Help! Warning lights and Rover going crazy

[drewman75]

Hey guys, I am at a loss here and I am hoping someone has experienced this or might be able to put my mind at ease. As everyone knows I assume, we got a lot of snow here on the east coast. I didnt take out my '06 Rover until roads were plowed but there is still some residual left over that I guess could kick up on the underside. Anyway, ran to the store and on my way home, my Rover started going crazy. The brake light on the dash under the temp gauge illuminated and stayed that way. The suspension light and the dynamic stability control lights in indicator panel both came on and stayed on. And I was getting transmission fault, HDC fault, and suspension lowered messages in the message center. Also getting messages telling me that cruise control cannot be used even though I am not attempting to use it. I stopped the car, turned it off, waited a few minutes and restarted. Still there. Let it sit a bit and restarted. Same thing. With all these messages, I am hoping that some sensor is going crazy. Possible? Or is there something terrible that could be causing all these. I am a little freaked out at this point. I have searched the forum and seen folks with a light going on here and there due to cold weather, but didn't notice any that had so many at once. Any ideas? Thanks so much.

 

[Rix92x]

Sorry to hear your having some scares with your truck. I am by far no automotive expert, however, I would bet your battery is low and not charging and that is setting off all the faults. I went through this earlier this year about a week after an offroading excursion. I was worried, mad, and paniced at the thought my new toy was broken already.
Turned out the Alternator was dying, which was not charging the battery, which in turn threw most of the faults on the LR3 until I was limping home in the dark with not electronics at 11:30 at night. Have the dealership/service center check it out. Might seem its the cold and a low battery that is the culprit.

Good luck and no worries

 

[txAlfa]

I had a very similar problem a couple of months ago. I am in South Texas, though, and this happened without any significant changes in the weather, so it may be that the extreme weather you had is a coincidence (or not).

It ended up being a faulty brake switch for me. You didn't mention whether you noticed any difference in the way your rover was driving; when my dashboard lit up, there was no noticeable difference in performance, handling or sound. If you do notice any differences in the way yours is driving, I would recommend to stop driving immediately and have it checked out.

 

[BazLR3]

I am glad to hear about these experiences, especially with a relatively happy ending. Being a first time LR owner, we have learned to expect the worse. I am now having more confidence, knock on wood, that the cars are no worse than any other and miles better than many others in most aspects.

 

[Rix92x]

My friend has an 06 RRS that now has about 85-90k on it. He drives 50-100 miles a day at times. he has has the truck nearly 4 years now with no major mechanical issues whatsoever. Outside of tires, brakes and service it has been great. That was the point that sold me on getting our 08 LR3 HSE. I had many reservations about upgrading to a truck that can be expensive to maintain...after seeing how well his has been, I was sold!

 

[Mhaise57]

I think the extreme temps associated with your blizzard could be the culprit. The extreme cold can suck the life right out of your aging battery.

 

[drewman75]

Hi all,
Thanks for the replies. Much appreciated. So I let it sit in the garage overnight hoping maybe it was just a sensor or something that got some ice or snow on/in it and that overnight it would thaw away. Unfortunately no luck. Same thing when I started up this morn. Wierd thing is, because of the faults, it is lowering the suspension and keeping it lowered. So the dealer told me not to drive it and I had to contact Land Rover roadside to come tow it. So I am waiting for the tow. Dealer said it could be anything from battery, to suspension to maybe and electrical issue. I'll let everyone know how it turns out. What a bummer to have this happen right before the holiday. Hopefully its something easy and I'll have it back in time.

 

[drewman75]

I had a very similar problem a couple of months ago. I am in South Texas, though, and this happened without any significant changes in the weather, so it may be that the extreme weather you had is a coincidence (or not).

It ended up being a faulty brake switch for me. You didn't mention whether you noticed any difference in the way your rover was driving; when my dashboard lit up, there was no noticeable difference in performance, handling or sound. If you do notice any differences in the way yours is driving, I would recommend to stop driving immediately and have it checked out.

Spot on! Just got word from the dealer and it is indeed a faulty brake switch. Crazy how something like that can light up the dash warnings. I'm very relieved it wasn't a major suspension issue. Thanks so much to everyone for the responses. Quick question though. I am not well schooled in these things. Was it probably merely a coincidence this happened in concert with the big snow? Or is there something I could have done to cause it? Like my understanding is that it is directly above the pedal a bit. So I assume it is protected from the elements outside. Could I have possibly kicked some snow from my shoe up there or could the chop from leftover street ice maybe knocked something loose? Just seems so odd so far as the timing.

 

[Mr.BigsLR3]

Awe man...now you did it.

All kidding aside. Sorry to hear. Good luck.

 

[Rix92x]

You could try laying a thick blanket across the center console of the truck to keep it warm at night

............or not.