Hi all,

I have a freelander 2 57 plate 2.2D and I am having a few problems and was after a little advice.

The main issue is the car not starting intermittently, key in, clutch down and a message - HDC system failure and engine system fault, after several attempts and 10 mins or so it will start, failing that disconnecting and reconnecting the battery helps. On occasions the car has started fine but after 10-15meters car cuts out and the message appears.

Also on a couple off occasions we have had the message steering column locked appear and car will not start, only way to clear is disconnect and reconnect the battery.

I have read on other posts that a software/ firmware update can sort allot of issues so this has been booked in for late next week.

I have also taken car into a relatives garage who plugged car into diagnostics comp, there were quite a few faults so he reset the codes and told me to return after the problem had returned, on my return there was alot of fault code all to do with hydraulic issues/ abs and there was also a battery fault, so we tested the battery and all seemed ok, he then done a test on the alternator and found we only had 13v idal and 12.7v under load.

With taking all above into account my relative has advised me to go with a new alternator as he believes we are not getting correct volts to hydraulic pump causing faults, but after speaking to a landrover specialist (Broklyn 4X4 Southampton) they have said as long as the alternator is putting out in excess of 12.5V it should be ok.

Not to sure what to do, any advice will much appreciated

Darren

Read this thread

http://www.freel2.com/forum/topic8712.html?highlight=earth+strap

Apparently it's now a standard fit part, an inexpensive thing to try and might just work

A previous car of mine had an earth strap failing and it caused lots of issues and problems starting when the most current is drawn, I connected a jump lead from the negative post to near the starter motor and then it would start fine so I fitted a new earth strap properly and it was fine again for years afterwards Black FL2
L200 Warrior

How old is the battery?? Black FL2
L200 Warrior

Hi,

Thanks for replying and will definitely try with the earth strap.

Warriorbez car is still on original battery.

Thanks

Darren

Strange co-incidence but my 2007 has recently started playing up too with an intermittent non starting issue!

The key docks fine, radio and lights come on but when I press the start button I just get between 1 and 3 loud clicks and everything cuts out but no turning over of the engine. It will do this a number of times, and I have taken the key out and re-docked it and all sorts and eventually it has started.

However, it is currently sat on the driveway after refusing to start and had to take the wife's car to work.
I have read a number of posts on here of similar issues but I can't see any sort of solution.

Sorry to hijack the post OP but was wondering if you get the clicking noise too?

When I first got the wifes Freelander nearly 2 years ago we had a couple of failed starts so I changed the battery as it was 5 years old and had covered 70,000 miles and it was the original Landrover one, the freelander is the wife's car and she was pregnant at the time so I thought it i will eliminate the battery from the equation as I couldn't risk it failing to start, the freelander has never missed a beat since, touch wood and all that!! I knew we would be keeping the freelander for at least a few years so it was worth doing for me and like said it solved the issue, but I would definitely look into fitting the extra earth strap first Black FL2
L200 Warrior

Well, after a morning of investigating I think I have traced the problem to the starter motor.

I have checked the earthing strip and it appears in good order and the battery is showing 12.37v whilst disconnected.

Out of interest, I gave the starter motor a bit of a tap with the trustworthy hammer and fired up first time. Not sure if it is the motor itself if the solenoid which goes someway to explain the clicking when trying to start up.

I have seen the repair kits for around £20 which includes new copper contacts and plunger. Might just be worth a punt before replacing the whole motor.

If anyone has tried these kits, I'd love to hear their thoughts. If not, I'll let you know how I get on.

For now, I guess I'll have to keep a hammer in the car!!!

I used one of those repair kits on my TD5 defender but not on the FL2. The kit did just what it said on the tin and sorted the problem of intermittent starting. When you take the solenoid apart you can see exactly what the issue is with the burnt contacts. John
07 HSE Narvick Black
Land Rover Series One
Triumph Rocket 111 (sadly gone!)

Thanks, I ordered a kit yesterday and had an e-mail in the evening saying it was going in the post this morning!

The car refused point blank to start on Sunday and I tried for half an hour to get it started but kept getting the clicking noise. I eventually gave the starter motor a bit of a tap with a hammer and it started first time!

Been over to Bristol and Cardiff today and not a hint of the 'click' and starting first time so fingers crossed!

I will fit the solenoid kit though when it arrives just for piece of mind!

Thanks all for your comments, I have now replaced the battery and am still getting problems, I will fit the extra earth strap hopefully in the next few days( has anyone got a picture of we're to connect) I have seen the post on here about the starter motor solinoid kit and I have ordered this to be fitted, but the main issue now is 4 out of 10 times is the message steering column locked, disconnect and reconnect battery and all is fine, any ideas on this?

I bought starter cable from a factors and two large brass eyelets and soldered the ends on with a blow lamp and solder and used heat shrink wrap to tidy up.

I bolted one eyelet under the 6mm threaded post spare on the negative battery terminal and fed the cable down too the gearbox and removed one of the bolts securing the starter to the bell housing and fitted the eyelet under the bolt.
For my 2008 GS it transformed the vehicle and stopped all the messages scrolling up on starting.HDC disabled was just one of many when cranking

Hi All,

Still getting problems , I fitted the starter motor solenoid and the earth strap and all was good for 2-3 days, best it has been in a while, not had any more issues with the HDC failure, but I am still getting the steering column locked problem.

Steering column locked-

Key in - clutch down - electrics on and then message in the panel- steering column locked.

Disconnect and reconnect battery and all is good.

What I have now noticed is that we get the problem when we stop, hand brake on - stop button - retrieve key and the steering column does not lock, this is when we get the problem with restarting. On turning car off I have rotated the steering wheel to get the column to lock but nothing, not even a noise for it to try and lock.

Any ideas

Thanks

Darren

Hi, now the HDC message has stopped appearing indicates the car has been suffering big voltage drops at cranking !
I would suggest you fit a 2nd earth strap to the body ( as it turned out my main earth cable was all green and corroded internally under the plastic coating )
The steering lock message may be yet another fault that requires either a software update or a new column , mine also suffered this issue when driving!
Glad to hear the other issues are sorted Jaguar x-type sport gone
Jaguar x-type 2.2d sport one of my best cars ever sadly gone
Freelander 2 GS auto 2008 most unreliable ever ! gladly gone
Freelander 2 GS manual 2013 only time will tell !

Well, the dreaded click reared it's ugly head again this morning (and not even the hammer could start it!) so took it as a sign to finally fit the solenoid repair kit I bought of eBay a while back.

The instructions are fairly basic and only really tell you what to do after the starter motor is off the car. I'm by no means a mechanic and only have basic tools (only need a small selection of sockets and spanners) and tool me just over two hours. I will admit that the majority of that time was taken up trying to work out how the front bumper comes off!
Having now completed it, I'm sure the more qualified persons out there may say that that bumper does not need to come off but it helped me work out how to get the starter motor off so I don't mind.

When I took the plate off the solenoid it was clear that the copper contacts had been badly worn and were caked in cr*p. Two minutes later, new parts fitted! Starter motor back on and it started first time.

Can't say it is a permanent fix or not at this point but all looking good so far...fingers crossed!

If anyone else is looking for a kit, drop me a PM or search on eBay