Hi everyone, I have brought our freelander 2 out to France and its very cold, about -22 at night. Today I had a warning come up saying that there was a problem with the HDC and the car was on reduced performance, then it stopped, not good as we have our 3 year old son on board and it is -15 during the day. I restarted it a couple of times but it kept happening. The manual says to contact land rover immediately but it's not that easy as we did not buy it from a main dealer and we are a long way from home. I found that by turning off the heater and all electrics it keeps going but I  probably can't drive at night with the lights on because of the power draw. Is this a battery issue that will be resolved by buying a replacement battery or is it something more? Love our land rover but wasn't expecting this!

Any advice would be great.

Thanks
Jonathan

The car stalled after the engine was warmed up and you traveled some distance or did it stalled during initial start-up?

Thanks, Initially the car started but was a bit sluggish, left to idle for approx five mins, then drove about a mile when it happened.

As long as the battery warning light wasn't ON, then you can assume that the battery, once the engine is started, is being charged. But its ageing state is another thing...
On the other hand, based on what you are saying, pay a little more attention on which diesel you put in during these cold days...
-20C is the temperature around which some regular diesel blends start to gel.
Buy from a fuel station a diesel fuel conditioner which prevents gelling, pour it on the tank and refuel with a winter diesel blend. Then drive around a few kms.
Hopefully you won't have problems anymore...

For/To All...
There is a technical bulletin from LR which states that on very low temperatures, the parafin/wax from unsuitable diesel fuels can clog some mesh filters leading to return fuel pressure to rise above limits and deform the injectors's piezo actuators.
So take care... A failure to pay attention and use proper diesel fuel during winter can lead to very, very expensive repairs...

If you say that you can keep going with all of the electrics off it really sounds like a battery issue. If it's the original battery from 2007, then it could be on the way out. Fuel pumps need quite a bit of power and switching anything else on can cause all sorts of weird and wonderful problems.

On FL2, all the fuel pumps that are used for the engine to run are all mechanical, not electrical...
And no matter the state of the battery, once the engine is running, the electrical power is supplied by the generator, not the battery. The sense of the current, again, when the engine is running, is towards the battery and not from the battery.

I have read on other forums regarding having problems after refueling in France, some forecourts in France have two diesel pumps, one has a much higher Bio content and one is of standard Diesel, just a thought.

Thanks all, its much appreciated. I'll get a get a new battery in the morning and fill up with fuel as only about 1/4 tank left.

ad210358 wrote:

I have read on other forums regarding having problems after refueling in France, some forecourts in France have two diesel pumps, one has a much higher Bio content and one is of standard Diesel, just a thought.

Car would not start at all this morning so 130 Euros (ouch!), a cold hitch hike and a lift in a Lada Niva later and i had a new battery on and so far so good, getting a bit better mpg too? will see how it starts tomorrow morning as we are expecting another cold night. Thanks everyone, fingers crossed...

When temperatures drop below minus 20°C and a car has sat outside in freezing conditions overnight a battery will lose half its previous efficiency according to our Swiss motoring organisation TCS. If the car is unused in those conditions for longer periods its battery performance will suffer even more.

Add to that, that it is best practise to change the battery no matter its apparent state of health after 4yrs and certainly before the start of its 5th year in service then on a 2007 vehicle you are inviting a hiccup or two. So say the TCS.

Do you have access to a trickle charger - if so stick one on. You've just put on a new battery (re your latest post) and that battery is probaly not properly or fully charged n ready to combat a winter's night out in these very low sub zero temps. Outside here now is minus 28°C.

And I'd agree with Alex - low grade diesel fuel should not be used re danger of gelling in these conditions.

So, not good at all, car started this morning but with the same HDC warning as before despite the new battery. Left it to idle for about 10mins then went for a drive to warm it up before wife and child get in. All was going ok until I treated myself to turning the heater on, afterall it is -15 and this is the most expensive car i have bought. Within 2 mins i was parked precariously on the side of a dangerous road with the hazards on. Finally managed to get it going and made it back to the warm. Called Lookers land rover in Colchester who said it is a smart cable on the alternator and it isn't charging properly but wont fail completely and can be driven back to uk with minimal 12v power use. They can then fix it when I return, the guy was very helpful, when I asked if I should get it fixed here in France, he said 'good luck with that' so obviously not much confidence in his French colleagues! 700 miles in a cold car isn't going to be fun and may be the final nail in our Freelander2 ownership coffin, just six months in after a nearly £20k outlay, but a 4 year old car with 40k on the clock should be better than this. Yes I am angry!

Thanks everyone for all the help, it's really appreciated.

Have you not got "Roadside Breakdown Recovery" - any prudent holiday motorist taking their car out of the homeland into foreign lands would surely take this basic precautionary measure regardless of the age of the vehicle or how long ago it was purchased.

You Sir appear to have been foolhardy.Your wife and child have my sympathy.

Hi, thanks, yes I took an RAC single euro trip policy and it is an option but it covers recovery to a garage and if it can't be fixed then recovery back to UK but was going to use it as a last resort as only here for another two days.

surely adding a new cable to the alternator cant be that hard if you can get to it and its attached by clips of some sort. cant landrover give you a bit more advice and then see if you can purchase one down there ?

The RAC may even fit it for you if you ask nicley, as a lad the AA have done all sorts for me in the past, even helped fit a hydrolic clutch 'pipe' to an old talbot Horizon i had years ago  freelander 2 SE black and beige - now sold