I had a half hour to kill and decided to run the Disco down to the creek yesterday. Started and reversed fine. Put it in drive and the “M & S” (Manual and Sport) lights started blinking on the dash, as well as the “D” both on the dash and the gear selector.
Quick google search says to check voltage (which I’ll do when I have time to kill) Battery is less than 6 months old, but it does sit for a week or two at a time, and rarely is driven more than 10 minutes at a time.
The WEIRD thing is, it felt like it was stuck in 1st gear. Internet says limp-mode places it in third and leaves it there.
Barring something chicken E36 M3 like weak charge on the battery and/or corrosion on leads, sounds like the “XYZ” switch(?) (controls gear selection?) is a known issue...as well as a handful of other weird things.
Thoughts from the hive on where to start ASSuming voltage is good? I don’t *think* it threw a CEL, but will check tonight if possible.
This is a tangent, but a truck like yours is an ideal candidate for a solar battery tender sitting on the dash. Just leave it there 24/7 and you’ll never have a flat battery. You can even toss some Velcro on there if you want to keep it in place during more energetic excursions.
In reply to dculberson :
Damn. Good call. Thank you!
Wife drove it a couple days ago. Apparently we have an army of british gnomes living in the woods who fix discos when we aren’t looking.
If you can get the Disco faithful to believe in your Gnomes you could start a cult, or a repair shop.
wae
SuperDork
11/7/18 2:26 p.m.
Do they have any German cousins?
It probably realizes stranding you on your own property isn’t worth the effort. Try taking it grocery shopping.
Thank you for the reality check. Every time I have the slightest glimmer of desire for a British vehicle some one (you) posts something like this and brings me back to my senses. I have enough trouble with my old Mercedes.
yup.. low voltage. The trans locks in 3rd because the computer goes into limp mode. charge the battery and all is fine. If truck sits for a week, it will slowly drain to below 12 volts. That is the magic number, the disco will still start, but the voltage is too low to boot the computer that controls the transmission, so it stays locked in 3rd. Just drive it more or put a solar trickle charger on it. Remember though, the cigarette lighter is controlled by the ignition, so you can't plug it in there.
I don’t know if anyone here follows Hoovies Garage but he decided that burying his Land Rover was a good idea.
Storz
SuperDork
11/8/18 8:54 a.m.
I believe that is referred to as "the three amigos" in Land Rover lingo. Luckily my D2 never threw em, but I think I remember it being something to do with brake pads, and erratic vibrations. My Land Rover memories are foggy at this point
The three amigos is not hard to fix either. Usually the problem is front brake ABS sensors. Very easily replaced even if you need to cut and solder in a small part of the loom.
It also helps to exercise the system on occasion. I usually work the hill decent feature once a week in the parking garage at work. I know that by using low everytime I go up, I have really freed up the mechanism. It used to be very stiff and hard to work, now it moves more freely.
