P38 Dashboard Disaster

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Christopher Searle

Member
Posts
10
Location
Solihull
This is my first post here so be gentle....my 1999 4.6 was unused whilst I was away on holiday and needed jumping when I got back. So far, so good..... but.... now the dash is DEAD. Not only that but the Heater Controls have lost illumination. I've checked the fuses and all is fine plus the battery has good charge. Any clues?!
 
wammers said:
Look at fuse 1 BECM and fuses 35 and 42 engine bay fuse box. Hope you did not jump it straight to battery.
Click to expand...
Wammers, Why is that? I've jumped mine straight to the battery before?? No issues that I've noticed.
I'm not for one minute saying you're wrong, that would be almost impossible, I'm just curious as to why not jump straight to the battery and where it should be jumped.
 
If I'm jump starting a car, I put the negative lead from the good battery to a good earth point on the dead car, then positive to positive. Ignition on dead car should be off until connection is made and leads connected to good battery first

Col
 
Should always do the earth away from the battery on the dead car last. If the earth is already connected and you then connect to the positive battery terminal, there will be a spark where there is a possibility of hydrogen gas. Hence the reason for connecting the last point well away from the battery.
To coin SaintV8's phrase, "Ask me how I know!!!!"
 
Wazzajnr said:
Should always do the earth away from the battery on the dead car last. If the earth is already connected and you then connect to the positive battery terminal, there will be a spark where there is a possibility of hydrogen gas. Hence the reason for connecting the last point well away from the battery.
To coin SaintV8's phrase, "Ask me how I know!!!!"
Click to expand...

If you are charging a battery you should always turn the charger off before connecting or disconnecting to avoid sparks. On a battery that is being charged the bubbles coming from the electrolyte are Hydrogen gas. And yes they do go bang. On the petrol P38 the negative should not be connected to the battery but to a suitable earth point away from it. Diesels can be connected direct to battery. When disconnecting a battery negative should always be disconnected first and connected last when refitting battery. ;);)
 
Irrespective of what order you use, the last connection on, and the first connection off should always be away from either battery. That by default in almost all cases makes it the earth.
When using a charger, yes, it should be switched off but even this doesn't rule out the possibilities of a spark. My normal practise here is a vigourous wafting of a newspaper across the top of the battery before and during connection.
Believe me, when you've had a traction battery on a fork truck go up in your face and sulphuric acid all over your chest, you take every precaution possible!! Luckily I had eye protection on and managed to instinctively get my face out of the way in time.
 
Pete The Biker said:
Wammers - just out of curiosity, why the different guidance for petrol vs diesel?

Pete
Click to expand...
Ask Land rover that is what they recommend. I would think something to do with not frying ECUs.

From RAVE.

CONNECTING THE BOOSTER CABLES
PETROL ENGINES
Always adopt the following procedure:
Connect the RED booster cable between the
positive (+) terminal of the donor battery and
the positive (+) terminal of the discharged
battery.

Connect the BLACK booster cable from the
negative (-) terminal of the donor battery to a
good earth point (eg. an engine mounting or
other unpainted surface) at least 0.5 m from
the battery and well away from fuel and brake
lines on the disabled vehicle (engine lifting
ring shown in illustration).

WARNING
For safety reasons;
• DO NOT connect the BLACK cable to the
negative terminal of the discharged
battery - if in doubt, seek qualified
assistance.

Check that the booster cables are clear of any
moving parts in either engine, then start the
engine of the donor vehicle and allow it to idle
for a few minutes.

Now start the vehicle with the discharged
battery. Once both engines are running
normally, allow them to idle for two minutes
before switching off the engine of the donor
vehicle.

DO NOT switch on any electrical circuits on
the previously disabled vehicle until AFTER the
booster cables have been removed.

Disconnecting the booster cables must be an
EXACT reversal of the procedure used to
connect them, ie: disconnect the BLACK cable
from the earth point on the disabled vehicle
FIRST.
 
It's so shouting bad earth at me!!! Look everywhere. Get a few lengths of decent (2.5mm2 or above) cable and a handful of croc clips and take a few earth points from the battery neg to various parts of the engine/chassis/body and see what gives.
I'll bet a beer or 4 that it's an earth somewhere.

Edit, This was for another post sorry. That said, it could be a bad earth in your case too?!?!
 
Wazzajnr said:
It's so shouting bad earth at me!!! Look everywhere. Get a few lengths of decent (2.5mm2 or above) cable and a handful of croc clips and take a few earth points from the battery neg to various parts of the engine/chassis/body and see what gives.
I'll bet a beer or 4 that it's an earth somewhere.

Edit, This was for another post sorry. That said, it could be a bad earth in your case too?!?!
Click to expand...
I hope so!!!!
 
Pete The Biker said:
Thanks Wammers.

Or maybe the two RAVE entries were simply written by different people with different views? o_O

Pete
Click to expand...

Why would they write up and print two separate sets of instructions? When if what you say is correct one instruction could be used to cover both models. ;);)
 
Christopher Searle said:
This is my first post here so be gentle....my 1999 4.6 was unused whilst I was away on holiday and needed jumping when I got back. So far, so good..... but.... now the dash is DEAD. Not only that but the Heater Controls have lost illumination. I've checked the fuses and all is fine plus the battery has good charge. Any clues?!
Click to expand...

You haven't knocked the dimmer over on the stalk?
 
This is shouting Becm. You may of fried it. Is the SRS light on?

Jumping a dead battery on the vehicle should never be attempted. Always disconnect battery from the vehicle. Fingers crossed it is just a fuse.
 
Rick-the-Pick said:
This is shouting Becm. You may of fried it. Is the SRS light on?

Jumping a dead battery on the vehicle should never be attempted. Always disconnect battery from the vehicle. Fingers crossed it is just a fuse.
Click to expand...
Wasn't me that did it, not that it helps.... fuses all look OK so I'm thinking it could be the becm.... Everything else seems to be working fine though!!!
 
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