Apologies for what appears to be an age old discussion but the '3 amigos' came up recently whilst driving at 70mph after a long run.

The previous week I had to jump start as the battery was dead but no issues after the jump and fully charged after a long run.

My question is:

Is there a fault with the ABS system e.g. pump that is causing the three lights to trigger or is the voltage on the battery a potential problem? I wouldn't ask but this problem occurred whilst driving so I can only assume the battery was fully charged as I had n o issues starting or driving.

Can batteries lose voltage during normal running?

Any help appreciated. I'd rather shell out for a new battery that I can fit myself than have to go through diagnostics and ABS.

Cheers,

Fred

You say battery was dead so I would do the hard reset thing and put the battery on a conditioning charge,may help to get it drop tested too.

I think you need to narrow things down a bit.

Jump starting the car is extremely unlikely to cause any issues.

Batteries are on borrowed time after 4 years.

What voltage is your battery charging at.

What voltage is the battery 24 hours after the car was driven.

Try resetting the car by disconnecting the battery for 20 minutes. Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

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Thanks for the responses.

I'm pretty sure the battery is over 4 years old.

I do not know what voltage the battery is charging at as I don't have a multi meter. I could perhaps borrow one from a neighbour to test this.

To elaborate further. The car has not been driven a great deal recently and prior to having a jump start it was 'sluggish' to start. I left the car for a few days and with a cold snap in ambient temperature the car failed to start when I needed it. This would be concurrent with an ageing battery I assume?

I will go for the advice and do a hard reset by disconnecting the battery and see if the fault returns.

Not sure if my local garage is open yet, most likely not...

Is the car 'safe' to drive with these warning lights? There appears to be no other loss of functionality thus far and I will need it this week.

Cheers

Fine to drive it but from what you have said it’s the battery.

While I agree on the battery being the probable culprit if it’s over 4 years old, at 70 mph I’d have expected the alternator to have the ability to power the car and charge the battery.
My understanding is that the cause of the “3 amigos“ is probably the abs pump as this is the system that powers the hdc, and abs systems along with of course the brakes. Low battery voltage at startup leads to the abs pump not achieving the required pressure by the time the car has completed its self tests. It would be worth checking the alternator output while you’re checking the battery with the multi tester.
Has the car got a second earth lead fitted? If not it is well worth doing this mod.

Ok, thanks for the additional info.

No it doesn't have a second earth but I have been reading about this. I hope it isn't ABS pump as this is expensive apparently...

Most likely battery and strap.

I suspect its stopped charging at some point while driving,its not unusual to re start charging while driving and would not necessarily put the warning light on.

so, doing a charging test obviously when stationary would not help if its charging intermittently.

Mudpuggler wrote:

Ok, thanks for the additional info.

No it doesn't have a second earth but I have been reading about this. I hope it isn't ABS pump as this is expensive apparently...

You really need to get the fault codes read but I'm guessing that as you don't have a multimeter, you certainly don't own a code reader? (Now Sold). 2008 Freelander 2 (Nazca Sand) SE TD4 Auto. Statutory write off & on WOVR for hail damage but still road legal.
171037Km as of 09/05/22
Superchips Bluefin Flash
Nanocom Evo II (also sold)

There are no codes shown following an “HDC Not Available” event on startup.
Here is a link to Alex Pescaru’s description of the cause. https://www.freel2.com/forum/topic1550.htm...p;start=15 His post is half way down the page.

@BossBob, op is not talking about that, my comment was aimed at him. (Now Sold). 2008 Freelander 2 (Nazca Sand) SE TD4 Auto. Statutory write off & on WOVR for hail damage but still road legal.
171037Km as of 09/05/22
Superchips Bluefin Flash
Nanocom Evo II (also sold)

I've managed to test the voltage across the battery while idling and when the engine is off. Both appear to be fine.

The battery looks like it could still be the original Landrover fitted one but no way of telling really. If it is then it's 12 years old.

I don't own a code reader, correct.

I'll try a hard reset next and see if the codes return before going via the garage route.

Thanks for the additional advice and responses.