P38 flat battery

[Simon T]

Hi,

I've got a 1998 P38 4.5HSE with a wierd problem. Sometines when left for a day or two the battery goes flat but not all the time. I've tried leaving it unlocked and have lost count of the number of times I have checked to make sure the lights, radio etc are off. Is this a known problem and does anyone know of a remedy?

Simon

[BLUETHUNDER]

It could be failing to go to "sleep".Radio frequencys and mobile phones can some times upset the sleep pattern and keepthe electrics awake.(And no.I'm not taking the piss).One of the most common causes of flat battery is the gearbox e.c.u staying awake.To check.Sit in the car,and lock with the fob.With the car in park,look at the red light in the park mode.This should fade out after 10 mins.Any longer and you have active electronics and inevitable battery drain.

[Simon T]

interesting, I will check this, only problem I can forsee is that as it is intermittent I will have to check it every time, this is a lot of 10 mins What's this fix if this is the problem?

S

[BLUETHUNDER]

Simon T said:

interesting, I will check this, only problem I can forsee is that as it is intermittent I will have to check it every time, this is a lot of 10 mins What's this fix if this is the problem?

S

Have the box e.c.u read,and clear any faults.I did this when it happened to me.Never happened again.

[Meeja]

http://www.rangerovers.net/repairdetails/electrica...

Mine suffered from this.

Potential cures - disconnect the aerial from the "fob" reciever - which means that the range of your fob is reduced, but also the interference from other RF sources (and as such the constant waking of the BeCM) is reduced.

Didn't work for me, so I had the upgraded reciever fitter - cost around £100 from memory.

Have never had a problem since - and in fact, I drove mine to work this morning, and it is the first time I have started it since the day before Christmas Eve!

[Simon T]

Wow! So I've disconnected the antenna, let's wait and see.

The internet is an awesome thing!!


Simon

[Meeja]

Simon T said:

Wow! So I've disconnected the antenna, let's wait and see.

The internet is an awesome thing!!


Simon

The disconnected antenna made zero difference in my case - whatever the stray RF was, it must have been strong!

[crashrepairman]

got the same problem, seems the heated rear screen is running all the time!, even with key removed.disconected wire to screen, sorted problem till i can find cure

[Meeja]

Bit of a thread ressurection.... Simon T, did you have any joy?

Crashrepairman - sounds a bit odd that the heated window runs with no key in the ignition?

[nevyn]

I had the same problem

it turned out to be the Alternator was leaking to ground when the engine was off

replace alternator with a spare I had on the shelf and problem is gone

Nevyn

[shentodj]

Just a word of warning.

I had similar "flat battery" problem on my '98 model. I went for the new Alarm Receiver module (YWY500170) which was £130 from my local independent.

Unfortunately, when they fitted the new part, it caused a problem with the main CPU (don't ask for any more detail as I'm not terribly technical) and the car would only lock/unlock once. It would then fail to react to the keyfobs and needed the CPU reset before working again (for 1 time only).

This meant the garage had to come and collect it from my house on a recovery truck, less than 30mins after I'd collected it from them!

The garage then had to replace my keyfobs before it would work, so total bill was nearer £500.

Given the market value of my car, it was practically a write-off!!

Regards,
Shentodj

[Simon T]

hi, sort of... It seems to hold charge for alonger now but still goes flat. To be honest I've just sort of accepted it now.

Simon



Mod edit to remove URL: Please read the rules of posting! No advertising in the forums please!

[eliot]

I've just bought a 4.6 hse and had the same problem - followed the steps on rangerovers.net and it was my rf reciever. I've disconnected the aerial and it seems to have solved it. Anyone know a cheap source of the correct updated reciever? (YWY500170)