I was driving on the highway today and hit an unexpected and unseen pothole. Immediately after hitting it, the engine stumbled as if losing all power for a second and then came back as if nothing had happened. I continued on my way, but paying attention to how it was running. Aside from smelling a little rich when accelerating, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
When i went to start her back up, I had a CEL. Pulling the codes I was greeted with more codes than I thought could be possible.
P0102
P0135
P0139
P0141
P0154
P0155
P0159
P0161
P0340
P0414
P0445
P0448
P1451
P1482
P1884
I am thinking the pothole jarred something lose just long enough to fry most of the computer, but kept it alive enough to keep it running in "limp home mode"
Maybe it's the computer but I'd start by looking for loose connections.
DocRob
Reader
4/26/23 8:59 p.m.
Start by unplugging and plugging back in the ECU. I'm serious. My mom had a Disco for awhile. She came home complaining it was running weird. Similarly it spit out about a thousand codes. Unplugged the ecu and plugging it back in solved it. IIRC pretty common for the Disco II to have connection issues. Land Rover didn't use the most robust wiring harnesses and connectors.
My preferred solution to Discovery problems is to jack up the radiator cap and park a Series Rover underneath it, if at all possible. Only semi-serious, the Disco II is a really awesome truck. The drive so nice and are so capable. Alas, a vehicle ruined by British build quality. If someone ever manages to really make an LS swap a plug and play deal, they'll have something.
That is a shocking amount of codes. Pretty sure a flood car, while still in the flood, couldn't touch that number.
loose connection makes a lot sense. Hope it's something simple
+1 on re-plugging the ECU, would recommend doing it with the battery disconnected. Also make sure you clean and then lube the pins with dielectric grease while you're in there. For something that important I'd pony up for the good stuff rather than using vaseline.
Double check all engine harness grounds, or engine to chassis grounds.
I would not start disconnecting and reconnecting things willy-nilly, as automotive connectors are rated for a shockingly low number of connection cycles. You can create new problems in the process.
I mean, if it is a known fault to have connection issues at the ECM, I'd throw some Stabilant on the terminals to fix the problem.
It was easier than that. If you remember, years ago I had that A-H replace the engine in my Disco. He mangled the covers over the harness on the right side of the engine bay. Well, yesterday when i hit that bump at speed, I must have jogged the O2 sensor harness loose and one of the wires welded itself to the exhaust manifold. This blew Fuse f2 which is one of the two fuses that powers the engine management system.
After spotting it, cutting, soldering, and tying it way up out of the way, everything is working as normally again! All it cost me was a couple of 15a fuses, some solder, shrinkwrap tubing, and two zipties. I barely even got dirty.