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After sitting for 2 weeks my 2002 Freelander TD4 would not start, (engine not cranking over), after getting Land Rover assistance to get me going using a booster pack I am told the battery is in good condition and there must be an intermittent fault draining it as this has happened once before (after sitting for 3 weeks and LR assistance man helped me out), therefore it is back at the main dealer whom did not find a fault before and hasn't seemed to have found one this time. The vehicle has not had any interior light left switched on or been on short journeys prior to being left, all that is on is the standard fit alarm system and clock. This is spoiling an otherwise excellent vehicle, any ideas?
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Assuming the battery is not four years old, Ok here is what to do. Assuming you have a meter that can read ma say 200 ma range then lightly undo the most convenient terminal of the battery but do not remove same. Now this will take two or more people, connect the meter to the lug of the battery and the other end to the clamp, now lock the car and set the alarm. You may have to tape up the bonnet alarm switch to avoid the alarm thinking the bonnet is open. After 2 minutes or so slowly lift the clamp and read the current on the meter. This should be less than 100 ma I have measured a BMW at 134 with no fault but most are under the 100ma and a lot are less that 40 ma. If this is the case then all is well, if you have higher currents then there may be a problem. Common causes are :- boot light switch, auto dimmer interior lights not shutting down completely or randomly coming back on, faulty diode pack in the alternator ( not normally intermittent ), alarm quiescent current too high, door lock faulty switch or of course the battery itself with an intermittent internal cell link fault however this type of fault triggers the alarm and when you open the car the LED should indicate that there has been a problem. If you have left the vehicle at an airport then the alarm may have been triggered many times by over flying aircraft interfering with an oversensitive ultrasonic sensor, again this should be indicated by the LED when unsetting the alarm, normally by the addition of a number of flashes. Some ECU?s stay powered for several minutes after the ignition is off and on one vehicle the ECU had a fault and did not turn off at all thus hitting the battery. The ECU usually stays for 2 minutes then depressurises the fuel system and then shuts itself down completely. Many vehicles leave the radiator fan circuit live and a faulty temperature switch can cause the fans to kick in and flatten the battery. Good Luck. Regards Peter
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How would a 2002 Freelander possibly have a four year old battery? Plus why specifically assuming it's not four years old?
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Apart from what Peter said.even a new battery can fail.and if the alarm has gone off a few times or more that will cause it.bear in mind advice offered I think more than garage may have checked?.but may be wrong.as I remember they do have sensitive alarms ie high winds can set them off also thunder.?
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Was mech1
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Yeh I didn't spot the 2002 comment in the original posting too busy with the technical stuff but it no doubt helped other readers who have a four year old battery. I have come across many low use diesel owned vehicle that have battery failure at 4 years or so, this may be due to living in the cooler and of course much colder winter climat of Scotland but the pattern is evident and the Land Rover agent in Perth considers if quite normal on low use vehicles. Regards Peter
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Thanks for the useful information regarding this, I presume that Land Rover had checked those things over, it is fitted with the standard fit 75AH maintenance free battery, if all is well electrically with the vehicle, a concern that I have is leaving it at the airport for 2 weeks and returning to find that it won't start. I don't believe it is just a freelander problem, any vehicle with an alarm etc, but surely a 20 grand motor has been designed with this scenario in mind. I could always ensure interior lights are switched to the middle position and/or take the fuse out the alarm (if thats possible)but that misses the point a bit. Perhaps any body reading this does recovery/breakdown work involving airport/ferry car parks and shed some light (or volts, ha ha) on the subject. I could buy one of those booster packs that have surge protection for about 120 pounds from seely.
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I would not disable the alarm but I would investigate the override i.e. dog in car Ultrasonic turned off. This will avoid
false alarms due to overflying and turn you interior lights to the off position. If you really want to consider a booster pack, just buy a spare battery ( that would fit your vechicle )and a set of jump leads ( Good Ones ) and strap them in the back of the vehicle. Al vehicles should be able to be left 6 weeks without a problem on a half life battery ( 2 to 2/12 year old ) Airport car parks often boost charge batterie when you are stuck and the massive inrush current cuases damage to you battery which fails 2 or 3 months later. ( not uncommon ) Keep the spare battery charged up and In a years time you can have it fitted and keep the old one as a spare/backup. If you use the battery to shart the car then connect it up and leave it for 10 minutes then start the vehicle and carefully remove the leads and stow the battery before departure. Regards Peter
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