Strange errors occurring randomly 2012 LR4 HSE

[BlackOmega]

While I am waiting on the parts store to open I took a drive, the LR4 starts every time but I think that's due to the reserve built into the battery. That said, the battery voltage before starting was 12.3v and at start it drops to 11.1v then straight to 14.5v. I then made it about 1 minute down the road before the warnings pop on and all the displays shut off (LR4 stays on and drives fine), I am also seeing a service vehicle message pop up for a split second just before everything shuts off. So I decided to record what I thought was relevant as I was driving. I see nothing really change during the drive, even when everything shuts down BUT I did see a flutter between 1 and 2 amps for vehicle battery current for a short time. Battery voltage was 14.5v the entire drive whether or not everything shut down. The last two are at the moment I shut it off and just after shutting it off.

 

[BlackOmega]

Got back from Advance Auto, they refuse to swap the battery as it tested good on their midtronic tester. Noting that both my foxwell and their midtronic is in agreement. The voltage is still less than 12.6 in both cases. Right after I had it tested I went to leave and start the LR4 and it wouldn't recognize the key FOB even when placed on the three grooves. I went back under the hood and removed and reseated the terminals just in case, which did not help, I remembered I had my jumper in the back so I grabbed that, turned it on and the LR4 started right up. any chance it could be alternator? If so is there a way to test with the GAP IID tool? I tested the alternator with the foxwell tester and it says good.

 

[ftillier]

I would have gone back in and had them test the battery after the failed start. It might read fine right after you stopped driving because the alternator was charging it. If the jump pack helped, that points the battery not having had enough charge as the alternator isn't doing anything yet.

 

[BlackOmega]

OK, so I got them to replace the battery, this time with an AGM with an October 2025 manufacture date. It would not start without the jump box off the shelf but the voltage was at 12.4 and the IID tool read it as 70% charged. I jumped it to start the LR4 and sat with it running in the parking lot for 15 min. I then was able to verify the battery amp/hr and CCA matched and run the new battery routine successfully (it failed the first time I tried right after install) I then drove around for a full 40 min then went home. Now when driving the voltage is 14.2v instead of 14.5v with the original 2.5mo old battery (thought it was 1 month old). About 28 min into the drive the displays shut off and returned a minute or so later as did all the faults. I finished the drive and the battery when I got home is at 12.9v and 76% charged per IID tool with the vehicle off. In the driveway BEFORE shutting the LR4 off it again lost all displays and came back with less codes but still a lot of Medium canbus related codes. I am going to pull out my charger, set it to AGM and make sure it gets to 100%. Any ideas on what it can be since this is a 100% new AGM battery?

 

[Nechaken]

The car will generally never get the battery to 100% estimated state of charge. There is another measuring block you can see in IIDTool called something like "Target State of Charge" - I don't know exactly what the algorithm does, but it does appear to be temperature dependent (IE in cold weather the car sets a higher target %). I'm also not 100% sure about this, but I believe BMS may actually monitor current going into/out of the battery and calculate the estimated state of charge partially from that. In other words, when you charge the battery externally, the car may not recognize the 100% charge status since it didn't monitor the current going into the battery.

The appearance of a bunch of codes at once makes me wonder if there's still a physical electrical issue. Maybe worth checking any ground points that are readily accessible ?

 

[BlackOmega]

I will try and find a ground layout on this site. Could this be in any way the alternator? I do have a whine since I got it three months ago but have been told that is the idler pulley, I have not checked that yet as I had air suspension issues I just got done with, now this immediately after replacing the air compressor, front air springs, and front valve body.

 

[BlackOmega]

Does this sound like a CJB/BCM issue?

 

[Tapps33]

I saw your other post directing me here, just wanted you to know!

This has got grounding issue written all over it. If the car stays running and just the displays shut down, then as far as I can tell, your BCM is most likely fine. If it goes out, the car is gonna quit as EVERYTHING talks through the BCM.

Some thoughts/questions;

-Have you ever had any water in the footwell(s)? The sunroof “overflow” can rust up a ground right there in either the driver’s or passenger’s footwell. Also, check the hounds inside the fender liners and inside the engine bay.

-Have you checked the voltage from the engine to the frame when cranking? If you have a voltage difference between the engine and frame while cranking, it’s a good indicator there’s a bad ground and you’re shedding voltage somewhere….possibly throwing it off.

-looking at your graphs, one thing sticks out to me, and that’s the fact that you only have 1 amp of current going into the battery? With a charge state of 69% I would expect the amperage to be between 5-10amps at a minimum. Full disclosure, I’ve never actually looked at that while the engine’s been running, so please take that for what it is, an observation.

-which displays quit? The instrument cluster (to include gauges) and the infotainment? Or just the infotainment system?

Sorry, sorta thinking as I’m typing….

 

[BlackOmega]

No water that I know of but I have only owned it for a couple of months. I live in Florida so we get a lot of rain and it has been raining heavy all day today, the floor on both sides is bone dry and in a lull in the rain I popped the glove box and all wiring harnesses and the BCM are also dry as is the cabin filter. I have not yet tested voltages or looked at grounds as I started with battery first, the first battery was only 2.5 months old non AGM, I got it swapped to a new October manufacture AGM today with no change. It is constantly rebooting everything but stays running. When it happens I lose infotainment, middle display, tire pressure sensors, door locks, key FOB, HVAC, and occasionally get messages for traction and braking assist. It also is constantly rebooting even when it is off as I have a heck of a time getting the doors locked immediately after shutdown, so say when door is open and the LR4 is off then it reboots and loses displays before I even exit the car. My LR4 is a 2012 5.0 with a single battery. I have found where the passenger (US LG drive) foot well grounds will be so will check those Tuesday as it will rain ALL day Monday. Where in the engine bay should I be looking for grounds? Oh and the gauges themselves still seem to work. Some final back history, when I first got it the main issue was the Air suspension so that was my first focus. There was occasionally errors for heated mirrors and something for RH and LH doors. But is was VERY intermittent. AFTER replacing the Air suspension compressor, BOTH front air struts, AND the Front Air suspension valve block, the LR4 ran fine for about two weeks then this started once or twice a drive and now constantly every few minutes most of the time and sometimes it will go 10-20 minutes in between. I'll do any steps you think will help and THANK YOU for responding! I see folks say battery battery battery in every thread about these issues but it definitely wasn't in mine.

 

[BlackOmega]

Oh and the graphs were from the 2.5 month old battery that I am pretty sure got sulfanation as it would never go above 12.4V, turns out the installer at advance auto did not tighten either terminal well, both were loose