Hello,
I am a new member with a problem that I hope you will be able to help me with.

Firstly, I have spent ages trawling forums to help me fix this problem and whilst there are many that actually give lots of advice and things to try, there is not one that is so descriptive that I am able to know exactly what may be causing the issue. So, i hope to put as much info on here as possible to not only help me get it fixed but create a flow chart of info so that anyone else with the same issue can narrow down quite quickly what the problem is.

PLEASE tell me if I have missed a really obvious fix or that the answer exists elsewhere.

When I turn the key in the ignition to crank the engine, the M and S lights flash as well as the D with a line through it (also known as a B on some posts i think), the vehicle also beeps. It does not start.

The M and S lights have never come on when driving as with some people resulting in limp mode.

The gearbox had leaks 12 months ago which was fixed and new ATF installed.

The XYZ switch looks dry as a bone and cable is intact, it does not look like it is old and grubby to the point it will be faulty. (not to rule it out though)

The battery is 12 months old and I fully charged it twice, it has enough voltage.

The fuel pump works when you turn ignition on.

I do not hear the solenoid click for the starter, it does not seem to even get that far so not a starter motor problem.

I bought a cheap £20 ODB ODB II code reader from ebay (good or bad decision?) that shows no faults

The problem first occurred a few weeks ago outside my house where I went to drive it after leaving the car unlocked with the windows opened. It would not crank and the lights etc flashed. I locked and unlocked the car a few times, went back and forth and hey presto it just worked without really doing anything.

That day i went to get in after work and the same problem, I could not sort it and left the car at work. The next day i looked on the internet and tried a few things.

I charged the battery for 24 hours and it made no difference.

I took out the ECU thingy by the battery which was oily and greasy and cleaned it all up and put it back, no difference.

I found an article which said to open the bonnet but leave the doors closed, let it go to sleep (5 mins), I waited 10 mins, then disconnect the battery and connect the + and - terminals of the car together to drain the management system memory and then put back after 10 mins. This worked! I drove the car home - hooray!

2 days later, got in car and same thing...

I did all the above again and nothing, that is where it has been for two weeks now while I try to find out what is wrong.

After reading lots of posts, it seems to me that:

1. If it was XYZ switch then it would still start, so i can rule that out
2. Unlikely to be the starter/solenoid, which would not make the lights flash anyway
3. If it was the gear selector, it would just fail to start without the lights and beeping like when i forget it is in gear.


Could it be faulty ECU/CAN bus/ Syncing?

I have RAC and the next step is to get it towed to a garage but I would rather try and get to the bottom myself and fix if possible. Otherwise, I am near Uckfield in East Sussex so will probably take it to 4x4 Solutions at Maresfield and get them to look at it unless any other recommendations? (not Groombridge though)

If you have read this far then thank you, any help would be very much appreciated.

Cheers
Bruce

Have you tried starting it in N not D to see if the xyz switch is out of line /playing up .also unplug it and clean the plug with electric contact cleaner . check and clean the earth block on the inner wing just up from the battery and ecu

bonus999 said:

When I turn the key in the ignition to crank the engine, the M and S lights flash as well as the D with a line through it (also known as a B on some posts i think), the vehicle also beeps. It does not start.

Click to expand...

the gist of your problems is bolded...and analise it better , it's a crossed B not D... and for that there are enough threads, many of them explained by me... your car is immobilised due to:
1. faulty BCU 90% of cases
2. fault caused by water ingress in the interior fusebox(IDM) 9%
3. comunication link failure between BCU and IDM

unfortunately you can't rule them out only if you find something obvious otherwise you must swap them one by one to see where the fault is...the interior fusebox/idm mis plug anmd play you just have to let ignition on pos II for 5 minutes after the swap to regain comms with BCU, the BCU is more complicated cos it must be synk'd and set to work

no cheap code reader will help you with that whatsoever.... get it plugged in a nanocom or hawkeye or other dedicated tester and see if you can communicate with the BCU or not


by the way the central locking is working?, are you able to lock/unlock with fob?...if not try the EKA

similar/related things here:
1. http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f8/flashing-light-226476.html
2. http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f8/od...l-locking-not-going-anywhere-fast-232301.html

and so on , just search "crossed B" and you'll find lots of answers i dont want to repeat them

...for the beginning inspect the interior fusebox. concentrate on fuses F23, F29, F34 to not be blown and to be tight ...unplug it and check for corrosion, same at the BCU... IMO if everything is visually good you'll end up replaceing the BCU of IDM unfortunately...Good luck

Thank you both for your replies.

I have inspected the ground and it is fine, the ECU? by the battery was a little oily but the pins seem OK and I cleaned them up anyway.

The BCU and the aluminium box next to that? They are both fine, bone dry, no sign of corrosion or water, boards are ok, no de-lamination or burn outs.

The inner fuses are OK and again no signs of corrosion.

I put it all back and the same problem.

Incidentally, the central locking works fine with both keys, however, the windows do not work, not sure if that has any bearing?

There is a few BCU's on ebay for £75, is this worthwhile do you think?

Maybe its better to get it towed to a garage next week and leave it to the professionals...

the fact that the windows are not working are pointing to the BCU too... as you open the manual for windows operation the first thing you see is BCU(attached), corroborated with the crossed B and the other symptoms it seems very likely that there's the problem, though as you see the IDM is involved aswell, just that the IDM has no involvment in the starter motor's operation like the BCU... it can have internal failure even without water ingress... for BCU replacement you need somebody with tester who knows what he's doing

RAVE- BCU - operation said:

Immobilisation

For immobilisation, the BCU disables the starter motor relay. When the engine is cranking, the ECM looks for a coded
signal from the BCU. If the signal is not received within one second of cranking, the fuel supply to the engine is
stopped and the injectors are disabled. This also prevents unburnt fuel from entering the catalyst.
If the BCU is disconnected, the engine starter motor will remain isolated by the starter motor relay and the ECM will
remain immobilised. .

Click to expand...

Thank you Sierafery.

I have RAC and called them today, they did a few bits like test the starter and it ran for a few seconds and stopped, cranked again but did not start, as per your info. They had no real tester that was suitable, so will contact garage this week.

It looks like all roads point to the BCU, I will make sure garage has a tester.

Cheers

Mine is exactly the same (( hazards windows no codes showing with a snap on code reader it's been fine until I disconnected the battery to do a little welding and it was booked in for a mot in the morning (

griffo said:

Mine is exactly the same (( hazards windows no codes showing with a snap on code reader it's been fine until I disconnected the battery to do a little welding and it was booked in for a mot in the morning (

Click to expand...

Oh... I did some welding recently for an MOT too...

Just bought a second hand bcu all the electrics are working again now just got to get it reprogrammed Monday now and hopes it starts

it seems that was it then... you need to plug in a tester and synk' it with the engine ECU immobiliser(this is doable from engine ECU programming not BCU, in BCU you have to programm the handsets, and set it to your car's specs(manual/auto, diesel/petrol, air/coils, etc)... just disable odometer warning don't synk it with the instrument pack cos if there's higher mileage stored in this BCU you'll end up with it on the dash, also read EKA out of it and remember it well and eventually do that http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f8/recommendation-d2-owners-184078.html ...good luck

All sorted mine is 2nd bcu £60 and local wizz kid programmed it for £80 job done one happy bunny

update

I finally got the car to a garage and they have been busy but now looked at it. They say it is the BCU and if i get a replacement that the numbers have to exactly match all that are on the old BCU.
However, the people selling one say this is not the case and that the number has to match the chassis?

Anyway, mine is:

73000012A
YWC106350 /A0010
053/99 HAF701

and the one I am looking to buy is the same except the last line which is:

049/00 HAF701

I would be grateful for some comments.

Cheers

BTW, any comments wether this could be linked to recent welding as in griffo's post?

find other garage cos those guys are speaking B*ll*x, the sellers are right, it doesnt matter, especially if it's YWC106350, this is the only important but any D2 BCU would do it cos they are completely programmable(provided it's in working order)

..and yes, welding can ruin the BCU , or other ECUs too so the best is to unplug them all before welding

just to finish things off here, it was the BCU, the first replacement failed which caused me to run up some garage time, however, the company sent another which installed ok and everything is now fixed.

BCU cost £70,
2 1/2 hours hours garage time 147.50 + VAT

Now selling the Disco as getting a new vehicle.

Cheers for all your help with this, very much appreciated