Hill decent switch

hello.

I've had my freelander 1 for about 14 months but I've never used the yellow hill decent switch on the gearstick. I tried it today and to my surprise, when I pushed it down, it sprang back up. I thought it was a kind of on or off thing. Also, when I pressed it, I expected a light to come on the dash but nothing happened. Do I need to be going down a steep hill for it to work or does mine seem to be duff. Thanks for you thoughts and insights.

Col

No help whatsoever Col but I have the same switch on my HSE, the few times I've driven the car I've been tempted to press it and see what happens but not had the nerve yet - and there are no hills by me!

press the switch and push lever down, then it should light up,
if not your's might have a snapped wire, very comun fault

Colthebrummie said:

Do I need to be going down a steep hill for it to work or does mine seem to be duff.

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You can activate HDC at anytime. If the HDC is active, but the box isn't in first or reverse, then the warning light simply flashes to warn you the system will work when the correct gear is engaged. As your HDC isn't flashing it's active light, then you could well have a broken wire in the gear lever, normally just under the switch.

Nodge68 said:

You can activate HDC at anytime. If the HDC is active, but the box isn't in first or reverse, then the warning light simply flashes to warn you the system will work when the correct gear is engaged. As your HDC isn't flashing it's active light, then you could well have a broken wire in the gear lever, normally just under the switch.

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Silly question time!
How do i know if the HDC is working correctly. I've tried it on a steep slope on a tarmac road surface, foot off the accelerator, engine revs went up on over run, I did not notice any braking.
Any thoughts?

baptista said:

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i dont have this i just have the button... do i have something missing?

If the activation lights don't come on, then it ain't going to work.

If the activation lights are on and it is not obvious the car is doing something then it ain't working. When HDC is working, you know its working. The car, noise of the ABS pump/modulator doing its thing and feedback through the brake peddle will tell you something is working.

lou5590 said:

i dont have this i just have the button... do i have something missing?

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You presumably have an automatic?

GrumpyGel said:

You presumably have an automatic?

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no the button on the gearstick i mean, i have the hdc button but i dont have to do anything on the gearstick to activate it

lou5590 said:

no the button on the gearstick i mean, i have the hdc button but i dont have to do anything on the gearstick to activate it

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Hi yours is facelift and they replaced the gear lever mounted switch for a push button switch mounted on the gear lever surround

I didn't realise I had to push the gear lever down while holding the switch, I'll give that a try. Ta very much.

Col

Yes, squeeze that yellow 'trigger' and slide that switch assembly downwards. The HDC lamp should light. As you know HDC works only in 1st or Rev gears. When active and you are slowly moving down a slope the ABS pump makes an interesting noise, a bit like a plastic or wooden ruler being flicked when held over the side of a table - sort of a boinging sound!

Border Boy said:

How do i know if the HDC is working correctly. I've tried it on a steep slope on a tarmac road surface, foot off the accelerator, engine revs went up on over run, I did not notice any braking.

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The HDC light will come on solid (not flash) when HDC is active. No light means HDC isn't on. A flashing HDC light means the system is armed but not active (not in first or reverse or a switch faulty)

Well, my HDC does not work even though the light comes on.
Where do I look for the problem?

Border Boy said:

Well, my HDC does not work even though the light comes on.
Where do I look for the problem?

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Is the (green) light on solid or flashing? Is the Amber light on solid?
If the green light is on solid, then HDC is working and as long as your feet are off the pedals, the system will control vehicle speed.

As Nodge says, with the car in neutral...

1) If the switch to enable HDC is turned on, does the green HDC information light flash? If not, the wiring to the switch is faulty.
2) If you then engage 1st gear, does the green light then stop flashing and stay on solid? If not, the 1st gear detection switch, or the wiring to it, is faulty.

Do any of the HDC, TC or ABS amber warning lights illuminate either when HDC is not selected or during when HDC is selected? The '3 Amigos'. If so, a fault has been detected in the ABS system and you need to read the diagnostics codes to find out what the problem is. Do the 3 Amigos light up when you turn the ignition on and then go out soon after or when you start moving? If not, the bulbs have been removed from the dash console or you have some other fault.

Assuming you do not have any of the above problems, HDC should function. With HDC enabled and in 1st gear, HDC will (spelt should) maintain speed "relative to accelerator position" (as described by my '99 handbook). It does not say what these speeds are, however the Rave workshop manual says they are 6mph in 1st and 4mph in reverse when the throttle is closed. The forward speed is reduced to 4.4mph on rough terrain and if the engine is cold it is increased to 7.5mph for 1st and 4.4mph for reverse.

HDC will not function if you press the brake or clutch peddles.

You will need a steep slope to test HDC on because the car will need to want to naturally move at greater than 6mph - that's especially true for a diesel manual. A petrol will not give so much engine braking, and I'm pretty sure an auto, even in 1st, will not provide quite so much. With your feet off the peddles, HDC should maintain the speed at about 6mph. You should feel and hear ABS in operation - you definitely can with my WABCO ABS pump, not sure about your Teves pump. If there is someone behind you, they should see the brake lights illuminated because HDC energises the brake light relay when its in operation (according to Rave).

If your speed rises much above 6mph and there are no signs of HDC operating, then the brake and/or clutch switched could be faulty - however, these would normally throw 3 Amigo warning lights - as should any other reason for HDC not operating.

Thanks for comprehensive replies on HDC operation
I have checked again and the HDC light does not come on when the switch is pressed. All warning lights show when the ignition is switched on and, as they should, go off after a few seconds.
I have not got diagnostic equipment so, are there any tests I can do with or without a multi-meter?
Thanks

Border Boy said:

Thanks for comprehensive replies on HDC operation
I have checked again and the HDC light does not come on when the switch is pressed. All warning lights show when the ignition is switched on and, as they should, go off after a few seconds.
I have not got diagnostic equipment so, are there any tests I can do with or without a multi-meter?
Thanks

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If all the lights come on with the ignition, then go out - but they don't come on when you press the switch - then there won't be any diagnostic codes because the ABS ECU isn't seeing the request to turn on HDC.

The brake switch has double contacts (or something) inside it so the ECU can tell if there's a problem with it. I doubt the HDC switch does though - I know I don't get any error codes and the wires to my switch float aimlessly in the air broken from the switch! That may have happened on your car.

Yes, as GG said. It'll be the wire broken at the HDC switch, which is common and not detectable by a code read.