S

Sivakumar

New Member
Hi everyone,

I’m experiencing a significant battery drain issue with my Freelander 2 (2008 TD4 model). I’ve had both the battery and alternator checked by two different mechanics, and they’ve confirmed that both are in good working condition.
However, if I leave the car unused for just a day, the battery becomes so weak that it won’t start without a jump. The vehicle usually responds to the key fob and the dashboard lights up, but today it didn’t respond at all—I had to unlock it manually and jump start it to get it running.
I've also noticed that the alarm occasionally goes off without any apparent reason, and at times, I receive a “bonnet unlocked” warning while driving, even though the bonnet is securely closed.
I’m unsure where to begin diagnosing this issue. If anyone has encountered something similar or could offer some guidance, I’d greatly appreciate your help.
Thank you in advance!
 
How old is the battery? Is it the correct type? How was it tested? If the battery is more than 3 years old, replace it with the correct type before moving on to more in depth investigations. If the battery is less than 3 years but isn't the correct type, replace it.
These vehicles have a very high battery draw, which will quickly flatten a battery that is below specification.

The bonnet unlocked warning will be the sensor on the latch. Most people simply put a paper clip in the plug to link it out.
 
Nodge68 said:
How old is the battery? Is it the correct type? How was it tested? If the battery is more than 3 years old, replace it with the correct type before moving on to more in depth investigations. If the battery is less than 3 years but isn't the correct type, replace it.
These vehicles have a very high battery draw, which will quickly flatten a battery that is below specification.

The bonnet unlocked warning will be the sensor on the latch. Most people simply put a paper clip in the plug to link it out.
Click to expand...
Hi Nodge,
Thank you very much for your reply.
I got the Freelander from someone about a month ago, and he mentioned that the battery is approximately a year old. It's a Bosch battery, though I'm not certain about the specific type.
Could you please let me know the correct type of battery for a 2008 Freelander 2 TD4?
And also should I Try and unplug the fuse of the radio to rule out the radio being on after car goes to sleep ?
Thanks in advance !
 
Sivakumar said:
Hi Nodge,
Thank you very much for your reply.
I got the Freelander from someone about a month ago, and he mentioned that the battery is approximately a year old. It's a Bosch battery, though I'm not certain about the specific type.
Could you please let me know the correct type of battery for a 2008 Freelander 2 TD4?
And also should I Try and unplug the fuse of the radio to rule out the radio being on after car goes to sleep ?
Thanks in advance !
Click to expand...
A lot of places recommend an 096 battery, but that's only relevant if the genuine LR battery is being fitted. The LR 096 was more powerful than the standard 096 size listed by battery manufacturers.
For aftermarket batteries, a 110 is closer to the original LR battery in specification, so that's the one to fit. It's slightly larger than a factory battery, but still fits in the tray, and has the correct energy capacity for this vehicle.

As for power drain, the bluetooth module has been known to cause battery drain, but nothing like flattening a full capacity battery over night.
The rear wiper motor has been known to draw power if it hasn't parked properly, sometimes burning out, and sometimes starting a fire. So make sure the rear wiper is doing a full sweep, and stops with a little bit of upwards movement.

Also when locking the car, press the lock button twice. This applies the dead locks, but also forces the computers to shut down in 12 minutes, rather the 25 minutes of a single lock button press.
 
Typically the battery reccommended for the TD4 is a 60AH type 027.
The Boch variant (Bosch S4005 Battery) fits that criteria.

So 60AH.
This means you can draw 1 amp for 60 hours although the battery will be 'flat' after 40 hours.
You'd need to draw around 3Amps (constantly) to flatten the battery overnight.

A radio wouldn't draw more that 0.5A so with the radio on it should last about 60 to 80 hours before the battery went flat.

It's possible that the battery itself is not holding charge.
You can check this by disconnecting the battery and measuring the voltage and again measuring before you reconnect it.
A low cost Digital volt meter should also have the ability to measure Amps and so you can check to see if there is current being drawn between the + cable and the + post on the battery (ie with the meter in series).
It may not be getting charged correctly, but if the alternator has been checked it may likely not to be the case.

I have a battery tester but you may not be anywhere near me (you haven;t said).
 
Last edited:
Nodge68 said:
A lot of places recommend an 096 battery, but that's only relevant if the genuine LR battery is being fitted. The LR 096 was more powerful than the standard 096 size listed by battery manufacturers.
For aftermarket batteries, a 110 is closer to the original LR battery in specification, so that's the one to fit. It's slightly larger than a factory battery, but still fits in the tray, and has the correct energy capacity for this vehicle.

As for power drain, the bluetooth module has been known to cause battery drain, but nothing like flattening a full capacity battery over night.
The rear wiper motor has been known to draw power if it hasn't parked properly, sometimes burning out, and sometimes starting a fire. So make sure the rear wiper is doing a full sweep, and stops with a little bit of upwards movement.

Also when locking the car, press the lock button twice. This applies the dead locks, but also forces the computers to shut down in 12 minutes, rather the 25 minutes of a single lock button press.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your response, Nodge.

I had a look at the battery — it’s a Bosch S5 010, which I believe is the correct type for the Freelander 2. I also noticed a date label marked “1108,” which I assume indicates it was manufactured in November 2008. If that’s the case, it seems to be quite an old battery, although I might be mistaken.

Please excuse me — I’m quite new to the mechanical side of cars but very eager to learn. Just to add, my Freelander doesn’t have Bluetooth, only the basic radio. I always make sure to double-lock the car, and the rear wiper is properly parked.

Given all that, would it be fair to suspect the battery might be the issue here?
 
miktdish said:
Typically the battery reccommended for the TD4 is a 60AH type 027.
The Boch variant (Bosch S4005 Battery) fits that criteria.

So 60AH.
This means you can draw 1 amp for 60 hours although the battery will be 'flat' after 40 hours.
You'd need to draw around 3Amps (constantly) to flatten the battery overnight.

A radio wouldn't draw more that 0.5A so with the radio on it should last about 60 to 80 hours before the battery went flat.

It's possible that the battery itself is not holding charge.
You can check this by disconnecting the battery and measuring the voltage and again measuring before you reconnect it.
A low cost Digital volt meter should also have the ability to measure Amps and so you can check to see if there is current being drawn between the + cable and the + post on the battery (ie with the meter in series).
It may not be getting charged correctly, but if the alternator has been checked it may likely not to be the case.

I have a battery tester but you may not be anywhere near me (you haven;t said).
Click to expand...
Thank you for your reply, Miktdish.
I’m not entirely sure if I’m interpreting it correctly, but as I mentioned in my previous message to Nodge, the sticker on the top of the battery reads “1108.” I’m assuming that means it was manufactured in November 2008?

If that’s the case, would the battery still be considered usable, or is it likely that it’s no longer functional? Sorry I am newbie to the mechanical thing but I want to fix my car as much as possible by myself and appreciate all the guidance I get 😊 and I live in south Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 don’t know how far it is from you.
 
Sivakumar said:
I had a look at the battery — it’s a Bosch S5 010, which I believe is the correct type for the Freelander 2. <snip>
Click to expand...

Thats an 85Ah battery so should tast almost twice as long as my previous estimate.

Sivakumar said:
Given all that, would it be fair to suspect the battery might be the issue here?
Click to expand...

I would think that is the case ...
Measure the voltage, Disconnect and measure the voltage again.
Wait over night or 24 hours, measure the voltage and re-connect and measure the voltage again.

You want to see 12.4V (or more) at each stage.
If it drops to 12V or even below that (say11.7V) whilst disconnected then the battery is faulty.

I'm not sure if the lable means it was new in 2008, if that is the case i think it would be fair to say it's seen better days.
I am in Scotland - put your mouse on my Avatar and it tells you about me (cos i've filled it in on my profile) - bit far to come.

 
Last edited:
Sivakumar said:
Thank you for your response, Nodge.

I had a look at the battery — it’s a Bosch S5 010, which I believe is the correct type for the Freelander 2. I also noticed a date label marked “1108,” which I assume indicates it was manufactured in November 2008. If that’s the case, it seems to be quite an old battery, although I might be mistaken.

Please excuse me — I’m quite new to the mechanical side of cars but very eager to learn. Just to add, my Freelander doesn’t have Bluetooth, only the basic radio. I always make sure to double-lock the car, and the rear wiper is properly parked.

Given all that, would it be fair to suspect the battery might be the issue here?
Click to expand...
The factory LR battery was LR branded, so wouldn't as a rule have Bosch labels.
The Bosch S5 wasn't in production in 2008, so it's not original, and the date code confirms it's a replacement, 1108 means 2011, week 08. So the battery is 14 years old, and would be well overdue replacement.
 
miktdish said:
Typically the battery reccommended for the TD4 is a 60AH type 027.
The Boch variant (Bosch S4005 Battery) fits that criteria.

So 60AH.
This means you can draw 1 amp for 60 hours although the battery will be 'flat' after 40 hours.
You'd need to draw around 3Amps (constantly) to flatten the battery overnight.

A radio wouldn't draw more that 0.5A so with the radio on it should last about 60 to 80 hours before the battery went flat.

It's possible that the battery itself is not holding charge.
You can check this by disconnecting the battery and measuring the voltage and again measuring before you reconnect it.
A low cost Digital volt meter should also have the ability to measure Amps and so you can check to see if there is current being drawn between the + cable and the + post on the battery (ie with the meter in series).
It may not be getting charged correctly, but if the alternator has been checked it may likely not to be the case.

I have a battery tester but you may not be anywhere near me (you haven;t said).
Click to expand...
A Freelander 2 wouldn't function correctly with a 60Ah battery, the factory specification is for an 85Ah battery, with a CCA performance of 800 A or more. The starter is rated at 2.2kW, so needs a beefy battery to crank the engine over at an acceptable speed.
 
The battery date is stamped on the negative post in the format described by Nodge.
If the above advice does not help, you could try removing one relay at a time to rule out each circuit.
It can be time consuming but effective. As an aside have you confirmed that the bonnet is actually latching and the car is not failing to shut down ? Try that paper clip trick.
 
Thank you all for your responses — I really appreciate the help. Apologies for the delayed reply; I’ve been a bit tied up with work.

I plan to check the battery voltage as @miktdish suggested. I've been consistently experiencing issues with not having enough power to start the engine. On weekdays, I usually leave for work at 7 AM, drive about 35 miles (one way), and return home around 5 PM. The next morning, the car typically starts — though with a slightly sluggish crank like someone going to office on a Monday morning after a nice holiday. I also noticed that with jump starter attached the ignition is very very quick and happy. However, if I don't drive it over the weekend, it often won’t start the next day. The engine powers on, but it won’t crank unless I jump-start it.

What’s puzzling is that for the past week, even with the same weekday routine, there have been a couple of instances where the car still wouldn’t start. It seems the battery drain is inconsistent — some days worse than others. Strangely, I’ve also noticed that each time the car fails to start and I jump-start it, the trip meter resets.

Regarding the bonnet, it appears to be locking properly. I haven’t seen the bonnet warning message for several weeks now, @Shedload. One question: is it safe to insert a paperclip into the bonnet sensor switch and lock the car with the bonnet open in order to disconnect the battery? Apologies if that’s a basic question — I’m still learning my way around these things.

​

 
the trip (and various other volatile systems may reset during a low voltage event, depending how brief and how low - some systems may be more tolerant than others
the disconnect procedure should be in the handbook, there maybe a sticker on the slam panel
 
Regarding the bonnet, it appears to be locking properly. I haven’t seen the bonnet warning message for several weeks now, @Shedload. One question: is it safe to insert a paperclip into the bonnet sensor switch and lock the car with the bonnet open in order to disconnect the battery? Apologies if that’s a basic question — I’m still learning my way around these things.

You can latch the bonnet by forcing the latch closed with a screwdriver, just don't forget and slam the bonnet !
It is easy enough to disconnect, the switch is on the LHS as you look from front, if memory serves me correct.
It is a simple two pin connector with a side tab to press and pull away. It is an earthing circuit so no danger of sparks.
If you plan to leave it detached it would be wise to tape it up so it does not get caught anywhere.
I use a short piece of household earth cable, it is a nice fit and insulated, but paperclip does same job.
 
The "approximately a year old" comment from the seller probably means someone cleaned the battery to make it look newer !!

+1 do the simple overnight voltage check above with the battery disconnected. Also getting Halfords to check its capacity for you can be worthwhile..
 
Get yourself a DC Clamp meter and test the current draw at the battery, they are very useful tools to have anyway.
Something like this one should be OK
Be wary of using a standard multimeter as the current draw when connecting the battery could blow the fuse. Clamp meters are not very accurate but should give you an idea of what's going on. If you don't get this one be sure the one you get can read DC current in the mA range as many can't.
Also be wary that the current when the car is first turned off is usually quite high and takes several minutes to settle.
At a guess it should be around 100mA but maybe another FL2 owner could advise.
 
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