3landertwo wrote:

I still have the original LR battery in my 09 FL2 GS. Date code on lead terminal.
For the past 6yrs I have trickle charged it when the car is not in use, especially during the winter.

So that's a March 09 to current date. you do the math.

The math is simple, it'll cost you more in electricity keeping a dead battery going, than by simply replacing it with a good quality replacement.  Hyundai Ioniq 5 Ultimate. The family car.
2009 Rimini Red SE TD4. Gone.
2006 Tonga Green i6 HSE. Gone.
Audi A5 convertible, my daily driver.
1972 Hillman Avenger GT, the project.

If yours is a start stop then it should have an AGM battery. AGM resting voltage should be 12.7 to 13v. Rather than the lower voltage usually seen on a lead acid.

Don't forget if it is an AGM, then it needs an AGM charger to charge it off the vehicle as well.


If you have an Autel AP200 it will read the data from the battery management system and tell you the health of the battery.

Nbuuifx wrote:

If yours is a start stop then it should have an AGM battery

Hi.....

Mine doesn't have the stop/start facility.......I think the age of my battery is heat stamped on the top of the casing as it says K1910.....perhaps 2019 Oct? Dunno. if so only three years old but I really think my use is killing it anyway with such short journeys.

It's a Nova battery but website for Nova isn't accessible......

So the woes continue......

Planned to go get a new battery today so to make sure I had as much as the battery can offer I charged it up yesterday and took it off charge at 23:00. Today it was still reading 13.1volts so put the terminals back on and tried to start but every known fault warning came up and of course no starting......

I'm guessing now all these need clearing before I can start the car again....even with a new battery? or am I wrong? would a new battery miraculously make it all better?

Sorry to bang on guys.......just took the battery to be tested.....am I wrong to assume that because it passed a drop test the battery is still good?

The chap put the test machine on it and held it there for some time....it didn't go out of the Green Ok area....he did it again.....same result.

I know there are the 'Weirding Ways' of electrical issues but would a new battery really make a difference? Now i'm stuck with the car that won't start and every known fault message coming up one after the other on the screen. So I guess it's now its onto a truck to the kind of Land Rover Garage in Paphos to get sorted hopefully.

Not sure whats worse.....not having transport or the typical Land Rover jibes my friends enjoy throwing my way.....Groan....

A battery can have adequate voltage at rest, or with light loads, and hold that voltage for some time... and still be bad.

The acid test (pun intended) is cranking amps delivered and voltage while cranking... most testers estimate that by observing voltage at various lighter loads and resistance. That accounts for the "typical" age related failure mode. But you could still have a bad battery with a mfg defect or perhaps impact damage which could pass the normal tests. A tester which actually draws a sustained 700 amps would be large and expensive.

https://batteryuniversity.com/article/bu-902a-how-to-measure-cca

I personally would replace your battery, or maybe borrow a known good one one from a friend?

The starter motor on my 2.0L petrol engine is 238amps for 1 second. Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

Update!

So bought a new battery which made no difference. It is stronger for sure as when the car is going through it's cycles on opening the voltage drop is much less, however it wasn't the problem regarding starting.

Had an Auto Electrician come out today who went through diagnostics and deleted most fault codes that came up apart from a few......most of which had a note under them saying 'Lost communication with ABS Module' but the chap said that is a red herring. He called a guy who works for Land Rover in Nicosia who said it has to be the steering lock mechanism jamming on.....one of the faults on the screen is this. He directed us to a video where some Irish guy shows how to give the steering lock a bang while trying to start it.....my steering lock looks different to the one in the video as it's a later model. But anyway did this....banged away while trying to start and of course nothing.

I guess my question is this....what is the point of diagnostics if it doesn't lead you to the problem? yeah I know, it's complicated and nuanced and, and, etc......So I guess it's a flat bed truck to the nearest garage that claims to be a Land Rover specialist. Just concerned that having read so many stories on here where faults are diagnosed, parts changed at great expense then later the problem has returned.....is it really just deep pockets and keep changing stuff out until it's fixed? Groan.

....it's all gone quite out there......

So.....I was looking into getting a steering lock emulator and was speaking with a local company about it. In the process of finding out which connection he needed to fit to it he asked me to check which of the four wires is the 12v feed. I had already taken off the steering trim and took out the connector to the steering lock. On testing the terminals none showed 12v and the earth which I presume is the black wire did nothing at all so I used the seat/chassis bolt as the earth and tested each terminal. the Brown wire showed 3.7v sometimes dropping to 2v. The other two a yellow one and a yellow one with a blue stripe showed very little at all. I tried testing it with the ignition off, with it on and with it on and break pedal depressed but the same.

So unless I'm being dumb, it appears the steering lock isn't getting the voltage it needs and the earth isn't working at all.....can I assume this?

Is there a relay I can check to see if that is the problem?

Also, a brand new battery of 95ah is on there which I fully charged twice now as in all the efforts it did lose some reserves is going as low as 12.09v after trying this and that......something is draining it but I have done a parasitic drain test which each time once the car had gone through it's checks and settled down revealed only a 0.01v drain which I guess is the alarm....?

The diagnostic guys who came deduced along with their friend in Landrover Nicosia that the steering lock was defect and I should have a new one fitted. But I'm loathe to hand it to them to do this if the existing lock isn't even getting the correct power........Can anyone advise what to check next? which relay or something? thanks.

Quiet.....

Use the ‘search’ button & find the wiring diagram, that should enable you to trace what wire is what. (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)

Hi Badger, done that but couldn't find any diagram......on any forum.

I'd just like to know how many volts should be supplied to the steering lock? and I wonder if though there are four wires going to it if in fact only three of them do anything?

I'll keep looking.

Clearly you didn’t try very hard then.

https://www.freel2.com/forum/topic2943.html (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)

Clearly I didn't.......thanks for that Badger.....

I did find some but thought as they were titled 2006-2010 they may not be the right one for me. I shall look for the relay for the steering lock tomorrow and test it. Wish I knew if it should supply 12v or what I found 3.7v.....that would help a lot.

Just ready your screen bio and saw you bought a Hail damaged Freelander.....I travel Europe (or used to before Brexit!) and sometimes Oz and Nz following the storms repairing hail damaged cars without painting them. Often thought of buying a few Hail Damaged cars and repairing them but never in one spot long enough to make it worth my while......as you say, makes zero difference to the car.

Thanks again for the help.