Running out of ideas

Hi everyone,

I have a freelander 2 hse auto td4, 2007 and has done 198000. We have been having problems for the past 3 weeks and have run out of ideas. We had issues in the past where it would start but then cut out 10 yards down the road, a quick lock/unlock and would start again with no problems. The other day it started, cut out and refused to start again. We took it to our local garage who run diagnostics and said it was the Camshaft sensor which was replaced, it still wouldn’t start so they replaced another sensor, sensor and still no luck. Further inspection showed that the throttle body had got stuck so a new one was replaced and it was all fine. When we went to collect the car after the weekend we were told that it was starting and then cutting out. Garage thinks it’s Immobiliser but can’t be convinced and got annoyed when we said we only had one key for it. Car was bought second hand and we only received one. Vehicle has been at the garage for 3 weeks now and they’ve finally said they’re giving up on it. I have mentioned to him time and time again that could it be the fuel pump or filter but he assured me that enough fuel is getting to the engine. Is there anything else that It could be before we either have to send it to the garage in the sky which would be so upsetting or far worse have to take it to land rover directly? Thanks in advance.

Have they not put diagnostics on it when it stops? Otherwise they’re stabbing in the dark !

I would take it to a different garage, those muppets don't seem to have much of a clue about what they are doing.

What's that about muppets???

I'd want to know what the diagnostic output is! It might not tell you the exact issue but should give you a good idea!

I'd have thought that after 3 weeks a competent garage would have at least some idea of whats wrong. After changing the camshaft sensor have they done further diagnostics? What do they say?

I think the lock / unlock and it works is the clue !
Also, hope you haven't paid for camshaft sensors as they only get used on start up, they won't cut the engine to the very best of my knowledge.
A Land Rover specific diagnostic test will give the problem - what part of the immobiliser is playing up. You don't have to pay LR prices, get the diagnostics done and take it to a competent indy garage.

You need to get a proper diagnosis, using a suitable code reader, at a garage that knows what they're doing.

Rk79 said:

Garage thinks it’s Immobiliser but can’t be convinced and got annoyed when we said we only had one key for it.

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I've come across this before with garages. Cars are supplied with 2 keys for a reason.

Rk79 said:

Car was bought second hand and we only received one.

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For future reference. It's not a good idea to buy a car without both keys present. It doesn't take much for a dodgy seller to sell you the car, go to your address that you wrote on the V5, then simply drive it away with the other key. Even if the seller is honest and has genuinely lost one key, it'll cost you a few hundred ££ to get a replacement, and even more if you loose your only key, or the key goes wrong.

Pity you are so far away, as if you were nearer I'd plug it into one of my diagnostics tools for you, and if the FL2 is getting scrapped I'd have had it off you in a heartbeat - meh. My gut is 99% certain its an immobiliser issue, but I'm not going to speculate more than that without being able to interrogate the ECU's to see what they have to say for themselves.

I would say 99.9% immobiliser issue the fact you can start it after a lock unlock is a fairly good give away and that should have been the immediate diagnosis from the investigating garage, join the RAC and get them to diagnose it on a call out I think You can join and get them to a break down straight away.

Hey, to me it sounds like you have a fuelling problem and not an immobiliser issue.

As a mechanic I can tell you most cars read the key prior to starting the engine don’t read it again until the ignition is cycled off again, I.e once the immobiliser is disarmed it stays that way until the ignitions off again. In my experience defective keys etc usually prevent it starting full stop not cut out after.

The cutting out is the clue I think. It’s a diesel so it needs compression and fuel to run. It uses the cam sensor to setup injection timing whilst cranking at startup because the computer doesn’t know which piston is at which part of the combustion cycle.

From startup onward it uses the crank sensor to fire the injectors just as a patrol does to fire the spark plug.

If any sensors that are needed for startup are defective then it won’t try to inject fuel or start. If your getting smoke when it’s cranking then it’s trying to start. No smoke means no fuel delivery.

One really bad injector returning buckets of fuel will stop it starting. Leak off test will show how each of the injectors are performing compared to each other.

It cutting out could be many things but live data is the key there. Fuel pressure regulator could be the issue. Need to see rail pressure at point when it cuts out to eliminate fuel delivery.

Rossco