I've got the Three Amigos, code reader reads nothing!

[fez001]

Hey guys, I recently bought at 2002 Disco2 with 116k. Everything is fully operational but i've got the three amigo warning lights on. I plugged a code reader in and it gave me no codes. The ABS is currently not working and i am not sure about traction control or hill descent (i live in a flat place!). I've pulled the appropriate fuses and checked their connections, all is good.

I assume that the ABS modulator is out which would cause the TC and HD light to follow in its' failure? But wouldn't a code reader give me a code for that?

I'd like to fix this myself, however, i don't want to spend unnecessary dollars fixing things that aren't broke!

Any help is much appreciated!

 

[Disco Mike]

Never assume anything when it comes to your Rover. There are 16 different reason for the lights to stay on, so don't start throwing parts at it till you get the codes read with a 3 Amigo Scanner, a regular scanner will only show the 1590 code and not go any further.

 

[dougwrench55]

Mike, you need a reader that can pull ABS faults. Basic readers only read OBD2 faults in ECM.

 

[alzerom]

Go and get the wheels washed. On the inside of the wheels are some sensors that can cause the 3 amigos. Just power wash the backside the wheels. Cheapest $25 you can spend. Search the archives and read that several members have had the 3 amigos clear up with a simple wash. Take the time to learn WHY... Go slow and don't damage anything with excessive pressure. -david.

 

[Bostonian]

I have an LR3 and stumbled on this thread. I'm glad I don't have the 3 amigos - it sounds nasty and very catchy. I'll take my missing fuel cap error message any day over that one.

 

[Disco Mike]

Go and get the wheels washed. On the inside of the wheels are some sensors that can cause the 3 amigos. Just power wash the backside the wheels. Cheapest $25 you can spend. Search the archives and read that several members have had the 3 amigos clear up with a simple wash. Take the time to learn WHY... Go slow and don't damage anything with excessive pressure. -david.

The 3 amigos, if set as a hard fault code where the lights are always on, will not clear by washing your brake dust covered wheels. If the light only comes on once in a while and you have dirty wheels, that is an indicator of brad/cheap brake pads causing the dust that distorts the signal to the computer. If that is the case, start there, but realize, there are 16 reasons for the codes to be set and dust is only one of them.

 

[alzerom]

Disco Mike - you are as always, correct. I don't drive my Rover much but I just drove from Raleigh NC to Indianapolis and back. First thing I got was 3 Amigos... But it rained all the way up and back and when the 3 amigos would appear I would pull over and restart... and by the time I returned to Raleigh I guesstimate that all that water cleaned off the underside so now... Zero Amigos... You are correct that intermittent Amigos are the dirty wheels. I tried it myself! Another forum member mentioned I need to drive it more. I'm working on that...

 

[Disco Mike]

If the truck sits for weeks, rust builds up on the rotors which will cause a squeak which will throw the 3 amigos, just as brake dust.

 

[Patrick52]

I had this on my 2002 Disco about 3 years ago. Kept getting the lights intermittently. Took it to two Rover dealerships and they could never duplicate it. After it was out of the manufacturers warranty(fortunately I had bought an extended warranty) the problem happened again. I took it to an independent garage and they found that the one of the prongs on the male portion of the ABS plug in was broken. The found it in about 10 minutes. When I would go over a bump the lights would go on and then reset when I shut the engine down. Had to replace the entire ABS module ($1800). Covered by the warranty. Found out later this was not uncommon. Rover would not return phone calls. This may not be your problem but it is easy to check.

 

[Disco Mike]

Good thing you had a warranty.
I all reality, you could have rebuilt the module for around $125.