID tool today.

Should I get another battery? I'm hoping (hoping) that an overnight charge will replace what was lost. As for the type, they are called H7 over here, with 850 CCA.

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Yes disco3.co.uk is the one, they love the v8s on there, they have a hard core following.

In the UK a H7 is a headlamp bulb!

What intestinalworm posted above about the battery not just for starting the car is spot on.

Thanks folks - I have ordered an IID Tool today and will head over to D3 later today. I'll also get a new battery in case 36 hours of charging doesn't work - will find out if this is the case tomorrow!

Sting Ray said:

Thanks folks - I have ordered an IID Tool today and will head over to D3 later today. I'll also get a new battery in case 36 hours of charging doesn't work - will find out if this is the case tomorrow!

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Out of curiosity how much was the IID tool?
450GBP GBP in the UK, approx 770 canadian.

lynall said:

Out of curiosity how much was the IID tool?
450GBP GBP in the UK, approx 770 canadian.

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$781 CAD. The exchange rate is terrible!

When it came to getting a new headlamp for my previous car, I was searching for ages for an H7. One of many things that are different here compared the blighty!

lynall said:

What intestinalworm

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Is this autocorrect at its finest?

I put in a new battery today and it started up a couple times without issues. The hazards could be turned off, the CEL cleared on it's own, and the transmission changed gears. I'm cautiously optimistic that all is well for now! Thank you to everyone who has helped! I have learnt a great deal about this computer/vehicle in the last few days.

Sting Ray said:

I put in a new battery today and it started up a couple times without issues. The hazards could be turned off, the CEL cleared on it's own, and the transmission changed gears. I'm cautiously optimistic that all is well for now! Thank you to everyone who has helped! I have learnt a great deal about this computer/vehicle in the last few days.

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Glad to hear that BUT don't forget to give it a pat on the roof as a token of your gratitude, cars do have feelings you know!

It'll be getting a damned good wash and wax at the weekend, so hopefully that'll show it some love!

Will need to ask my neighbour to take a look at welding the leaky exhaust too - directly under the drivers seat.

Nodge68 said:

Is this autocorrect at its finest?

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Post number 6, that is the guys username, hes from Aus so I would hazard a guess something to do with the cattle industry, or maybe he has a really bad problem

Knew it was too early to call!

It crapped out on me on the highway, with all the usual faults. I restarted and it behaved, albeit with a CEL, until on my driveway.

Battery voltage is 12.8v. Alternator is kicking out 13.65 at idle. Feedback on these figures will be appreciated.

Oh, and the damned sunroof won't recalibrate after many attempts so is partially open. Grrr. It's like the anti jam is kicking in prematurely, or perhaps the battery voltage is too low for that as well?