Transmission fault, HDC, lowered suspension height -- resolved

[jdmd27]

Tree of death - hdc, transmission,etc fault - brake light switch

Does anyone have any suggestions for me? I have replaced my battery, brake light switch, & tail light bulbs. I'm still getting the laundry list of faults when I turn it on.. Lowered suspension, etc.. It's been this way for a month now, I finally just trick it into normal ride height right when I turn it on and pull the fuse to the suspension so it stays up for a few days. Some one please help!! Thanks guys, I really appreciate these forums

 

[bbyer]

Do you have the Nav screen?

The fact you know how to trick the system and stay up gives me confidence that you can find the problem with your air system.

You have done the simple stuff so that suggests the problem is with the air system wiring. If so, that is not so easy to find.

Incidentally, do not let all the red and yellow warning lights worry you. The 3 is somewhat of a hypochondriac, and tends to overstate the severity of the problem.

Does your 3 have a NAV with the 4x4 display readout? If so, that can be an aid in determining where to look for a wiring or air system problem.

Basically, you call up the display, find a quiet area with a maybe 6" high curb. You then one wheel at a time, mount the curb and than back off. Each time, you should see slight movement upward and then downward of the appropriate wheel.

To do this, you will have to have your air system powered on so that may be a problem I realize.

Anyway, if one or more of the wheels shows no movement, then there is perhaps a problem with either a wheel height sensor or the wiring to it.

The sensor thing is easy - just replace it; wiring, not so easy, however most wiring problems are in the first 6" from the connector to the wheel height sensor.

If you have oversize tyres, the rear of the front tyres can rub against an exposed portion of the wiring harness as it runs across the frame towards the wheel sensor. As such, turn the rears of the front tyres outwards, and look at the air line harness where it crosses the frame. When it has been cut, it is pretty obvious. When the problem is near the connector, you cannot really see it as the problem is corrosion of the conductors under the insulation.

 

[jdmd27]

No in-dash nav display - thanks bbyer, will follow up asap

bbyer - Thank you kindly for the response. Unfortunately no nav screen w/ bad ass 4x4 display. I will get under it and check all the wiring today. I do feel like there is something wonky going on with the wiring in my 3.. as I also randomly get the yellow Park Brake light warning from time to time.. which disappears once I turn the ignition off and then back on again. Anywho, will follow up asap. Thanks again!

 

[bbyer]

yellow park brake light

Your mention of the yellow park brake light brings to memory a recent problem and solution.

I started with the park brake light going on, then the antilock/antiskid lights came on to say I did not have those systems and then the air suspension wanted to drop in response to the "unsafe" situation.

Ultimately, the problem turned out to be a broken conductor related to the left rear wheel speed sensor.

The wire break was found to be in the left front wheel well behind the wheel well liner. This is a location that is prone to wire breakage so some reason.

The jpg attached shows the three connectors that wires feed into. Generally the breakage is on the wires off of one of the three lower connectors in the first three inches. The middle picture shows the wires off the middle connector in bad shape - something like that is what you would be looking for.

 

[jdmd27]

Brake light fault? Why did I let the dealership check it out..

Well I was up in arms and thought I'd get a diag from the Land Rover dealership.. It was previously working fine..cept the common brake light fault sequence of faults...now this:
They put it onto their rack, cleared some communication faults.. And now it doesn't start, nor do the windows work apparently.. Their comments below: Well they narrowed down the fault. You have water ingress coming in past the windshield cowling. The plastic cowling has a tendency to warp and allows water to run into the vehicle through the fresh air duct under it. The water then comes in through the HVAC which in return destroys the wiring and connectors. They found where the water had caused damage to a splice joint and several wires, they repaired the wires and some of the issues are now corrected. We still have a no start issue and the windows and locks are not working which has been traced to a faulty body control module which was affected by the damaged wires. Right now we have 5 hours of diagnosis at $550 which we are willing to absorb over half of that leaving $220 for diagnosis. Your portion would cover the initial one hour diagnosis at $110 and then an additional one hour for a total of $220. I will also give you a 10% discount off of that leaving diagnosis fee at $198+tax. We are willing to give this discount due to we don’t feel you were aware of the wiring issue and at the same time we had no idea we were getting into a damaged harness repair either.

Currently you need to replace the body control module:
parts&labor $883.00 - this is a special order part and would take 3-5 days to receive

you also need to replace the windshield cowl to stop the water entering the vehicle:
parts&labor $292.00 - we have this part in stock...

Wow, any thoughts, comments, concerns?

 

[Houm_WA]

You definitely need to get this issue resolved and I think they are "not full of crap" about what they found. It's a common failure mode. You should also ask them to put in a "valence" around the HVAC so that it doesn't happen again once the new cowling warps.

I would also press them to give you 10% off of everything or else you can tow it to an independent. Those jobs should not be difficult to accomplish.

 

[bbyer]

It is a high end vehicle.

Yes, I agree with Houm; the numbers do not sound pretty but they are realistic, as is the solution to the problem.

The real problem is regardless of some blue book used price, when it comes to repairing the 3, it is a high end machine and repairs cost accordingly.

I was thinking today my 3 is ten years old but still looks and runs good. It should as if I were to add up the maintenance costs - but as with my airplane, I do not.

My grandson has a ten year old Neon, and well, it is probably a tribute to him that it is still running. I must say that parts are readily available, as is the whole vehicle in the junk yard; hence repair costs tend to follow.

With the 3, relatively speaking, there are not that many in the junk yards yet and for those that are, the parts are in real demand.

 

[Houm_WA]

I like this quote from bbyer: "I was thinking today my 3 is ten years old but still looks and runs good. It should as if I were to add up the maintenance costs - but as with my airplane, I do not."

I probably spend $2000 per year on my 10 year old LR3...but not to keep it on the road like some may spend on other vehicles that are the same age, but to keep it PERFECT. It feels, drives and looks like it did in June 2005, even though I take it off-road frequently and have taken it to the Yukon Territory and back (in late winter). More to bbyer's point, I don't care (what it costs). I am so enamored of my Rover and it bring me so much joy that whatever the cost to maintain it and keep it perfect...I'm paying.

 

[bbyer]

Yes, a Tahoe would be cheaper.

I would say that my 3 is not as good looking as Houm's but it is certainly more reliable now than when it came from the factory. Over the years, I have routinely replaced bits and pieces as the forums found the problem areas.

The styling is such that ten years later, it still looks current, but I guess that is because it is. Just yesterday, out at the airport, (well airstrip), a couple of stews were basking in the sun - well anytime the sun comes out up here in the winter, one takes advantage of it, even if you still have your parka and boots on, and started to quiz me about the 3. It was clean, the sun was sparkling on it, and I guess they were bored waiting for a plant crew change bunch of hardhats to show up. I regarded the fact that the 3 was even noticed as significant, let alone that people seemed intrigued by it. Maybe all they normally see is aircraft tugs or crew change vans.

Relative to a Tahoe, the 3 has been an expensive vehicle to maintain. Sometimes I wonder why I put up with the expenses but the reality is that the vehicle has characteristics - good characteristics I might add, that are just not on lesser vehicles.

The only vehicle that is built more solid is I think a G Wagon. The general handling and braking is autobahn like. I believe BMW designed it so that their Beamers would have something to play with back in the EU rather than just Mercedes and Audi. It is some game they play over there.

In September, I spent a three weeks driving a Renault Scenic 2.0 diesel 5,200 km in France and Italy. It seems the suggested minimum speed on the Autostrade is 130 kph. Having diesel Fiat 500's routinely passing at 150+ is not my norm - it takes getting used to. I was surprised at the number of D3's and D4's I saw by the way - all going past me; they are built for that - a Tahoe is not.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autostrade_of_Italy

 

[Houm_WA]

Ahhhh...when the LR3 was new, no one knew what it was! Everyone gawked....chicks checked me, er, it...out all the time.

bbyer, your LR3 is fantastic. If you want it to shine (like mine) just try this:

www.zainostore.com