Mine regularly goes 'off road' on fields, and I have taken it Laning the once. I had a tank guard fitted and needed it! It became a rock slider in places. FL2 really needs a bit more height, or plenty of armour.

Andy131 wrote:

fit decent tyres

Vanny wrote:

Mine regularly goes 'off road' on fields, and I have taken it Laning the once. I had a tank guard fitted and needed it! It became a rock slider in places. FL2 really needs a bit more height, or plenty of armour.

Totally agree, another 1 1/2 to 2 inches of ground clearance and she's be truly formidable from stock. Of course, low 4 as well !

With regards to the FL2 needing armour

Even Defenders scrape diff casings off road (the lowest part of the ridging axle) at that point sledging on the FL2 becomes a distinct probability.

The only time we did any damage was when the FL2 was a week old and I went for a laugh on a off-road course on a "Land Rover" festival - (please remember at this point tonight we have been to her sisters & family who are nice, bit the partners have been talking bl**dy football all night) I ripped off the sill coverings and moved the tank a couple of inches backwards.

I quickly bought Mantec underbody protection and went sledging - if you have tried it you will know what I mean.

The downside is the underbody protection fills with mud, bakes hard (think baked solid clay), and needs a day removing it all to get the clay off. The upside is towing a 110 through a section you have just cleared - been there enjoyed it very very much. would I do it with a DS that stands me at well over £38K - not with the wife watching. But definitely in a year or so. Tangiers Orange - gone, missing her
Replaced by Ewok what a mistake - now a happy Disco Sport owner

Andy,

FL2 diff guard.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LAND-ROVER-FREE...Sw~15eqX3l



and tank guard further back in photo.

O-B-Wan003 wrote:

Hi guys hope everyone is well.
I’ve been charging my Freelander via the engine bay when required but came across a CTEK comfort charger (hopefully photo attached) with a socket but was curious if anyone else had installed this and where. Had also thought about putting together a 13 pin towing socket and CTEK lead for easy access but thought this would be a little more challenging . Have tried charging via the 12v socket but once the car is locked all power is lost which is odd. Is this always the case? Haven’t tested the towing socket for power yet when the car is locked.

On my 2008 FL2 pin 9 is permanently live so can be used, together with its earth on pin 13, for charging. I would have thought it’s quite possible that more modern vehicles do indeed sense when a trailer or caravan is connected and only provide power to pin 9 then.

From the FL2 wiring diagram on pre facelift (2013) models pin 9 is permanent live fed from 15a fuse (fa9) in rear fusebox.

pin 10 for fridge\accessories is only live when ignition is on through relay in rear fusebox AND relay is activated by trailer ECU. This will be for dedicated wiring looms. For no dedicated it will depend how it's been wired. Andy
Freelander2 HSE (59 Plate, MY10 spec)

Not that it’s anything to do with charging via pin 9, but on my 2008 model, pin 10 is live as soon as the ignition is switched on. It does not need a trailer to be attached.

^^^I kinda like this "simplicity" myself, constant power, less things to go fail or troubleshoot if you encounter a problem with say the " trailer sensor" malfunctioning.

Sorry for missing replies I haven't been getting alerts unfortunately...

I made an adapter with a CTEK connector which appears to be working ok. Cost me around £10.
Wired it through pin 9 which is a constant live feed and pin 13 which is the earth for pin 9.
I will be keeping a watch on it in case there are any issues at all whether it over heats or goes off charge the plug will be pulled.

Hi all,
During lockdown I have been using the C-Tek comfort charger plug fitted to both batteries on my Defender for several days at time & alternating the same charger on the Feelander 2 using the croc clips, so far, so good. Then I got another comfort plug to fit on the Freelander battery, the terminal pinch bolt nuts proved a bit of a battle to remove to fit the plug terminals on the bolts, but all went ok in the end. After having the charger on for a couple of days I started the car, great
BUT!
The instrument cluster was dead, I checked all external lights, wipers, horn, sat/nav etc & the only other odd thing was the right rear door not locking with the remote, although it works opening a locked car from the inside when opening drivers door. I note several fuses listed in the handbook as being for the instrument cluster in two fuse boxes but have not pulled any yet as I am worried other items may have been affected like the rear door. Our nearest dealership is some way away & with our local lockdown about to be ramped up again it is a mission to take it in & leave it in another town for who knows how long? Any advice will be welcome, as I must have done something stupid when fitting the comfort plug.
Thanks & Regards, Stay Safe. "Other" car: Defender TD5 CSW 90.
Ex LR's owned: Series 2a SW short, Series 3 SW petrol 6 cylinder long, Series 3 pickup petrol long, Series 3 pickup diesel, long.
"Other makes", ex cars too many to list here, total over 5 bar klicks covered.

hi,
thats why I like the charging via the tow socket, you only need the one plug and it fits all the cars we have (have had)

 .
my first ever FL2 and I did keep it longer than most other cars!
But its now gone way up Norf

Hi.
I too have 20/20 hindsight, what I really need is help with the problem as per my post, many thanks. "Other" car: Defender TD5 CSW 90.
Ex LR's owned: Series 2a SW short, Series 3 SW petrol 6 cylinder long, Series 3 pickup petrol long, Series 3 pickup diesel, long.
"Other makes", ex cars too many to list here, total over 5 bar klicks covered.

I somehow doubt you did something stupid fitting the comfort connector. I've fitted several to different cars over the years and there's really little to go wrong.

If after you connected the CTEK and locked the car then, from what you say, the rear door may have been left unlocked and the car would not have gone to sleep. Is it possible that the battery although connected to the CTEK was not charging and had barely enough charge left to start the car? A low battery in a modern car can cause all sorts of electrical issues.

As a first step I'd suggest to reconnect CTEK, make sure the car is properly locked and see if it then charges and solves the problem. The door not locking sounds like a faulty door module which is a very common fault, unfortunately. driving on the right side